Sustainability

IF CONSERVATION OF WATER SOURCES, RECYCLE, REUSE IS SERIOUSLY NOT ADOPTED NOW THE TIME IS NOT FAR WHEN WE MAY  NEED TO "DRAIN HARVEST" WASTEWATER FOR ALL KINDS OF CONSUMPTIONS.

Author: Hartman de Souza Art: Jessica Schnabel Content Courtesy: Himal Southasian

Where there is water, there is probably ore beneath.

Having trekked several times to Paikdev’s spring to gulp water pouring out of the moss-covered iron mouth, one would think the mysteries of the journey would fade. But, if anything, they have become more poignant – sitting here at this shrine to the snake deity of the Velip community in the village of Maina, in Goa’s Quepem District. It is here, amidst thousands of hectares of rolling forests, in the foothills of the Western Ghats, home to countless perennial springs and streams, wildlife and more, that a strange conglomeration of mining companies, politicians and real-estate developers are sharpening their collective sword. These activities were already afoot a year ago, with mining operations systematically destroying forests, because, as the government in Panjim stated at the time, the iron ore was needed by New Delhi to keep its nine-percent growth rate on track. This year, the message is no different.

The National Water Mission (NWM), under the aegis of the Ministry of Water Resources, is one of the eight missions being constituted under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). The NAPCC was launched by the Prime Minister in 2009 as a nation-wide effort to tackle climate change.

IEC in Jalswarjya- A guiding light for WSSD, Govt. of Maharashtra 

- An article based on vibrant experience of Jalswarajya Project

Prabhakar S. Mishra

IEC specialist, Nagpur

Introduction

          Whenever we are working on development front we need to put communication at heart place. Worldwide  past experience suggest that modernization approach of development communication fail to sustain impact on stakeholders due to its vertical one way format based on prejudice which fix responsibility of being backward on under develop class. Till end of 20^th century mostly communication in development sector was argument and advocacy based. Also efforts initiated with expectation of switch effect behavioral change, that outcast trust from communication.

Based on user-entered data on domestic water demand, waste water discharge, rainfall availability and recharge, extent of reuse of treated waste water, this spreadsheet-based toolkit developed by Biome Solutions allows you to juggle around with the relevant data fields, and figure out various ways in which you can bring down your overall groundwater draft (and hence ecological footprint) as low as possible, and gives a snapshot result of your overall household-level water input and output situation.

Organizer: Department of Natural Resources

Description: TERI University, New Delhi in collaboration with kCube, Chennai is planning to organize Training Program on Open Source GIS – Quantum GIS.

Guest post by Mr. Chetan Pandit who works for the Central Water Commission, Government of India

This blog is a condensed version of the paper published in the 3rd Round Table on Sustainable Consumption and Production, organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests jointly with UNEP, at New Delhi on 11-12 Feb 2010. The views expressed in this article are author’s personal views, and are not to be taken as the views of his employers.

In any discussion about Sustainable Development (SD) the quantity of consumption is invariably the main concern. Perhaps this stems from the original definition of SD as the “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", which invokes the spectre of insufficient quantities of resources at some time in the future. This concern is invalid for water, because water is a dynamic and renewable resource. Every hydrologic year brings a fresh packet of water. There is no way to use in this year, the rainfall that is yet to occur in the next year, or next decade. Moreover, any unused water will flow away to the oceans. The storages capacities, whether in surface storages or in aquifer, are adequate for one year only, at the most a little carry over for the next year. With many basins already reaching “water stressed” status, the problem at hand is how to supply the needs of this year, and there is no question of storing the water for future generations. Thus, in the context of water, quantity of water used should not be the primary concern for SD.

8th February at 6.30pm, Instituto Cervantes, Hanuman Lane, Connaught Place, Delhi

Case Studies on Groundwater Management from Indiatogether.org

• The unique water tunnel of Sheni
• A stream resumes year-round flow
• Mining away the river
• A 'Gurukula' for surangas
• IN PICTURES - Surangas, manmade caves to tap underground water
• Don't dig down