/topics/sustainability
Sustainability
Groundwater recharge needs grassroots solutions: A study of two techniques in Kerala
Posted on 09 Oct, 2020 12:42 PMIn Kerala, around half the urban population and 80% of the rural population depend on open wells on their domestic water needs. But in the last decade, the majority of observatory wells recorded an average annual decline of half a meter.
![Rainwater is captured from the rooftop of the community hall and diverted to the sump before it is pumped into the open well. (Image by Authors)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/groundwater-recharge.jpg?itok=XIeynpwa)
A rainbow recovery post-COVID
Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 12:27 PMThere is a disquieting hush across the world as the linkage between the planet’s health and human well-being became pronounced during the times of the pandemic. The deepening socio-economic and ecological crises caused by patterns of production and consumption are being increasingly recognised.
![The women of Deccan Development Society sanghams move towards more localized natural resource management (Image: Deccan Development Society, Facebook Page)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dds2.jpg?itok=D1qIwjw7)
Forests, the fast disappearing treasure troves of forest dwellers
Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 08:08 AMForests are disappearing at a fast rate in India.
![Dried mahua flowers (Image Source: Pankaj Oudhia via Wikimedia Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mahua.jpg?itok=9xhYqrsD)
How forest-dwelling communities are braving the pandemic
Posted on 04 Oct, 2020 02:59 PMThe pandemic and lockdown measures have had a drastic impact on a large population of poor and marginalised communities, causing loss of livelihoods and employment, food insecurity and socio-economic distress. While vulnerabilities, atrocities and injustices faced by forest communities due to forest, conservation and economic policies have increased d
![The non timber forest products collection season, which is mainly in the months of April to June coincided exactly with the lockdown (Image: CIFOR, Flickr Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/women-harvesting-lemongrass.jpg?itok=etnfztGV)
Poor implementation of forest rights act hurts tribals
Posted on 02 Oct, 2020 10:35 PMIn pre-colonial times, India’s forestlands were mostly under the use of the local communities. Forest policies led to centralisation in colonial times with forestland being subject to commercial over-exploitation for revenue generation purposes. This, in turn, led to land alienation of forest dwellers and an overall increase in deforestation.
![Indigenous groups that lived and helped maintain the forests for centuries have been undermined (Image: Baiga women, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 3.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/1280px-young_baiga_women_india.jpg?itok=yJRPgDVj)
Governance lessons that could keep us prepared for pandemics
Posted on 30 Sep, 2020 05:09 PMUnabashed assaults by human beings on the natural ecological system have caused the coronavirus to spread in the first place.
![Decentralised governance systems that allow to adapt and learn are best placed to deal with disasters (Image: Kantsmith, Pixabay)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/indian-1717192_1280.jpg?itok=qdQBG3pP)
Pandemic impacts on women – Stories of survival
Posted on 30 Sep, 2020 09:52 AMThe pandemic has wrought havoc on the entire world. Pessimism, suffering, unemployment, hunger and poverty resound in all corners. To survive is a physical, mental and financial battle. And every family and individual has an anecdote to narrate that speaks volumes about their combat strategy, losses and victories.
![Gender dimensions of the pandemic (Image: Gby Atee)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/1_8.jpg?itok=IZZdQyzo)
Data, a reusable asset
Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 03:48 PMA quick search for the word data on India Water Portal results in a flood of queries - people are looking for water data - for specific villages, cities or for the entire country.
![Water data needs to be liberated from the custody of one set of users and a single programme making it a reusable asset that each programme and actor builds on. (Image: Needpix)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/data-2248226_1280.jpg?itok=Av8RZHJC)
Where does the water in a well come from?
Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 12:58 PMThe environment versus development debate has increasingly become more polarised, with discussions in the public domain revealing a stark contrast of views. Development has increasingly come to symbolise ‘doing something’ and ensuring ‘visible outputs’, largely in the form of infrastructure.
![An open well in Maharashtra (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos) Image used for representational purposes only.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/open_well_10.jpg?itok=PJwneVgK)
The women sanitation champions of Angul
Posted on 28 Sep, 2020 03:56 PMSita Behera, the 35-year-old mother of two lives in the Radhamadhavapura unauthorised slum in Angul. She is the President of the Ward Sanitation Committee (WSC) that is leading the work on making the slum open defecation free. Driven by the desire to improve the living conditions for her children and the neighbourhood at large, she prompted 140 families to construct latrines over two years.
![Women come together in multi-layered sanitation institutions in Angul set up under Project Nirmal to improve the sanitation chain. (Image: SCI-FI, CPR)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/image3.png?itok=rtnpe8k8)