SPRINGS INITIATIVE WORKSHOP REPORT · SPRINGS INITIATIVE WORKSHOP REPORT May 11-17th, 2015,...

SPRINGS INITIATIVE WORKSHOP REPORT May 11-17th, 2015, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand

The Springs Initiative partners and other organizations from the region met over a week long workshop to 1)

collaboratively develop a springs management training curriculum (TOT), 2) advocacy to promote spring

protection for water security in Uttarakhand to local decision makers, 3) advance the action research agenda

and promote collaboration, and 4) meet and discuss other plans and activities of the Springs Initiative. Below is a

summary of the workshop including:

1. Workshop Overview and Synthesis

2. Workgroup Action Items & Schedule

3. 2015 Timeline

4. ANNEX 1. Detailed Feedback on the TOT Modules

5. ANNEX 2. Detailed Daily Notes

6. ANNEX 3. Links to the Presentations on the Shared Drive

7. ANNEX 4. Participant List

1. Workshop Overview and Synthesis

Overall, the workshop went well and was attended by organizations and state governments representing projects in eight states and Nepal. The event was hosted by Chirag and supported in large part by Arghyam. An overview of some of the decisions and results of the discussions:

Partners may organize regional advocacy events, may overlap with capacity building or sensitization

Workgroups were formed by region and theme for carrying forward action items

India/Hindi Water Portal to collaborate on articles and videos

Next national meet was not planned

The Initiative may expand with the addition of

academic and regional institutions.

Research opportunities exist for ITP and GW-Sanitation – small grant applications TBD

Guidance for data visualization and statistical analysis will be explored (along with a data policy and spring density)

Collateral materials are near final and available for partners to tailor to local situations

Uttarakhand partners may collaborate on advocacy materials and training (i.e. CGWB)

TOT curriculum will be refined with partner input, expanded to 7 days

The TOT will be implemented in Meghalaya in July/August

The Initiative needs to develop governance structure, vision and strategic plan


DAILY OVERVIEW

EVEN

T TOT Curriculum May 11 – 15

Advocacy Workshop May 15

Research Conclave May 16

Partners Meeting May 17

DES

CR

IPTI

ON

A first test of partner-led modules for a springs management training. Facilitated by Arghyam, Acwadam. Attended by ~30

An experience sharing between partners and decision-makers from state agencies. Facilitated by Chirag, Arghyam. Attended by ~50

An intro to each organization’s data/research & discussions of a research agenda. Facilitated by PSI, Arghyam. Attended by ~40

Planning, admin and governance issues within the Initiative partners group. Facilitated by Arghyam & partners. Attended by ~30

RES

ULT

S &

DEC

ISIO

NS

Overall a good start at collecting materials and testing timeline & topics. Feedback included more field time, supplemental technical materials, more hands-on practicals, improvement in soft skills, recommendations for expanding to 7 days Next steps are refining materials & topics, will require additional inputs from all partners

A briefing paper tailored for Uttarakhand was developed. Several government departments expressed awareness of springs and suggested ways to incorporate them into their work including a CGWB training collaboration. Next steps include coordination between the state partners to carry forward advocacy and capacity building

There were common themes among the partners including quantifying impact of spring protection on water quality and quantity – it was clear that standardizing methods is required.

The Initiative formed workgroups for regional and thematic work including a research group to develop a data policy and standards and local coordination of advocacy and capcity building. Larger issues of governance and planning were discussed and a vision was refined.


2. Workgroup Action Items & Schedule

A set of workgroups were created to carry forward activities at regional or thematic levels. 2015 plans were

generated for each group. A summary is below:

Meghalaya – headed by MWF team

1. MBDA and MWF will by June end conduct a situation analysis through various departments covering

status of geology, groundwater, habitations, catchments, ownership, governance. Inputs will come

from GSI, CGWB, IMD, BSI, SWC, WRD, FD, NESAC.

2. TOT/media campaign will span Jun-Aug with inputs

from Arghyam, Acwadam, PSU, IWP and others.

3. Further mapping and analysis will commence from

October onward and include inputs from NECTAR, SWC,

WRD, NGO, volunteers.

4. Design interventions will be developed in October on

with the help of SWC, WRD, Arghyam, Acwadam, PSI,

ICIMOD

5. Scale implementation will commence from Feb via the

government of Meghalaya

Research – headed by Sunesh, Jared, Ankit, Kaustabh

1. A data policy will be developed and shared with the group for review by August

2. Statistical analysis – suggested methods for hydrograph and pre- and post-intervention assessment

will be written into a short note

3. Spring density – Chirag and PSI will create a short note on how

to do spring density estimations (by August) for the rest of the

partners to implement locally (end of 2015)

Uttarakhand – headed by Uttarakhan partners (Surendra point

person)

1. Spring Density (Chirag & Kaustabh to provide guidance to other

partners, see above)

2. CGWB Tier 2,3 trainings, PSI & Acwadam support

3. Community-level campaign – HSS

4. Govt level advocacy – Chirag, PSI and HHS to coordinate

a. Refined materials, ‘the ask’

b. Coordinated advocacy meets

c. Coordinated capacity building activities


Water Portal Teams – headed by Chicu, Usha, Kesar

1. Meghalaya media plan

a. Shoot video at springs meet

b. Meet with Meghalaya for message, comics & media meet, Usha & Aiban, June 2nd week

c. Op-eds and spring heros, mid-July, IWP & Aiban

d. Presentation in schools & video tutorials, IWP & Aiban, end-July

e. Press summit, youth summit, IWP & Aiban, end-July

2. Hindi press camp – Himachal, Kesar

3. Document on Lok Sabha TV – Kesar

4. Movies, success stories on HWP - Kesar


Western & Eastern Ghats – headed by partners

1. Review and refine materials for local application

a. Including regional briefs similar to the Ukd one

b. Arghyam to assist with materials

2. Advocacy events

a. Acwadam, Grampari to meet CM in Maharashtra, could

lead to other trainings

b. VJNNS & Keystone to host local events for advocacy

i. Will focus on wetlands, recharge area

conservation, springs & sanitation

3. Capacity building events

a. May overlap with advocacy events; includes

sensitization and training to govt

Other/General

1. Governance

2. Vision

3. TOT refinement, Meghalaya implementation


3. 2015 Timeline - Major Events & Action Items

2015

TOPIC April May June July August September October November December

Springs Meet 3rd National Meeting

Meghalaya Finalise plan for 2015 activities

"ToT 1

SC Meet 1

Water law - comments"

