ATREE News

India is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. But solving India’s water crisis will require us to take a hard look at how we collect and use data in the water sector. Currently, water sector practitioners lie at one of two ends of the spectrum: they either present numbers without narratives or narratives without numbers. What we really need are data-based stories and tools that help create them.

At the annual United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, the first-ever" Water for Climate pavilion highlighted how closely aligned climate and water policies are. The goal was to push world leaders to prioritise building climate-resilient water infrastructure and services. This is particularly salient in countries like India, where green-field urban growth is just beginning.

Expressing the need for the award, founder and president of ATREE, Kamaljit Bawa said, "Our environmental challenges are complex. We need environmental leaders that can bring together knowledge from different disciplines and apply this knowledge upstream for policy change and downstream for transformative action on the ground. The TN Khoshoo award is a platform that aptly encourages and empowers diverse conservation stakeholders to further their outstanding work in conservation and sustainability."

Sanju Soman, 29, began his career popularising rainwater harvesting. More recently, Soman created the first model ‘wetland village’ along with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. He roped in the local community to conserve the Vembanad lake and helped promote sustainable fishing and clam collection. The lake, a Ramsar site, has been threatened by increasing tourism, agricultural runoff, and the reclamation of agricultural land. “Community-led participatory conservation is the best way to protect critical ecosystems,” says Soman. “The scientific community and governments have to just provide the necessary tools.”