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Groundwater
Village institutions take a lead in Covid-19 response
Posted on 07 May, 2020 09:23 PMCovid-19 will have major implications in rural areas where the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), a non-profit organisation has been working towards conservation of natural resources through collective action of local communities. Experience indicates that the complete lockdown to contain the spread of the disease has resulted in loss of rural incomes.
![In the light of disrupted food supply systems, especially for fresh produce, the village institution arranged for harvesting and sale of produce. (Image: FES)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/veg_2.jpeg?itok=Pilj4v2r)
Facing up to the water crisis
Posted on 24 Apr, 2020 11:58 AMThe conventional freshwater sources available in India are being currently overexploited, leading to widespread environmental degradation and depletion of freshwater resources especially groundwater. To sustain the needs of an increasing population and ecology, our consumption of water far exceeds the rate at which we are recharging water sources.
![Water conservation measures invariably have a positive effect on water quality and the environment (Image: Joel Bassuk / Oxfam; Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/water-conservation1.jpg?itok=vaef26TX)
Springing back to life
Posted on 20 Apr, 2020 11:45 PMSprings are the key source of water for rural households in Uttarakhand, yet they have seen an overall neglect over the decades with discharge from many springs declining bit by bit. The depletion of aquifers, changes in land use and ecological degradation have led to several initiatives to address springshed management in the state. We speak to Dr.
![Image: Flickr Commons](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/spring-himalayas_0.jpg?itok=SZ4ZTkQH)
Covid-19: Implications for watershed management
Posted on 16 Apr, 2020 04:47 PMOver the last four decades, watershed management has emerged as one of the most decentralised, integrated, persisting, innovative and effective programs to enhance natural resources such as water, soil and the vegetative cover as well as to provide means of livelihood to marginalised sections in rural areas.
![COVID-19 has adversely affected this year's watershed management work (Image: ILO South Asia-Pacific; Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/watershed1.jpg?itok=Lq6BFhAH)
From policy to practice: Can National Water Policy 2020 bridge the gap?
Posted on 11 Apr, 2020 07:46 PMThe way water as a resource has been viewed in the policies of India has evolved significantly over the years. Reduction in per capita availability over the years (5177 to 1463 cubic metres between 1950-2015) has forced every new policy to change the way it has approached its management. It was considered an economic commodity in the second National Water Policy (NWP) drafted in 2002.
![Women extracting water from the riverbed, Gaya (Image: ICIMOD/ Prasanta Biswas; Flickr Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/women_extracting_water_from_the_river-wa.jpg?itok=bloLlW_5)
Clean drinking water: Still a pipe dream for Maharashtra?
Posted on 30 Mar, 2020 04:34 PMLatur in Maharashtra has been facing acute drinking water scarcity over the last month and has been in news again, and that too, inspite of having piped water connections and a good monsoon this year!
![Har nal me jal, a pipe dream? (Image Source: IWP Flickr Photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/nal_se_jal.jpg?itok=2SGH_lDA)
Community-led piped water supply initiative in Bihar
Posted on 28 Mar, 2020 12:34 PMWater is a precious natural resource that ensures human well-being. However, across the globe there is a severe water crisis, which is heightened by issues of inaccessibility and contamination.
![The community at the ward level of the panchayat is supposed to have complete ownership of the system created. (Image: GG Vogman, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/tap2_0.jpg?itok=3j0y1m_U)
Democratization of data through use of GIS technology
Posted on 26 Mar, 2020 11:55 AMDevelopments in geographical information systems (GIS) in India, both in policy and law, have thus far empowered to a greater extent government and business at national and regional level. The real challenge in this sector is to extend this technology to local communities for self-governance and to enable them to participate on an equal footing in regional and national development.
![A view of a village in Almora district of Uttarakhand (Image: Raja Harjai, Flickr Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/almora-village.jpg?itok=3-hqvYFO)
One in every two individuals will be living in water-stressed regions by 2050: Report
Posted on 23 Mar, 2020 12:27 PMWorld Water Development Report 2020: Tropical countries to be worst hit by water stress
![Banks of the Ramganga river (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/14337026206_d0ce3f3579_c.jpg?itok=drshny4m)
Virtual water and water footprint
Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 10:32 PMClimate change and water scarcity in India
![Food wastage also implies wastage of water (Image Source: WOTR)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/virtual_water.jpg?itok=SQAqV0In)