TOT Follow-up

Media-IWP "Meghalaya media camapign

" Meghalaya camapign

Collaborate to build portlet or otherwise merge materials


Media-HWP "Sikkim - Lok Sabha TV

Himachal workshop"

Stories, All India Radio connect, Press outreach

Uttarakkhand "Meeting - state plan

CM meeting - Ravi Chopra"

Meetings - govt departments

Advocacy plan

CGWB Tier 2 & Tier 3


4. ANNEX 1: Detailed Feedback on the TOT Modules Need theoretical notes to accompany technical presentations

More field time

More on geology, hydrology

More process steps, prescription to be able to apply to different environments

More hands-on lab time

More prescription for testing/monitoring parameters

Need a session on aquifers, introduce hydrographs

Time management was a challenge for many presenters, ppts didn’t follow outline

More time worked in for discussion/open space

There are two types of participants – some more experienced than others so it will have to be tailored

More videos

More hands-on instruction with equipment

Some theoretical, some lab or hands-on, some field

Need supplemental material (theoretical notes, manuals, field sheets, video demos, etc)


TOT Curriculum Details DAY 1 May 11th

Time Title/Faculty Purpose/Impact Content Suggestions & Notes

0930-

1030

Intro to springs &

the training

Acwadam

To outline the need, objectives and process of

the training/

Everyone has clear understanding of the

overall goal and their individual roles,

everyone feels ownership

Provide an overview of the issue, the need for a pan-

India training, break down of the schedule,

process/methods (e.g. module presentation &

feedback from group)

Include: GW quality, behavior & social change,

participation/collaboration

Include competition & conflict

1045-

1145

Springs in India:

economic, social and

ecological services

Jared/

Harsh

To understand the importance of springs in

larger context/

We gain a sense of the scope and importance

springs in context

Springs in hydrosphere, importance to rivers,

ecosystems, economics, & society; Spring regions,

spring estimate, contribution to surface water,

population impacted, relation to ag, industry,

commerce, ecological services, early indicator of

groundwater status/aquifer health

Include economics of springs

How to asses if a spring needs intervention/is healthy?

Social value of springs

Rights, entitlement, ownership

1145-

1300

Geology: types and

structure

Acwadam

To understand how rock type, structure and

landforms dictate many aspects of the water

cycle/

A basic understanding geologic variation and

its impact on water capture, storage &

transmission

Tectonics/orogeny, major rock types, structure,

surface landforms, subsurface/aquifers, regional

variation (trapps v crystalline)

Provide theoretical notes

More on geology/rock ID

Need more time on rock type

More examples from our local areas for each rock type;

Relate rock types to hydrogeology for context

Use Acwadam geology zone map as basis; get a feel for

major systems, examples; define laterite

1400-

1530

Reading the

landscape: drainage

analysis

Harsh

How to read landscapes & maps to generalize

drainage and what it means for permeability/

An intuitive feel for how different landscapes

are formed and what it means for water

Geomorphology, land forms, drainage patterns, map

reading, permeability, infiltration,

Needs local examples from partner sites

Practicals require more time

Include features other than ridge, valley, to help decision-

making such as slope, etc

1545-

1630

Typology of Springs

Acwadam

Understanding spring types/

Ability to define types

Types of springs, methods for determination,

implications for aquifer/spring management

Provide theoretical notes

Need to acknowledge complex realities, examples from

partner sites & photos

Put after hydrogeology & aquifers

Define spring type before into hydrograph

More practice ID’ing from photos, graphics are easy but

reality different

1630-

1730

Hydrologic aspects

of springs

Acwadam

Anything not yet covered or time for additional

discussion or practice

More on aquifers

Escarpment versus dip

In hilly areas how do we know aquifer is local or not?

Include measurement & monitoring here?




0900-

1030

Process of mapping

Himalayan region

Acwadam/ Chirag

A step-by-step of how to map Himalayas from

recognizance to field surveys to drawing cross-

sections & maps/

Participants will have basic understanding for

identifying springsheds in Himalayas

Toposheets & google maps, mapping contacts,

drawing sections, mapping aquifers, estimating

springsheds, examples/case studies

Just stick to mapping, no need for other Chirag info

More time on strike&dip

What if no exposed rock? More on extrapolating from few

strike points to a map

Need to cover anticline, syncline

Illustrate more, google base map, steps/process

1045-

1215

Process of mapping

Western & Eastern

Ghats

Jared/Harsh

A step-by-step of how to map Ghats from

recognizance to field surveys to drawing cross-

sections & maps/

Participants will have basic understanding for

identifying springsheds in Ghats

Toposheets & google maps, mapping contacts,

drawing sections, mapping aquifers, estimating

springsheds, examples/case studies

1215-

1245

Mobile app & online

database

Transerve

Intro to the mobile app for data collection and

online database for storage/

To know how to download, configure the app

and upload to central database

Overview of plan for the app & database, step by step

instructions for use and management

Many feedbacks need to be incorporated

Need admin before sending to database

More geology on app (lithological contact elev)

