S5 1 niranjan women and water in vulnerable rural households-revised
S4 4 kas mani
1. Women’s Voice in Water Resource Management
by
Ch.Ram Babu
Dr.K.A.S.Mani, Vallaperla Paul Raja Rao, Dr.Madhukar Reddy,
Experience drawn from Andhra Pradesh Farmers Managed Groundwater System (APFAMGS) Project
2. FEMINISATION OF WATER MANAGEMENT
• Water distress leads to different levels of sufferings in men and women. Non
availability of water is generally a great curse on women.
• Improving water management requires participation of women in the decision
making process al all levels particularly at the user level.
• FAO funded Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater System APFAMGS
project took a step in this direction by preparing women not just as a pressure
group but make them an equal partner through new skills, capacity, knowledge
and role in local institutions.
• Beyond the feminist activist’s path women were enabled to understand their
groundwater resource system, existing water use practices, level of misuse and
more importantly present their thoughts for enhancing water use efficiency and
productivity.
3. ADDRESS THE REALITY OF POOR REPRESENTATION IN LOCAL
INSTITUTIONS
• Village level Groundwater Management Committee (GMC) and Hydrological Unit
Network (HUN) a federation of GMC’s guaranteed 50% membership to women
and more importantly all decision making resolutions stipulated 50% attendance
of women (quorum).
• Active role for women ensured male members overcome selfish interests,
inculcate new value systems and work towards common goal that benefits all
including women.
• Active participation promoted gender justice resulting in women being made
equal partners in technical data gathering.
4. BRINGING TECHNICAL DATA GATHERING INTO THE
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Community volunteers led by women (4333
women and men ) are involved in technical
data gathering related to :
• Daily rainfall measurement collected
from 190 rain gauge stations
• Fortnightly groundwater levels
monitored from 2019 monitoring wells
• Fortnightly well discharge
measurement in 969 monitoring wells
• Daily Surface water outflows in 65
micro-basins
• Seasonal groundwater quality
measurements
• Season wise cropping pattern
•
5. FARMER WATER SCHOOL - FWS
1
Ballot Box Introduce
exercise new
(assessment of
concepts
knowledge)
and content
Clarify
5 4 concepts 2
and content
Reflect and
Transfer identify new
learning to issues
the 3
community
Apply new
content/concepts
to a concrete
issue
6. TRANSFORMING DATA TO KNOWLEDGE
• Data gathering annually culminates in Crop Water Budgeting (CWB) workshop.
• CWB is an annual event conducted in the month of Sept-Oct prior to the Rabi Crop
(groundwater based cropping season).
• In the workshop women and mean from different villages yet part of the same
drainage family come together and use the data for estimating the available
groundwater and forecast risks related to its misuse
• Women for the first time get access to critical information on water the amount
of its availability
• Solutions are debated on its just use
• Women generally prioritize on environment friendly approach , focus on home
needs (food, nutrition, sanitation, health), less inclined to commercial –cash
crops, assess risks in its totality and do not prefer crops seeking high quantity
of water.
• Many of the solutions offered by women are in conflict with the suggestions
offered by their male counterpart, officials, planners and politicians.
7. WOMEN’S ROLE IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE
• Participation of women in technical tasks , playing an important role in the
decision making process related to water use at family and community level helped
– articulate and demonstrate their inherent strengths
– their vision
– concerns with misuse of natural resources
– assess water crisis from new perspective
• food security
• drinking water
• sanitation
• environmental degradation
• water use efficiency,
• climate change
– developing consensus towards thinking for new solutions
– enforce discipline through local governance
9. Looking Beyond
• APFAMGS success offers fresh opportunities in
tackling issues that have troubled planners and
politicians in addressing problem:
– Food Security
– Nutrition
– Managing local water bodies
– Recycling waste water
– Managing Common property resources
– and many more
10. Dissemination of APFAMGS Model
• APFAMGS team has been continuously sharing its
experience with Government of India, Various state
Government, Planning Commission, World Bank and
other agencies
• We offer training ( Kurnool, Chittoor district, Andhra
Pradesh) to Senior Planners, Officials, Elected
Representatives, GP members, farmers and students
• Trainings offered include
– 2 week in campus training
– 1 week field training
– 2 day condensed training
– 1 day field visit
