Editorial 1: Save the Water
Recent context:
- During the last few years, the delay in onset of monsoon is observed, for e.g. recently, it arrived in Mumbai and New Delhi on the same day June 24. The monsoon’s onset in these cities is generally around June 10 and June 30, respectively.
- As, immediately after its arrival, many places across India received heavy to very heavy rainfall. It is unusual to see flooded rivers and cities in June/early July since most of the flooding usually occurs in the later months of the monsoon.
There is need for flood management to handle the flood disaster
- Studies and expert appraisals have concluded that citizens, properties, and infrastructure in India cannot be provided with complete flood protection.
- As, after the end of the flood season in October, many parts of the country begin to face scorching summers and droughts.
- Therefore, there is need to shift attention and efforts from flood control to flood management.
- But the hydro-infrastructure for river regulation in India is inadequate for effective flood management. If a large part of the flood flows can be safely conserved, damages would reduce.
- The saved water would help partially mitigate the upcoming droughts. Storage to manage river flow variability and mitigate droughts is an attractive opportunity for India.
Impact of flood and tools for its management:
- In recent times, India has faced at least one major flood event each year and floods are beginning to repeat the pattern of damage and destruction.
- According to the National Disaster Management, every year 1,600 lives on average are lost due to floods, Authority. Floods also affect 75 lakh hectares of land and inflict damage worth Rs 1,805 crore to crops, houses and public utilities.
- In order to handle it, a range of tools are available to manage floods, Broadly, these are classified as structural and non-structural.
- Structural measures include
- storage reservoirs, embankments, and diversions.
- These reduce flood hazards by keeping damage-causing waters away from agricultural areas, cities, industries, etc.
- Storage reservoirs moderate the flood peak by storing water during high-flow periods and releasing it after they have subsided.
- They also conserve water for irrigation, electricity generation, water supply, etc. Their effectiveness in flood moderation depends on the space available.
- In addition, tanks and ponds are traditional means of water conservation in India. They also aid in groundwater recharge and promote biodiversity.
- Non-structural methods such as flood forecasting, warnings, and flood plain zoning, help in the timely evacuation of people and regulate the use of floodplains.
- A forecasting and warning system provides a priori estimate of approaching floods so that people and movable assets are relocated to safer places in time.
- India has more than 5,500 large dams. Accurate inflow forecasts help moderate floods by estimating the space needed for storage in reservoirs.
- As s common saying goes: “Floods are acts of God but flood losses are largely acts of man”.
- Non-structural methods don’t involve construction and hence don’t create an adverse impact on the environment or otherwise. However, the resource (water) is neither conserved nor put to alternate use.
- Large and medium water conservancy projects can save huge quantities of damage-causing water. So, to manage increasing variabilities, existing infrastructure should be upgraded or new infrastructure created.
There is need to conserve water during flood time
- In India, most of the water comes from the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Mahanadi, Narmada and Tapi river basins. The monsoon’s presence makes Indian rivers highly seasonal.
- During the four months of monsoon, Indian rivers carry about 75 per cent of their annual flows
- Therefore, there is need for water conservation during the high flow of water in river basin
- However, Options for water conservation vary in size from large storage to farm ponds and the impact also varies local in scale to a large region based on its advantages, limitations, concerns and requirements.
Climate change adds a new dimension to flood management:
- Climate change will add a new dimension to flood management — rainfall patterns, intensities, and durations are likely to change.
- Recently IPCC released Assessment Report 6 where they noted that intense rains are likely to become more common in this warming world.
- Therefore, flows in Indian rivers and their variabilities will increase in the future. This will lead to more instances of floods and droughts.
- It is prudent we upgrade the hydro-infrastructure in the country now so that the tools to manage increased variabilities are available in time.
Conclusion:
- Therefore, the entire suite of measures structural and non-structural, appropriate mix of grey, blue and green infrastructure needs to be considered for flood management.