1400-

1500

Village survey &

mapping:

socioeconomic

PSI

To illustrate methods of surveying

communities in terms of supply, demand,

socioeconomics/

Participants use methods to understand spring

use context

What to measure, who to talk to, how to do it, Need more on action/process

This was more based on PRA than mapping process

More illustrative, step by step

1500-

1600

Village survey &

mapping:

environment &

infrastructure

VJNNS

To illustrate methods of surveying the

environment and supply infrastructure/

Participants have tools to map environment

and infrastructure for design considerations

What to measure, who to talk to, how to do it, Possibly integrate ecological mapping here

Needs more step by step explanation

1615-

1715

Ecological survey

Jared/Keystone

Methods for assessing ecological health of

springsheds/

Participants have a basis for planning

restoration

Succession, state & transition, reference states,

general ecozones, regional examples, ecological

pressures, indicators and assessments for ecological

health

School down

section on ecosystem services & understanding the

pressures

How springs sustain biodiversity


TOT Curriculum Details DAY 3 May 13th FIELD VISIT


0945-

1330

Field work

applications

Chirag/ Acwadam

To put theory for each survey module to the

test

Survey of village, households, landscape; geology

transect, spring visit, field measurements

Need more on rock ID, section mapping and strike dip

hands-on

Need more field time

More process steps to be taken for applying to different

environments

More time with community

More debrief after each field work

More training through drawing maps

Understanding geology through sketching was great to

demystify

More hands on instruction with equipment such as tracer,

inclinometer

1430-

1545

Synthesis of field

observation

PSI/ Acwadam

Combining survey and knowledge to create a

360 understanding of the springshed situation

Synthesis of field observations, mapping of geology,

aquifer, springsheds in small groups

1545-

1630

Management

recommendations

Sikkim/Acwadam

Making a plan for how to treat the spring Preliminary management recommendations and

designs including a map

1630-

1715

Group presentations,

feedback &

discussion

Acwadam/Jared/

Harsh

Sharing and feedback from the group Each group presents their maps and general

conclusions




0845-

1045

Data collection,

monitoring, water

quality parameters

PSI

Understanding why and what we monitor &

how it used for decision making/

Participants will be able to develop a

monitoring framework and train field staff

What to collect and how to collect it; spring flow

methods, quality parameters (what the indicate), how

to measure them, frequency, data sheets, basic

analysis, rain fall and possibly ancillary data such as

groundwater depth, etc

Needs more specifics on what parameters to monitor &

process steps, units

Notes for calibrating tracers

Need more on discharge, rainfall, etc

School down chemistry when not needed

Relate more to discharge, recharge

Include pathogens

Use data collection sheet as basis for ppt

Monitoring protocol/frequency

Relate parameters to hydrologeology

1145-

1300

Participatory

methods & local

institutions

HSS

Tools and approaches for community

mobilization, awareness, empowerment,

demand generation & working with local

institutions

Community mobilization, participation, mapping,

decision-making, empowerment/inclusion, local

institutions, data collection

More on process/steps

Break out by type of participation (protection,

conservation, intervention)

Use PRA ppt from Sunesh

More on how community came together to address water

issues

How to engage spectrum of stakeholders, women

Illustrate why success depends on participation

Need to map stakeholders/complexity model

1400-

1530

Protection,

restoration and

recharge options

Chirag

Understanding how to restore a springshed

using passive (protection) and active

(construction) techniques/

Participants will have a toolkit of best practices

Once the springshed is identified, what next?

Methods to protect or restore such as fencing, grazing

controls, fire breaks, tree planting (some indication of

species), and options for augmenting recharge such

as trenches, pits, check dams, etc

What about urban areas?

Are the design elements same for all slopes/areas?

Ideas of cost, combining with NREGA

Less text, more explanation

1545-

1645

Spring box design

Grampari

Understanding purpose and use of spring boxes

in terms of water quality, efficiency, ecology/

Participants will know a broad range of

construction options

Design considerations, purposes, types, examples,

sensitivity of springs during construction (and

examples of bad designs)

Ideas of cost

Good, nice diagrams

maybe combine springbox & filter options into one

session

1645-

1745

Sand filters, pipes,

tanks & distribution

VJNNS

Understanding the need and use of sand

filtration in terms of construction and water

quality/

Participants will have a foundation for design

How sand filters work, specific guidance, and best

practices for pipes and tanks (maybe as a list of

issues you and your plumbers and masons have

faced)

Ideas of cost

More pics and diagrams to explain

When to use which filter? Decision matrix

Maintenance costs


Annex 2: Detailed Daily Notes

TOT Curriculum Development – May 11-14th, 2015

DAY 1 Himanshu Kulkarni: Intro and purpose, why we are here. I came to the Himalayas as a student to look at water in 2000. I was looking at a centralised multi-village water supply scheme from Ram Gad, which the World Bank wanted an opinion about. I realised that villagers were not using water from the MVWSS. A lot were using water from springs. Inhere told me that even where there are schemes, villagers depend on springs. Springs are points where water emerges from inside the ground. I consider the springs, to be in simple words, to be a naturally occurring aquifer. Spring are natural ground water discharge, and springs make all rivers in the world perennial .This is not stated much, because the relationship between rivers and gw- our entire thinking has changed over the last 100 years. Springs are our legacy of that traditional thought which we need to revisit. Springs have multiple usage-household purposes, irrigation, cultural values. This is what we see when it comes to springs. What we dont see is what we are talking about in the next 3 days. The Himalayas are one of the most studies geological regions in the world- plate tectonics, seismicity. Where GW is considered, it is a blind spot. For all these years, nobody thought of groundwater in the Himalayas. People believe that there can be no GW in the Himalayas; it is the steepest region in the world and we have been though that there is no groundwater in steep regions. There are only 766 GW monitoring points in the entire Himalayas, which CGWB uses to collect data.. And most of these are wells, which means that in all these years CGWB never thought of springs as groundwater. The work done by the springs initiative has prompted the CGWB, only in 2014, to come up with a publication on groundwater in the Himalayas, in which there is a chapter on springs. This is how policy works. If you do good work on the ground, policy will happen. This is the most geo-diverse country in the world. 85% of all rock types in the world are found in India. What have we learnt in last decade? Springs are not just points of water emerging from the ground- they support ecosystems, support social dynamics, support large rivers. It is because of springs that a river like Spiti that flows in the cold desert remains perennial. Wide variety of springs systems. Springs are the lifeline of mountain water supply, but this is not obvious elsewhere. We need to link springs to the story of groundwater in India. Nearly 60% districts with vulnerability to groundwater scarcity and contamination. Where do springs fit in all this? We need many organisations that can advise and build capacities; we need a pool of trainers that have common capacities. Each of us should go back with common capacities. • Sensitisation-advocacy on springwater management (in the field, and policy) • Training for growing demand for interventions like springshed management • Research and data for decision support (in the field, and policy) In order to enable social change in natural resource management, we need community effort. Community effort is not an ideology for me today, it is a need. If groundwater resources need to be managed in this country, it can happen only with community efforts. Unfortunately in the last 100 years, community wisdom and management has gone down the drain. The entire development effort of this country is oriented towards 'mera jameen, mera pani'. If we need to bring back the idea of springs as a common pool, we need to bring back community management.


