/topics/sustainability
Sustainability
Choppy waters and a calm river voyager
Posted on 06 Dec, 2015 12:31 PMThe epic voyage--Nadisutra--along the Ganga may have been the high point of Emmanuel Theophilus’s recent work, but there have been many more peaks and valleys for this fervent mountaineer cum ecologist. Theo lives in a remote village near Munsiyari in Uttarakhand.
![Theophilus being awarded the ' Bhagirath Prayas Samman' (Source: Kush Sethi)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/theo_0.jpg?itok=mpGyg-J1)
Water vending machines: How equitable are they?
Posted on 05 Dec, 2015 02:34 PMA water ATM, as the name implies, is a sort of a water vending machine similar to bank ATMs except that in a water ATM, money goes in to the machine in return for water. These machines, which run on a cash as well as a prepaid card or smart card system are built, owned and operated by private companies that have rights over public resources such as land and water.
![Water vending machines at work (Source:Sarvajal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/girls_getting_water_from_atm.jpg?itok=K9iRQ_Ri)
India needs to radically overhaul its water institutions
Posted on 23 Nov, 2015 09:53 PMThere was a recent report in the Times of India on how Singapore, listed among the 20 smallest countries in the world, made water management and conservation efforts over the years. What lessons can India, a mammoth country draw from this small but densely populated country?
![India's water sector: Endemic corruption and public apathy (Source: K N Balraj, IWP Flickr Photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/damscorruption.jpg?itok=36Bl2i_M)
Monsoon 2015: Chinks in Chennai's infrastructure exposed
Posted on 19 Nov, 2015 09:34 PMChennai has historically been a water-starved region, but never rain-starved as it receives much of its annual quota during the northeast or ‘retreating’ monsoon between October and December. But this November was like no other.
![Flooded streets in Chennai](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/01in_thjvn_chennai_2605191g_0.jpg?itok=Wo1MsMvW)
What it takes to clean India
Posted on 06 Nov, 2015 12:25 PMSajan, a 14 year old Bhilala Adivasi boy studying in the Rani Kajal school in Kakrana in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh says, "We now save a lot of time as we bathe in the bathrooms and defecate in the toilets rather than in the open fields; and so we study better".
![Sewage water filter assembly in the school](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/sewage_water_filter_assembly_13_boys_hostel_0.jpg?itok=8CuDpX46)
Rooftop rainwater harvesting at Chhattisgarh school reduces absenteeism
Posted on 02 Nov, 2015 01:00 PMChhattisgarh ranked number 1 in the country for providing domestic water connections in 2014-15 under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
![Rainwater harvesting tank at Madiya Kachar village school](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/_dsc0037s.jpg?itok=iA7pgQ98)
Sustainable practices in slash-and-burn lands in Nagaland
Posted on 01 Nov, 2015 11:02 AMA thick smog and haze eclipse the sun all through the day when jhum areas are burnt. Jhum, known as shifting cultivation a practice practice inv
![Shifting cultivation lands (Source: Prashant N S, 2006, Wikimedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/jhum-prashantns-2006-wikimedia.jpg?itok=kAJF7jYq)
UNESCO Workshop on 'Ensuring Water Security in Changing Environment Scenario for Water Professionals of Cluster Countries'
Posted on 27 Oct, 2015 10:44 AMA regional capacity development workshop on ‘Ensuring Water Security in Changing Environment Scenario for Water Professionals of South Asian Countries’ sponsored by UNESCO is being organized jointly by IIT Bombay, NIH Bho
Water warriors – Stories on people and their relationship with water
Posted on 20 Oct, 2015 06:49 PMWater sustains lives and livelihoods. It is a precious and finite resource that, in future years, is likely to become the main bone of contention between peoples, states and nations. Water – like every other finite resource – needs sustainable and equitable management, with equal focus on reducing demand, recycling and finding alternatives, as well as the usual emphasis on supply solutions.
![Prayers on the bank of the Kshipra](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/dsc_0007-3_0.jpg?itok=8WFDeoEW)