Water Conservation 

Background of the project

As we know that land, water, and forests are crucial for the livelihood of rural communities. Conservation and sustainable management of these natural resources are key to improving livelihoods and restoring ecosystems. Considering the geo-hydrological features of Kalawad block in Jamnagar district , it is important to develop comprehensive water management plan based on micro planning of catchment area of particular village on watershed approach. therefore, CEE with financial support of WIN foundation intends to develop long term plan of developing water security plans with active community partnership and generates awareness among the community to adapt the demand and supply side management tools for long term sustainability. 

The proposed project has been approved by WIN foundation in September 25 to be implemented in 10 villages of Kalawad block  in Jamnagar district  for the period of 1 year 

Major activities under the Proposed project :

·       Identifying and training of Community Resource Persons – 1 man and 1 woman in each of the target villages.

·       Mobilization of Village development committee and Training of village development committee (VDC )members

·       Developing Water security Plans for each of the villages, with active participation of the CRPs and the Village Development Committee.

·   Demonstration of water recharging technologies identified for each village within the budget, with active participation of CRPs and VDC members.

·   Participatory ground water monitoring

·   Improving soil health ; soil testing initiatives

·   Development of IEC materials

·   Creating a detailed plan for further interventions and initiatives in village water management, smart farming, etc., with active involvement of CRPs, VDC members and any other stakeholder in village including village panchayat. This plan will be in form of proposal which can be submitted to government, or to other funding sources.

Strategies :

Village  communities involving women and farmers along with Gram panchayat members would be mobilized and water security plan will be developed with the help of villagers and experts  through village transact , water resource resources mapping and meeting . For this project, CEE will adopt the following methodology:

1. Community Mobilization- Through monthly meetings of VDCs , farmers Interest Groups (FIGs) and women SHG meetings . This will also to be done through individual one to one  interaction

2. Water resource mapping , estimating demand and supply  – Rapid assessment through village transact and water resource mapping , group meeting and inviting experts services to develop waters security plans

3. Demonstration of water recharging measures – village wise suitable site will be identified and construction of recharging structure would be demonstrated  for larger level dissemination of knowledge and skills 

4. Soil testing  -  There is already  trained women in this villages to conduct soil testing , she will be expand her soil testing activities within all household and farms of the village so entire village could be covered and in turn she will gets service charges from the testing works

5. Community Resource Person – He/She will be playing a role of village level resource person at village level  and continuously be engaged in ground water monitoring , taking water level data , connecting farmers with ongoing government programs . exploring possibilities for resource mobilisation etc. 

6. Village Development Committee – To facilitate the project activities ,  VDC will be used as platform for community level engagements and decision making  incorporating  Gram Panchayat members

About  Centre for Environment Education 

Principal Investigator : Mr.Suman Rathod, Programme Director, Rural Programmes, CEE India,  & Raman Patel,  Water management and livelihood expert

Centre for Environment Education (CEE) was established in 1984 as a Centre of Excellence in Environmental Education of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India.CEE’s Primary Objective is to improve public awareness and understanding of environmental and developmental issues with a view to promote action for the conservation and sustainable use of nature and natural resources. To this end, CEE develops innovative programs and educational material, and builds capacity in the field of environmental education and education for sustainable development. It undertakes demonstration projects in education, communication and development that endorse environmentally sustainable attitude, strategies and technologies. CEE is committed to ensuring that due recognition is given to the role of education in the promotion of sustainable development. With about 30 offices across India, and a multi-disciplinary team CEE works span over several thrust areas such as Biodiversity Education, Environment Education for school and higher education, Sustainable Rural Development, Water and Sanitation, Climate change initiatives policy consultations and capacity building are few of them.

For more details, visit CEE website