Larger agenda- we need an inventory of springs- local, regional, national. Second part is local, regional, central experience on springs. It is about influencing several things: water security environment and combining with watershed management , riverbasin management . To avoid a state of water deficit (reduced discharge + increased demand), need a combination of recharfe programme+ controlled demand. Jared: springs in context Developing pool of trainers, developing curriculum. This will eventually result in a 5-7 day training depending on audience. Needs to be space for conflict management- gender issues, caste dynamics,upstream-downstream. Ecosystem services: Western ghats are one of eight top biodiversity hotspots in the world-a little bigger than the mountain chain, runs up the whole coast. Under a lot of change, pressures- urbanisation, climate change. 120 million people directly dependent on the Western Ghats. Springs form rivers for 9 states, indirect ecosystem services for 400 million people. Springs anchor entire ecosystems- springs themselves are incredibly biodiverse. There are fish and freshwater crabs high up in the mountains next to springs. Grampari is doing a survey of biodiversity around springs. Villages are water stressed in a lot of places- two pots per family a day. Therefore the tendency is to capture all the water and bring it to the village. The ecosystems then suffers. We need to realise that we are there for people, but springs are there for ecosystems. Space that allows flora and fauna to share the water, such as drinking troughs, some flow. Grampari is mapping springs and it is astonishing how many there are. Springs are ubiquitous, are everywhere, but all in some sort of trouble. Economic importance of springs- that's something we need to get into this module. Harsh: springs in context What have we done in the last two meetings? Springs initiative is a loose network of diverse partners in diverse locations. Objective: build on knowledge and practice- science, tech, institutions, data, culture, curriculum Springs initiative scope (ON PPT). Data+ experts+ community knowledge = solutions data generated needs to be put out in simple language which can be shared with the community. Esp visualisations, conceptual diagrams etc. Partners support each other for innovation => partners pilot programmes and integrate experiences, learning, knowledge => develop models with govts for upscaling. Manoj- water is a big commodity. How do we ensure that water and springs remain with community? Else spring communities get marginalised. HK: Many articles in media about GW effect due to earthquakes. But the impact of springs due to 'development', such as the impact of hydropower development on springs. This does not come up in media. Disaster is a negative aspect affecting springs negatively. Development is considered to be a positive aspect affecting springs negatively. Thus less polarized, and more overlooked. Does not need to be ideologically motivated, but a neutral reporting. Kaustubh: Geology- rock types and structure, To understand rocks and springs, don't bother with terminology, but with nature and function HK: groundwater has its own peculiarities in the various geological regions. In Himalayas, rock structure dominates over rock type. Jared: Hydrogeology map key to understanding- springs density map can be layered over this.


Harsh: Drainage analysis Drainage analysis looks at the kind of drainage pattern, and what kind of watershed you are looking at. It looks at the topography. Basics of watershed, topography. Parameters: area of watershed, stream orders, number of streams, length of streams. Drainage density inversely proportional to the length of streams in the watershed. Day 2: Status of springs in your areas? Manoj: Government has slowly taken over springs. People demanded piped water up to the village, for which the communities surrendered their autonomy. This means the springs go out of the villager's hands. He counsels the villagers to not give up their rights. In the age of commodization, water is going out of people's hands. Privatization can result in the government selling off springs. Siva: Government overexploiting springs and redistributing water from commons to other uses. Bhatt: Once springs are tapped, water is no longer available to animals, this disrupts the ecosystem. Bhupal: Government policies are now distribution oriented. This is leading us to forget the older traditions which were conservation oriented. Ban Koti: We talk of rights, but not of responsibilities. People want wells, even if there are already 200 wells. But don't take responsibility to recharge the existing wells. Harsh: Central Indian tribes still consider tribes as community resource. But the issue here is access. Sunesh: Pattern of access has changed. Now moving from commons to individual. That is because focus on technology and economy. This skews access towards those who have money. Debate around water rights is going to be about socioeconomy and rights. Let us see if we can bring hydrogeology into the discourse. It is an important tool. Distribution drives access today; earlier access was driven by need. Hydrogeology helps strategise recharge Aquifers offer continuity across boundaries and geological settings. Layered aquifers may be connected vertically through fractures. How do we map these aquifers at local scales? Kaustubh: Geology of the Himalayas. Pan singh: Section Mapping Speaks about data required, traverse mapping, geological survey. What do you need to look at for different rocks? Basalts= layers, contacts, dykes, fractures. Granites: mica, weathering, fractures sandstones: bedding, dip, fractures, limestone: texture, karst, acid, gneiss: foliation, quartzite; bedding, fractures


