Irrigation

A workshop on groundwater was organised by ACWADAM and Arghyam Trust in Pune in May 2009, that brought together several experts in the field, and explored diverse topics such as the importance of scale in groundwater resource planning and management, importance of aquifer typologies, participatory processes of groundwater management, groundwater regulation and groundwater linkages with watershed development, markets and policy matters.

The attempt of the workshop and research papers presented, was to highlight contemporary issues in groundwater management, and to look at it through the multiple lenses of hydrogeology, sociology, economics, livelihoods, environment, disasters and so on.

Press release from CII

More Crop per drop: Need of Agriculture today

“The challenge of managing our water resources in a rational and sustainable manner will require action on many fronts and coordination across different sectors of the economy” said Mr. A K Bajaj, Chairman, Central Water Commission and Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India, at the inaugural session of the National Seminar on Increasing Water Efficiency in Agriculture Sector organized by CII. Setting the tone of the deliberations he particularly emphasized on the need to address the complex issue through collaborative efforts of the industry and the Government.

Suresh Desai is a founding member of an Organic Farmers Club in Belgaum District of Karnataka, India. It has 400 members, some of whom are already growing crops organically, while others are in the process of shifting to organic farming.

Since completing his matriculation, Suresh has been caring for the family property of 4.5 hectares, in an area where today sugar cane is primarily grown. For nearly a decade Suresh, as the manager of the farm, followed conventional practices relying on external inputs in the form of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Just like most of the other farmers near Belgaum, he grew sugar cane, a high water-demanding cash crop, and tobacco.

This research paper published in the Journal of Agricultural Water Management draws on a case study from a village in the Shiwalik region of the Indian Himalayas and identifies the role of diverse actors in exploiting historic and ecological factors to derail the Participatory Irrigation management (PIM) reforms to frame water management problems. The paper explores the inter-linkages between socio-cultural, institutional and ecological factors in derailing the PIM reforms. Participatory irrigation management (PIM) reforms are implemented in India to facilitate farmers’ participation in irrigation management, through water user groups.

Cyclone Aila hit the coasts of Bengal on May 25th displacing millions from their homes and livelihoods in the Sundarbans. AID responded immediately working with Baikanthapur Tarun Sangh (BTS), Mukti and Rights & Equity for All (REFA). Relief & Rehab efforts reached out to 150,000 people in 7 blocks of 2 districts in West Bengal.
             

Sambalpur, 7th December 2009 - The Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 15 and COP/MOP 5) begins today, just a day after the Orissa Legislative Assembly’s current session was wrapped up in a hush half way through.  The otherwise strong and majority government of Orissa has been i