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Society, Culture, Religion and History
Can GIS rescue South India's deteriorating tank systems?
Posted on 21 Jan, 2015 10:28 AMSeveral lakhs of farming communities in Tamil Nadu depend on the 39,202 tanks spread around the state. These tanks capture the runoff water from the monsoon rainfall that occurs in a short span of time, and also provide water for irrigation and other uses for the community.
However, these water bodies have been degenerating in the recent past due to reasons such as:
![Eris/Tanks of Tamil Nadu](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/eris_of_tamilnadu_0.jpg?itok=WzfNs_PU)
Social regulation as a key to sustainable groundwater use
Posted on 19 Jan, 2015 11:02 AMSustainable management of groundwater continues to be ignored in India although its hydrogeological and socieconomic aspects continue to be studied extensively. Despite recognition of its importance at the policy level, no clear plan of action exists for groundwater management in India.
![A well in Odoor farms, Mangalore](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/oddoor_4_0.jpg?itok=PoGxbn8J)
Water wars: Not what you think!
Posted on 09 Jan, 2015 09:31 AMSince the 1990s, it has often been predicted that all the conflicts over this century will be over water and that they will be fought in the South Asian region, which is undergoing a rapid growth in population coupled with a gradual decrease in water resources.
![The Brahmaputra river (Source: Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/brahmaputra_1.jpg?itok=Nn7BH3hw)
Science-based changes to cope with water crisis
Posted on 09 Jan, 2015 08:35 AMIndia has almost 17% of the world's population and 4% of the global water resources – a situation that threatens to push it towards a water crisis in the coming years. To add to this, are other reasons such as:
![Girls carrying water (Source: Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/faq_3.jpg?itok=vcYJuLZL)
Applications invited for internship with The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India
Posted on 06 Jan, 2015 04:54 PMThe Forum has instituted an internship programme for students in its present phase of work. In the past many students – both from India and abroad – had approached the Forum to work as interns on water and more specifically on water conflict issues.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/left_band.gif?itok=b3M8jSyd)
My disappearing land: Majuli
Posted on 02 Jan, 2015 07:50 PMThe Brahmaputra, one of the mightiest rivers in the world, has many stories to tell as it journeys from Tibet through India and finally finds its way to the Bay of Bengal. Sadly, many of these tales are not happy. Known for its disastrous flooding, the monsoon season is play time for the river.
![House on stilts (Chang ghar) in Majuli](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/majuli.jpg?itok=hAexNeop)
Sulabh International welcomes the Prime Minister's call for a Swachh Bharat
Posted on 30 Dec, 2014 11:42 AM![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/reinvent-the-toilet-challenge-india-fair__.jpg?itok=QrPJk0Yr)
Collective sanitation as practised by Mahatma Gandhi
Posted on 29 Dec, 2014 02:28 PMBy Shobhana Radhakrishna
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/Gandhiji_Sewagram_toilet_Urmila.jpg?itok=2o0s-ifk)
Addressing the hygiene needs of pubescent kids
Posted on 29 Dec, 2014 11:53 AMThe rights and needs of the fairer sex being overlooked by a male dominated society is not something that is unheard of. Access to education, health services and sanitation are given a cold shoulder when it concerns women.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/8177899446_b37bb9fda3.jpg?itok=6MNNngY1)
Get paid to poop: Musiri's Eco San adventure
Posted on 23 Dec, 2014 11:59 AMWater is probably the worst medium to treat or transport human refuse. And that is exactly what we use when we flush our poo and pee with buckets full of water. Water only increases the size of the problem - bowl sized refuse gets converted into bucket sizes – and offers absolutely no help to treat the waste.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/EcoSan.jpg?itok=fl3rD_89)