Pan Singh: Geological mapping tools required where to find exposed rocks, how to determine a traverse. Kaustubh: draw outline for topography. Plot marked points and dip, slope. Use a scale and draw on that the dip . Extend lines till contact. Refer to two-dimensional map. This gives geological section. Bhupal talks about how to verify plotted map on the field. CHIRAG usually does on paper, rather than using software. Google Earth is not a software where you can do geological mapping. Process is to convert power of observation on a map. Make observations, take measurements, plot on a map. Keystone foundation: worked with villagers, schools, construction, panchayat. Realised the area was once a shola forest. Developed nursery for shola and wetland plants. Tree planting.Have a seedbank for traditional seeds. 4 communities, settled in different elevations, contribute seeds. Kurumas do not drink stagnant or 'dead' water. Need running water. In springs initiative, weoking on urban areas, in tribal areas water is sufficient for now. Jared: spring restoration and ecology What to do once springshed is identified. Goal is usually increased discharge. Therefore identification is followed by planting of trees. But this might reduce discharge in springs. Not all springshed are historically forested. Healthy ecosystems are not always forests. How to tell what is ecologically healthy? So springshed identification needs to be followed by ecological surveys, defining goal , addressing human pressures, and looking at biodiversiry beyond discharge. Some partners are doing this, need to understand facts and language. Restoration is to bring ecological functions back to natural state, which might include protection. Augmentation is improving recharge, possibly to beyond natural rates. Rills are an indication of an unravelling system. In a case where ecosystem is unravelling, it is important to address the cause. If not, any interventions are stop gap measures. Springs are areas of heavy traffic. Needs to be looked at. Foundational ecological concepts. An ecosystems is an assemblage of different types of lands that have different ecological potential . What are the factors that change the ecology. To make assessment: find reference areas, use historical accounts, old photos, traditional knowledge, eye witness history, scientific study. Historical photos may be misleading, if denudation of the landscape has been going for a while. 100 years is only 2-3 generations ago, important to go past that to the original state. Desert and rainforest are both healthy ecosystems. To assess, cannot use species and biomass levels etc as an indicator. Is important to move away from ecosystem species to functions. List of potential indicators given. Day 3: In field Day 4 Water Quality, Ankit, parameters. Interaction with rocks is less so low TDS in wells, other way around in tubewells. Need to refine parameters for springs practioners. Parameters for research are extensive; for practioners needs to focus on what is needed for change. Tracer records: TDS, PH, Salinity, EC, Temp These parameters need to be done monthly along with discharge. For as many springs as possible. A number cannot be given, since it is different for small ngos and states. What is the frequency that is necessary? Meghalaya has own survey division in places where they are working. For Springs initiative will need to be discussed further. What is the accuracy of a tracer? Needs to be calibrated often, in ACWADAM's experience needs to be done every 20-25 readings while the manual says 100. This differs with the quality of water, in manual should err on the safer side. Also need to wait for the tracer to stabilise in a manner similar to GPS units. A collection methodology and a collection frequency needs to


be established. The training manual should also cover other instruments. How to use a hammer, clinometer etc. This should also include care of the instruments. Manoj- institutions: What are the orgs that we need to work with? Include army and armed forces, who are major users of water. We need to make them partners. Himanshu in Leh had a meeting on this topic for which army was invited. Everyone other than army attended. In Pune, the army agreed that they need to be engaged on water quality issues since they were large users of water. Need to therefore consider health and water quality issues to open discourse with army. While doing spring conservation, we tend to focus on trees. The grasses are an important part of the ecosystem and need to be involved. HSS makes the planting a festival, including themselves, the villagers, the administration. Also very important to be transparent as to the source of funds. Participaton: one aspect is protection. There is a cost of not intervening. If we articulate that the forest needs to be preserved, that hands off approach is also participation. There are different levels of participation, and all need to be articulated. Protection is something where we need to deal with Forest Dept. in a big way. Grampari's experience is that there is a demand for information about water. It is important to work with villages and peoples groups. CHIRAG Have included ASHA workers in water quality monitoring. Trained them to use the kits provided to them. Including Gram panchayats in the Jal samiti helps convergence. We have set idea that governments do not help, but that's not our experience. All people not alike, need to approach government officers. People come and ask questions about work done. Need to be transparent. Also in this programme, people came forward to work irrespective of not much money. This is because water was their issue. Importance of inclusion of gender, also of training staff and committee members in gender issues. Have 10 steps of assessment for selection of villages. In conflict situation, need to strategise. Also seems to be more effective when villagers talk to each other rather than NGO intervening . Working with institutions that already exist, such as ASHA workers is important. This utilises available funds and personnel towards spring conservation. This will continue after the organisation moves out. Also synergy between formal government institutions and the user groups. This will allow funds to move to the springs initiative. Involving state is not a one-stop process. It is slow and iterative, which then leads to more coordination. Role of women - women need to be indecision making roles as a conscious intervention. Module- overview of participatory theory, with three examples. With too much structuring of modules, might lose some of the spectrum of experiences. Need to have room for local experiences and knowledge. Important to move from service provider to facilitator - two tenets of springs: science and participation. Include the eight-fold path and similar. Protocol of springwater management. First developed for 100 villages in MP (six spring typologies and guidelines for each). Protocol is about what science tells you that you must do. Separate protocols for different institutions? ACWADAM has springs protocol as well. End result of participation is behaviour change. Can the messages be a campaign instead? Ganga: with participation, the result goes on even after the organisation moves out. Protection is relentless. CHIRAG interventions: Nandu: detailed presentation- handbook for intervention types. Change in rainfall patterns needs to be accounted for. Collect information/manuals already with organisations Develop a manual of successful trials


Grampari: Spring boxes: Grampari's experience with how forest fires can be controlled if we take information to the community. Develop relationships, explain again and again why it is important to control, keep in touch over and over. VJNNS: sand filters: How do you determine amount for maintenance fee. Is maintenance free, some maintenance for pipe joints etc. Not else. How do you determine a filtration rate to develop the biological layer.

