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Governance
Groundwater recharge needs grassroots solutions: A study of two techniques in Kerala
Posted on 09 Oct, 2020 12:42 PMIn Kerala, around half the urban population and 80% of the rural population depend on open wells on their domestic water needs. But in the last decade, the majority of observatory wells recorded an average annual decline of half a meter.
![Rainwater is captured from the rooftop of the community hall and diverted to the sump before it is pumped into the open well. (Image by Authors)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/groundwater-recharge.jpg?itok=XIeynpwa)
A rainbow recovery post-COVID
Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 12:27 PMThere is a disquieting hush across the world as the linkage between the planet’s health and human well-being became pronounced during the times of the pandemic. The deepening socio-economic and ecological crises caused by patterns of production and consumption are being increasingly recognised.
![The women of Deccan Development Society sanghams move towards more localized natural resource management (Image: Deccan Development Society, Facebook Page)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dds2.jpg?itok=D1qIwjw7)
New groundwater guidelines prohibit industries and mining in over-exploited zones
Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 08:45 AMRevised guidelines for groundwater use notified
![Centre issues revised guidelines for groundwater use (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/2640566205_ea69994db4_c.jpg?itok=lg1xpJyb)
No improvement in the water quality of the Ganga during lockdown: CPCB
Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 08:28 AMWater quality of Ganga river remained grim during lockdown: CPCB
![Ganga river at Kachla, Uttar Pradesh. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/6172025486_d2b794f518_c_0.jpg?itok=IQJl9yTE)
How forest-dwelling communities are braving the pandemic
Posted on 04 Oct, 2020 02:59 PMThe pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. While vulnerabilities, atrocities and injustices faced by forest communities due to forest, conservation and economic policies have increased d
![The non timber forest products collection season, which is mainly in the months of April to June coincided exactly with the lockdown (Image: CIFOR, Flickr Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/women-harvesting-lemongrass.jpg?itok=etnfztGV)
Poor implementation of forest rights act hurts tribals
Posted on 02 Oct, 2020 10:35 PMIn pre-colonial times, India’s forestlands were mostly under the use of the local communities. Forest policies led to centralisation in colonial times with forestland being subject to commercial over-exploitation for revenue generation purposes. This, in turn, led to land alienation of forest dwellers and an overall increase in deforestation.
![Indigenous groups that lived and helped maintain the forests for centuries have been undermined (Image: Baiga women, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 3.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/1280px-young_baiga_women_india.jpg?itok=yJRPgDVj)
Governance lessons that could keep us prepared for pandemics
Posted on 30 Sep, 2020 05:09 PMUnabashed assaults by human beings on the natural ecological system have caused the coronavirus to spread in the first place.
![Decentralised governance systems that allow to adapt and learn are best placed to deal with disasters (Image: Kantsmith, Pixabay)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/indian-1717192_1280.jpg?itok=qdQBG3pP)
Pandemic impacts on women – Stories of survival
Posted on 30 Sep, 2020 09:52 AMThe pandemic has wrought havoc on the entire world. Pessimism, suffering, unemployment, hunger and poverty resound in all corners. To survive is a physical, mental and financial battle. And every family and individual has an anecdote to narrate that speaks volumes about their combat strategy, losses and victories.
![Gender dimensions of the pandemic (Image: Gby Atee)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/1_8.jpg?itok=IZZdQyzo)
Dhenkanal gears up for better waste management
Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 04:52 PMThe UNICEF and the Scaling City Institutions for India (SCI-FI) initiative at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in collaboration with the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department (PR&DW), Government of Odisha (GoO), and the District Administration, Dhenkanal are making strides towards instituting district wide approach for Solid Liquid Waste Management (SLWM).
![Odisha continues with its transformative journey in urban sanitation in areas of solid and liquid waste management. (Image: SCI-FI, CPR)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/slwm-lead.jpg?itok=fZGIOftr)
Data, a reusable asset
Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 03:48 PMA quick search for the word data on India Water Portal results in a flood of queries - people are looking for water data - for specific villages, cities or for the entire country.
![Water data needs to be liberated from the custody of one set of users and a single programme making it a reusable asset that each programme and actor builds on. (Image: Needpix)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/data-2248226_1280.jpg?itok=Av8RZHJC)