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Groundwater recharge of the Cauvery Delta

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Groundwater recharge of the Cauvery Delta

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Amazon
Area: 5888268 km2
Countries:
Brazil; Peru; Suriname; France; Colombia; Guyana; Bolivia; Venezuela; Ecuador
Cities:
Santa Cruz; Manaus; La Paz
PFAF ID:
HydroBasin Level:
Baseline Water Stress:
Water Quality Stress:
Sanitation Access Stress:
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Quick Info

Countries: India
Basins: Bay of Bengal (254) (Krishna)
Project SDGs:
Includes Sustainable Development Goals from the project and its locations.
Water Quality (SDG 6.3)
Project Tags:
Includes tags from the project and its locations.
Groundwater
Progress to Date: NA Volume of groundwater recharge
Services Needed: Financial support
Desired Partners: NGO / Civil Society
Other
Language: English
Start & End Dates: Jan. 01, 2021  »  Dec. 31, 2025
Project Website: www.atree.org
Contextual Condition(s): PHYSICAL: Groundwater management
Additional Benefits: Long-term partnership(s) created
Beneficiaries: Local communities / domestic users
Planning & Implementation Time: More than 3 years
Primary Funding Source: pool
Project Challenges: RESOURCES: Insufficient data / Data access
Project Source: Admin
Profile Completion: 87%

Project Overview

The Cauvery delta, located at the mouth of the 80,000 sq. km Cauvery river basin, lies at the epicentre of a 150 year long inter-state dispute between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Today, the Cauvery delta is under increasing human and natural pressure. Both global and local change drivers with intensifying human activity, increasing climatic extremes, decreasing river flows from upstream, declining groundwater levels and sea-level rise, have put the delta and the …

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The Cauvery delta, located at the mouth of the 80,000 sq. km Cauvery river basin, lies at the epicentre of a 150 year long inter-state dispute between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Today, the Cauvery delta is under increasing human and natural pressure. Both global and local change drivers with intensifying human activity, increasing climatic extremes, decreasing river flows from upstream, declining groundwater levels and sea-level rise, have put the delta and the population it supports at increasing risk. If the tanks could be revived to boost recharge, then current declining trends in groundwater could be reversed. And unlike other parts of semi-arid India, the delta region, with an average annual rainfall of 1250 mm, does regularly experience floods during the North-East monsoon, which can be harvested and used.

Basin and/or Contextual Conditions: PHYSICAL: Groundwater management
Project Benefits: Long-term partnership(s) created
Indirect or Direct Beneficiaries: Local communities / domestic users
Months & Implementing: More than 3 years
Primary Funding Source: Pool funding (i.e., joint funding of several partners)
Challenges: RESOURCES: Insufficient data / Data access

Project Narrative

In the coming year, GSAs in basins designated by the state as Ònon-criticalÓ will be developing their GSPs. These plans, due in January 2022, will set forth pumping limits and identify projects to help rebalance groundwater use. SGMA requires the plans to address Òbeneficial users,Ó which include nature and Òdisadvantaged communities.Ó But many GSAs lack the capacity and/or expertise to address beneficial users without technical assistance. TNC has developed a number of tools and approaches that can help reduce the time and costs incurred by GSAs to comply with SGMA provisions to address nature and is working to give heightened voice to the drinking water challenges faced by disadvantaged communities. From summer 2020 through summer 2021, we will be providing technical assistance to help GSAs develop their plans. We will also review draft and final plans, providing comments to the local GSA and the state agency overseeing SGMA implementation, on how well GSAs addressed beneficial users Ð especially nature and drinking water for disadvantaged communities Ð in their plans. Meanwhile, GSAs in basins designated by the state as Òcritical,Ó which submitted plans in January 2020, will be implementing their plans. TNC has three projects underway to help agencies achieve sustainable groundwater management. They are: 1. Multi-benefit recharge: To increase groundwater supply, we are working with several GSAs in the Sacramento Valley to implement bird-friendly recharge practices, benefiting farmers through financial incentives, groundwater users through increased supply, and birds by providing seasonal habitat. 2. Strategic restoration: To help reduce groundwater demand, we are partnered with Pixley Irrigation District and Audubon California to develop a program that includes strategically retiring agricultural lands and restoring the lands to upland, arid habitat. By so doing, we will help Pixley ID reduce groundwater pumping, an action identified in their GSP. In addition, through restoration, we will be working to recover several dozen listed species that rely on arid habitat. 3. Groundwater market: Working with partners in Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, we are helping to launch the first groundwater market under SGMA. Pilot trading began last year and the next phase of the market should open in 2021. TNC will be trading in the market, as needed to stimulate the market and test market function. We will also be sharing lessons learned with other GSAs to help develop markets that work to prevent harm to, and possibly benefit, groundwater dependent plants and animals.

Partner Organizations


Purpose Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is a global non-profit organization that generates interdisciplinary knowledge to inform policy and practice towards conservation and sustainability. For over two decades, ATREE has worked on social-environmental issues from … Learn More

The Water Resilience Coalition, founded in 2020, is an industry-driven, CEO-led coalition of the UN Global Compact's CEO Water Mandate that aims to elevate global water stress to the top of the corporate agenda and preserve the world's freshwater resources … Learn More


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