Advocacy Workshop – May 15th, 2015

Ujjal: next war on water. Any water system we look at is connected to springs. Numerous springs meet to form a river. Today, we need to bring springs to the centre stage. If springs die out, then rivers, which means our civilization will collapse. Over the last few years, we have striven to understand springs and the means of rejuvenating them. Earlier we worked on the watershed approach. Slowly we realised that ridge to valley may work in alluvial systtems, but complex rock ystems need a different approach. The partners of the springs initiative are now looking at difffernt pilot projects that try to understand geohydrology and springs in different areas. In this attempt, we work with communities. There are several departments in the government ,who ultimately have the same goal, but work in separate silos. Today we wish to share our expereinces with understanding hydrogeology and understand springs recharge. Different states like Sikkim and Meghalyas, the state governments have adopted this approach and scaled it up. We will look at those expereinces and also those of the communities whhere we work. We also hope to hear from the government officials and open a discusison on including CAMPA and other projects in springsrecharfe. Surenda: Vision, objectives, Area of work, integrated development: NRM, Education, health, livelihoods. Beginnings from watershed approach to groundwater training in may '08. Then spring selection, measurements. This followed by refresher staff training several times a year. The 10 sprind selection parameters. Overview of springs, geological map, spring treatment details. Impact assessment in Banna Priya: Community experience sharing including a description of their local geology and actions taken. A highlight of the day. Amit: Crucial role of local institutions, important to build on these. Himmothhan is looking at the panchayat as a main institution to take this work forward, since they are looking at working with entire panchayats in spring recharge, sanitation etc. Manoj: This is about water independence, not remaining dependent on pipelines. The presentation also gave the local names for quartzite and phyllites, this shows that knowledge was there. The govt has a lot of power, if we can -70-80% of springs are contaminated- document these with the help of village development, schools etc. Meghalaya is leading in this respect, if we can map with the help of the government all these springs and share it, then we can focus on the stressed areas. If govt takes it up, can be done in a matter of months. This will greatly help the study of forest fed rivers.


Inhere: Manoj working since 1982 on western Ramganga, which is a springs fed river. Have worked on catchment area protection and provision of handpumps which are still working. This is in areas where no source was available, 400 SHGs are working towards source strengthening. Sunesh: Begin working with communities. Source protection helps reduce faecal contamination. We talk of visible litter, but not invisible groundwater. This needs to be change. The 200 million toilets built without considering hydrogeology may end compounding the water quality problem. ACWADAM, Dr, Himanshu Kulkarni: Most of what we are talking here is spring management. As of now, people are working together on this option. If we need to provide an alternative to groundwater management, then we need to talk of participation. Why do i repeat this? We have set out with the goal of springs management. With participation, we have identified 1000+ springs, increased discharge 2-5 times, and improved water access for 2-5 lakh people. But we want to go beyond this. Activities of the springs initiative: capacity building, Action research: information of spring types, water quality, data management, and participatory groundwater management. In India, we talk a great deal about rivers and climate change. But groundwater is neglected, despite that we are dependent 80-90% on groundwater in rural areas, 50% in cities. 70 crore people in India use groundwater every day from 3 crore wells and 20 lakh springs . What do these sources have in common? Aquifers. Information about the basics of hydrogeology and aquifers. These organisations have come together from different areas, with different springs systems. To understand these, we need a common understanding. Declining springs, increasing demand, scarcity, recharge programme. Mr Pem Norbu, Sikkim: Dhara vikas programme.If we had not all come together and placed effort, then this would not have happened. We have all worked together. Springs are called 'dhara' in Nepali in Sikkim. Why has MoRD given so much priority to springs? Sikkim is mountainous, 80% of the rural population depends on springs. We have seen them drying up in the last decade, therefore we have given priority. In one month in 2008, had 3 meeting s with stakeholders to develop conceptual framework. The next month, Nov 2008, we had the approval of the state government to initiate the programme from NREGA. In a year, 5 trainings, field training, and upsaceld with support from CGWB, MoWR, and GoI. By Dec 2009, work has been initiated. Listed all project partners from 2008-2015. Strategy : Important to understand climate change patterns and impacts. So far, have focused on springshed recharge in drought prone areas. Now have included hydrogeology and other concepts of partners (CONVERGENCE). Have tried for as much convergence as possible, this increases the efficiency and extent of work done. Have worked with GIZ, RM&DD, NRDWP, CTI, etc. So far, knowledge sharing with 8 states, 3 countries. Recognition and evaluation by IISc, Planning commission. I am not a hydrogeologist, but I understand it. This is through training and knowledge sharing. Plans:

take more landscape level projects

prepare village water security plans,

share learning with other states and countries Mr. Aiban Swer, Meghalaya: For one spring, what all needs to happen? In Meghalaya, we get 60 billion litres of water. We are a rich state inhabited by poor people. Meghalaya is the only state where water has increased by 14%. But for six months we are dry. We are entirely dependent on springs. Govt of Meghalaya started organising retreats on water. Then we worked on developing a state water policy and the state water act. Without the support of legal act, taking action is meaningless. People throughout


