This study by Geospatial World attempts to collect and analyse data concerning the catchment characteristics that affect direct runoff such as soil type, land cover and rainfall for the catchment of Lokapavani river in Karnataka using remote sensing and GIS techniques. An attempt has been made to determine the weighted average Curve Number (CN) for different land use, land cover and soil types in Lokapavani catchment in order to estimate the runoff.

This paper by Greenpeace on ecological farming illustrates proven, modern farming approaches that help cope with drought. It elaborates on the drought-resistant crop varieties and calls for policy makers to increase funds for research on the system. 

Human-induced climate change is resulting in less and more erratic rainfall, especially in regions where food security is very low. The poor in rural and dry areas will suffer the most and will require cheap and accessible strategies to adapt to erratic weather. This adaptation will need to take into account not only less water and droughts, but also the increased chance of extreme events like floods. 

Biodiversity and a healthy soil are central to ecological approaches to making farming more drought-resistant and more resilient to extreme events. Practices that make soils better able to hold soil moisture and reduce erosion and that increase biodiversity in the system help in making farm production and income more resilient and stable. 

Content Courtesy: Solution Exchange and Nitya Jacob
Author: Nitya Jacob

India’s arteries are choking. Her rivers, the lifeline of hundreds of millions, are over-taxed, polluted and encroached. They are being mined, dammed and emptied of water. Save for the four monsoon months, most rivers are streams of drains, depending on how many cities they pass through. This year people gaped in awe at the River Yamuna (I am sure they were over-awed by other rivers elsewhere too) as for the first time since 1978 looked like a river and not a drain.

This study by IWMI maps the household water poverty in a typical remote village of the northeast, understands the causes for such a scenario and reflects on the past efforts. Local water resource-based multiple-use water systems that provide water supply both for household and livestock needs and for small high-value agriculture are understood. 

The per capita and per hectare availability of water in India is highest in this region but the societal (both productive and consumptive) water use is less than five per cent of the existing potential. The unutilised and excessive water supplies during the rainy season create a mayhem of devastations almost every year with ravaging floods, landslides, soil erosion and other infrastructural failures and miseries and unrest in large parts.