- Along with it, there is need for mindset and behavioural change as flood flows should be seen as a resource to be conserved for subsequent use and water security. Hence, a river basin approach should be adopted for flood management while taking care of the environment
Editorial 2: Aiming for Equity
Recent Context:
- The RBI’s latest report on currency and finance recommends policy options to mitigate climate risks and achieve India’s goal of net zero by 2070. One suggestion is mandatory geographic diversification of corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending.
- However, its implementation will require a shift in the ecosystem for a more equitable distribution of CSR funding.
Rules for CSR funding and its regional imbalance distribution:
- Section 135 of the Companies Act states that companies give preference to areas near where they operate in deploying CSR funds.
- This has resulted in more funding for social issues but also concentrated spending in the most industrialised states.
- As of 2020-21, 10 states received 80 per cent of all CSR funding. In 2021, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had clarified that preference for local areas is not mandatory, and the spirit of the legislation is to align CSR with national priorities.
- However, the concentration of funding in a few states suggests that companies still prefer to direct their CSR funding locally.
- This preference arises from a desire to help communities that live and work near their business operations, and within regions where they are familiar with the challenges.
- As, Local projects allow funders to leverage their knowledge of the region, utilise existing relationships and networks, and exert greater influence over outcomes through staff visits and monitoring.
- This in return allows corporates to obtain a “social license to operate” through the greater goodwill and influence they derive from doing good with and for local communities.
There is need for regulatory change to overcome strong local preference
- Overcoming such a strong local preference will likely require regulatory change. The question is how can companies diversify their projects and funding into unfamiliar sectors and terrain.
- Accessing remote locations, identifying the needs of local communities, and trusted implementation partners are challenges.
- Grassroots non-profit organisations often lack the means to showcase their impact on national platforms, resulting in an information gap with funders.
- Achieving an equitable distribution of CSR funds will require both a regulatory shift and changes at an ecosystem level, where the level of trust between companies inter se, and between the private, public and social sectors is high. This will enable companies to find trusted for-profit, social enterprises and non-profit partners.
- a Successful pan-India projects will benefit from collaborations between larger companies and smaller social enterprises that are beginning their social impact journeys.
- And the collaborations can involve pooling funding, talent, resources, and innovations to address complex, intersectional challenges. A partnerships-based approach could be helpful in achieving scale.
Role of NGO and local organisation for implementing CSR based projects
- The development sector can also facilitate equitable fund distribution. For instance, pan-India non-profits with big budgets heavily rely on grassroots organisations for project implementation.
- These larger players can promote and elevate the impact created by their lesser-known partners, handhold them with compliance, and act as trusted conduits to build a stronger social ecosystem.
- Additionally, intermediaries and ecosystem-building organisations that hold a repository of trusted information could be leveraged by companies to identify smaller grassroots partners
Implementing CSR based project with the collaboration of local self-government at grass root level
- Another strategy is for CSR programmes to align with local government through initiatives like the Aspirational District Programme and the Aspirational Block Programme.
- The ADP emphasises convergence with national and state schemes, fostering collaboration among local, state and national governance entities, and with external agencies for implementation.
- Participation in such programmes is a win-win companies develop meaningful relationships with government departments, influence local governance practices, and streamline district administration work while undertaking impactful projects in vulnerable districts.
- Independent partnerships with local government and non-profits can also be a modus operandi for CSR programmes
Conclusion:
- It is critical that these collaborations balance the autonomy of non-profit organisations while providing accountability to the funders and companies can make field visits can rely on technology-enabled monitoring and evaluation models.
- The pandemic has already facilitated some of this shift, with tools to transfer and share real-time data, the creation of dashboards, sophisticated accounting software, virtual field visits, and video conferencing and more needs to be done to enable non-profits to adopt technology.
- Therefore, Corporations that wish to be true national partners in realising environmental and social goals will have to establish trusted partnerships with a more diverse set of non-profits and local governments.