the state are solely dependent on groundwater, but water is also source of communicable diseases. Who owns the water? 12000 villages throughout the state, and 10-20 springs in each village. Working with an organisation that is giving us 10 cm resolution. As we speak, we have drones flying that will give us an accurate picture of where the springs are. Mr Lam Shabong: Process of building capacity. Institutionalization of hydrogeology training, creating manauals and training materials in process. Work on box terraces for springshed conservation in areas with low soil depth. Panel Discussion Mr. Tiwari: we are doing same work, but the difference is you are doing it with participation. We are also doing soil and water conservation, but there is no public participation, without that work is impossible. Other states are working on springs initiative with government. What is the scope you see? There is scope in Ukd. With the World Bank, we had started the joint forestry programme. But due to lack of public participation, that did not work well. If public participation could be ensured, collaboration will be a success. Groundwater? Looking at your presentation, we could see that you have really worked in the field. Am grateful to Sikkim and Meghalaya for talking of their work. Integration is of two types. Consider a forest area with different ownership. If there is a project, one agency will work everywhere. That is integration, but the one agency will need to take permission everywhere. Other model is that different agencies work in diff areas, that is possible, but we need to relinquish desire to work everywhere. We are working on water conservation in several areas here. The goal is the same as your work .The basic thing, as sir said, is that as long as we think the work is run by a certain oganisation it will not be successful. This will only work if people participation is achieved. But this is not easy. A big part is ego. This is because people are not yet involved in springs, they do not feel connected to their river or springs. Mapping springs is easy, we can do that. But the villager who lives near the spring, will he look at it? Or will he just look at the tap? Soil and water department: When it comes to participation, we need to talk of groundwater management. Also need to include economic angle. When soil conservation was linked to agriculture, participation increased. Panchayati Raj Institutions can help increase communication. Role of government is in facilitating and giving information about technologies, about options, about marketing. Peyjal: Now water scarcities are increasing. We are getting stressed with the logistics of supplying water from increasingly distant sources. Allpeyjal schemes are based on the samiti, but it is often only the gram pradhan who remains thinking of it. It takes as much as 2 years to get permission to tap a source in Forest. Then handed to Gram Panchayat, which may or may not maintain it. Contamination is a major issue. Deepak, RMDD: Dhara vikas might not solve all problems. There are also issues of contamination, distribution, and infrastructure. Etc. We are government department, not researchers. We want to do action research. We do it to find solutions. How do we capture and share knowledge? Institutions: who will work? Public investment: How to converge funds? Capacities: of villages, of trainers, of government. Participation, convergence?


Manoj: lifestyles are changing. Education changes people’s expectations. Agriculture is decreasing; external interventions are changing manner of water use. We have now made water a commodity. Amit: state level data generation is being spoken of- spring inventory, water quality, discharge. What is status of this data in Ukd? How can we take it forward? The projects done here have focused on demystifying science and training people. How can CGWB take it forward? Groundwater: Ukd does not yet have a groundwater department. If you want data, you will probably not get it. The CGWB has a small office, and its responsibility is to advise the state. We have data for 4-5 districts on springs quality and discharge- Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Tehri. We do 5 tier 3 trainings for 100 villagers each and some tier 2 training for 30 govt officials each every year. We will be happy to help anyone who desires information or to work on generating information together. We have also created a egranthalaya and can mail you information. Himanshu: There is some urgency to the data collection. We are Mission mode on 3 subjects. Meghalaya does not use the mission word, but they have taken participation to the mission mode. Initiative needs to be taken. A model needs to be developed for springshed interventions. And then the government approached. If springs can be added to various policies such as forests, livelihoods, drinking water. Sikkim and Meghalaya are not taking separate approaches, but working together on springs. Can this policy change be effected in Uttarakhand? Ravi C: requested a senior official to the meeting but another meeting was organised. Ravi reminded of minister's statement that priority should be given to rainwater harvesting. But no programme yet. The work in Sikkim and Meghalaya has been done by creating a mindset at the state level. Did not wait for the nation to suggest something. This is an opportunity for Uttarakhand. When we talk of advocacy, we look at the government for it to do something. We also need to do it with the public. Today we have devolution of funds, where the govt has given unattached funds to state government. What will the state do? We can tell the govt to apply it to springs conservation. Utilisation of MNREGA funds is at village level, no one else. IIT roorkee: Need to train new generation. Academics works mainly on theory not on applied science. Nawraj, ICIMOD: We are implementing Kailash sacred landscape programme. Pithoragarh is one of the areas. Working with GB pant, Forest dept, etc. Looked at different components- livelihoods etc. Now think should have used water as an entry point.

Research Day – May 16th, 2015

Partners and guest presented data and research activities and plans.

IMWI-TATA Research Programme was presented for Himalayas by Dr R. Chopra including opportunities

for small, short-term research grants.

IMWI-TATA Research Programme on Aquifers as Ecosystems was presented by Dr Kulkarni;

opportunities for small research grants were reiterated.


ICIMOD overview was given by Nawraj including opportunities for potential collaboration and

partnerships on research, advocacy and governance.

The broader questions in springs action research were discussed by Harsh and Bishwadeep including

opportunities for small research grants (5 to 10 lakh range with durations of 6 to 12 months) for the

groundwater-sanitation connect.

Dr Buono presented issues and questions that will need to be addressed in terms of data sharing and

research partnerships between Springs Initiative partners and others within the network.

Bishwadeep led a discussion to close out the day. Some of the suggestions were to develop data sharing

policies and consider a future training on visuals (potentially animations). Aiban also suggested a way to

stay up to date with all of these opportunities and developments such as a newsletter.

An optional session was held in the evening specific to statistical analysis of hydrographs and water

quality metrics, pre and post-interventions.

