Communities’ water conservation role

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2025 on March 22, 2025, emphasizing the need for collective action in water conservation.
• The need for recalibration of India’s rural water policies is highlighted, particularly in rural areas.

Key Issues for Policymakers
• Ensure effective participation from communities and mainstream their ecological practices.
• Consider the disproportionate vulnerability of certain groups to environmental crises.
• Address the issue of fragmentation of water management.
• Adopt a more-than-human perspective in environmental governance.
• Address the impact of climate change on water.

Beyond the Rhetoric
• Local and indigenous communities can support effective water management.
• Rural water policies should facilitate active engagement with communities.
• Address limitations of communities’ practices through sensitization and capacity building.