/topics/lakes-ponds-and-wetlands
Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands
Deepor beel: Entangled in a net of dangers
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:52 PM“Posua botah”, he said. “The wind is blowing from the west now so we cannot take you to the beel to show you how we catch fish. This wind cleans the water and we won’t get fish. 'Bhatial botah', when the wind blows from the east, the water turns muddy and the fish come up to the surface to breathe. That’s the best time to fish”, he explained.
![Deepor Beel awaits a fresh gush of life](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/deepor_beel_0.jpg?itok=j4wKWkws)
Barter by the beel
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:33 PMThis was my first time here. I had heard of this festival, perhaps the only existing one in India, where barter takes place at such a scale. Jon Beel mela in Jon Beel, Jagiroad Assam- a historic festival where people from the hills and plains come together for a unique exchange of goods and agricultural produce near a moon-shaped wetland.
![Eatables laid out for exchange at Jon beel mela](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc_0743.jpg?itok=IPEAN80q)
Man-made trouble in Bhimtal lake
Posted on 19 Mar, 2014 11:01 PMThe Himalayan region is facing an unprecedented onslaught of modernization. Large-scale construction, deforestation and pollution are taking a toll on it's pristine eciology. This includes the beautiful Bhimtal lake in Nainital district, Uttarakhand.
![Bhimtal Lake (Source: Wkipedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/bheemtal_lake.png?itok=SH5tEGMD)
A multi-pronged approach to improve livelihoods in MP
Posted on 17 Mar, 2014 03:46 PMA little less than 40 km away from the district headquarters of Tikamgarh in northern Madhya Pradesh lies a watershed, which is an area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place (US Environmental Protection Agency).
![Farmer looks at the water conservation efforts](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/farmer_2_0.jpg?itok=HjaWO5lq)
Kolkata's grossly undervalued natural sewage management system
Posted on 16 Mar, 2014 10:34 PMThe city of Kolkata is blessed to have its very own natural urban wastewater treatment system in the form of the East Kolkata Wetlands.
![Fish rearing on wastewater, East Kolkata Wetlands](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/ecw_3_031_0.jpg?itok=Pt07_VLb)
Technology and public awareness to combat climate change
Posted on 16 Mar, 2014 10:30 PMIn Jhansi, Bundelkhand farmers experience great uncertainties in agriculture due to erratic rainfall. Covering 13 districts of southwest Uttar Pradesh and Northern Madhya Pradesh with a population of approximately 21 million, Bundelkhand is a typical semi-arid region. Around 83% of the area is rural and more than one third of the households are considered to be below the poverty line.
![Crops appropriate to deal with climate change](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/aonla.jpg?itok=RcOu-9zx)
It takes more than money to make a difference
Posted on 16 Mar, 2014 10:28 PMTamilnadu has a rich tradition of tank management at the village level. Every village had one or more irrigation tanks, locally known as ‘kanmais’ or ‘eris’, and a drinking water tank called ‘ooranis’. This system worked for centuries with the support of residents and the local administration.
![View of a 'Kanmai' in Madurai](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/img_2752_0.jpg?itok=Uytq3U6N)
Protectors of the lost ponds of Darbhanga
Posted on 12 Mar, 2014 12:20 PMIn 1989, Bihar's Darbhanga town boasted 213 ponds. Today nearly 25% of them have been drained, leveled to the ground, filled up and built over. Hotels, houses and highrise buildings have bulldozed their way onto these water bodies. Do we not need these ponds any longer? Are they better of as bedrocks of development in these land-starved times?
Once upon a time
![Rally to protect ponds](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/tba.jpg?itok=U5ZBIEfk)
Managing tanks - a bottom-up approach
Posted on 12 Mar, 2014 10:31 AMOur day-to-day dependence on fresh water is tremendous, whether for domestic or agricultural use. Theoretically, we know that it is a finite resource and that it can't be taken for granted but in practice, we do. India has an average rainfall of around 1150 mm but lets out nearly 1263 billion cubic metres of water into the sea unutilized.
![Chengalpattu Eri](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/ce.jpg?itok=79r2vt0A)
MoEF accepts Kerala's recommendations on Western Ghats
Posted on 09 Mar, 2014 05:17 PMMoEF accepts Kerala's recommendations on Western Ghats
![A view of Western Ghats (Source: Wikipedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/grasslands_and_forests_in_western_ghats.jpg?itok=36e44FZp)