Springs Initiative Parnters Meeting

We need to determine spring density in sixseven regions in order to get a national estimate. The TOT in Meghalaya is next major event, to take place in late July with 56 days training. Aiban: resource persons must have indepth understanding of local conditons geology, location of weather stations, etc from govt depts.; must have comprehensive, specific manual for training reference; nodal entity meghalaya basin dev authority HK: Next step in meghalaya TOT or Training? Shabong : TOT for the volunteers (one volunteer per microwatershed, total 177). But creating 3035 trainers from Soil and water conservation dept/WRD/Rural Devp dept precedes this. Identifying 23 institutions in the state to take part in this nonnegotiable training elements. 2 days fieldwork: 0.5 for instruments, taking dip and strike, survey forms etc. And one full day for complete mapping and design for 34 days : theory plus skill building and creating a section Meghalaya planning a show on springs on the local channels and on radio. IWP : to provide material for these including films etc. Bishwadeep: Usha to collaborate with Meghalaya, not just passive sharing but active collation and maybe creating content. Encourage schools to adopt some springs and protect them. During the TOT, also maximise visit by adding other aspects. General: Success stories, articles : continuous effort also with academic institutions: schools, interns.


Ukd partners: work with CGWB for tier 2 and 3 trainings case studies etc dialogue at various levels; springs policy: energy costs, documentation of best practices, translation in local languages & animation course + movies (elevator pitch) Larger goal: documentation of dhara vikas:how, who, what, why, when where including mapping funding source, convergence, steering, etc New partners in areas not covered by springs initiative; links with As and Fl networks. Do we want neutral observers? Opps with ICIMOD, Should we create a secretariat? We need some structure. All parnters to present to respective state govt.; political agenda: target voters, community, local leaders & documentation of process Collaboration between onetwo orgs needs to increase. Put in action. Waiting from meeting to meeting no longer viable.

Annex 3: Links to Workshop Presentations

The TOT materials:

http://bit.ly/1J88VYs

Materials from Advocacy, Research and Partners meetings:

http://bit.ly/1LR9WC4

The Uttarakhand Advocacy Brief:

http://bit.ly/1cnepQR

http://bit.ly/1J88VYs

http://bit.ly/1LR9WC4

http://bit.ly/1cnepQR


Annex 4: Participant List Organization Names of the participants Email id VJNNS Sivakumar A [email protected]

VJNNS Sanyasi Rao [email protected]

Arghyam Harshvardhan Dhawan [email protected]

Arghyam Mrinalini B.S. [email protected]

India Water Portal Chicu Lokgariwar [email protected]

Hindi Water portal Kesar Siraj [email protected]

Consultant Jared Buono [email protected]

India Water Portal Usha Dewani Das [email protected]

Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS) BESHANG LEMBA CHANG [email protected]

Keystone Foundation H Gokul [email protected]

Keystone Foundation N Selvi [email protected]

ACWADAM Himanshu Kulkarni [email protected]

ACWADAM Kaustubh Mahamuni Grampari Dhananjay Ambrale [email protected]

Pesople Science Institute (PSI) Sunesh Sharma [email protected]

Pesople Science Institute (PSI) Ankit Saxena [email protected]

CHIRAG Bhupal Bisht [email protected]

CHIRAG Pan Singh Bisht [email protected]

CHIRAG Nandan Singh

CHIRAG Harish Chandra Palaria

HSS Manoj Pande [email protected]

Meghalaya Water Resources Development Agency (MeWDA) Mr. Sankupar Tariang [email protected]

Meghalaya Water Resources Development Agency (MeWDA) Ms. Ivory Thabah [email protected]

SATHI (Himmotthan partner) Sanjay Kumar [email protected]

INHERE Mr. Kamal Bankoti [email protected]

The Himmotthan Society (HMS) Mr. Amit Upmanyu [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]






















HIHT Mr. Ankit Kuriyal

HERDS Mr. Sarat Chand Ramola [email protected]

HGVS Gangolihat Mr. L. D. Bhatt [email protected]

Transerve Vikas Ranga [email protected]

Arghyam Ayan Biswas [email protected]

Arghyam Bishwadeep Ghose [email protected]

Arghyam Shanthini Dawson [email protected]

Arghyam Amrtha K [email protected]

INHERE Shri Manoj Maheshwari [email protected]

RMDD, Sikkim Pem Norbu Sherpa [email protected]

RMDD, Sikkim Mr. Deepak Dhakal [email protected]

JRF, Sikkim Mr. Subash Dhakal [email protected]

ICIMOD Nawraj Pradhan [email protected]

Pesople Science Institute (PSI) Ravi Chopra [email protected]

Meghalaya Water Foundation Aiban Swer [email protected]

Meghalaya Water Foundation L. Shabong [email protected]

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) Anurag Khanna [email protected]

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) Ravi Kalyan [email protected]

Forest Department Uttarakhand Kuber Singh Bisht [email protected]

Himmotthan Amit Upmanuyu [email protected]

IIT Roorkee Sumit Sen [email protected]

CHIRAG Girish Bhudani

CHIRAG Tej Singh [email protected]

SDO, Nainital Forest Department Dinkar Tewari

Mirtola Ashram Shanu Gupta [email protected]

CHIRAG Malavika Karlekar [email protected]

CHIRAG Laxmi Lal

SWAJAL Department, Uttarakhand Laxmi Kumari [email protected]

























SWAJAL Department, Uttarakhand Deepak Tewari [email protected]

Executive Engineer, Water Supply Department Rakesh Pal Singh eecd,[email protected] Assistant Engineer, Water Supply Department Devesh Pant

Journalist Prayag Pandey [email protected]

Journalist, Amar Ujala newspaper Chandreshaker Pandery [email protected]

Jalagam Department, Uttarakhand Vikram Singh

ADO, Bhimtal Laxman Singh

Rural Development Department D.S.Diyari [email protected]

CHIRAG Surender Negi [email protected]

CHIRAG Ganga Joshi [email protected]

Bhadune village Bishan Singh

Bhadune village Sarita Bhandari

Bhadune village Bhupal Singh

Bhadune village Kunti Bhandari

Bhadune village Prema Bhandari

CHIRAG Sanjay Joshi [email protected]








SPRINGS INITIATIVE WORKSHOP REPORT · SPRINGS INITIATIVE WORKSHOP REPORT May 11-17th, 2015,...

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