Masterclass Series #8: Participatory Governance around Groundwater Resource

Masterclass Series #8: Participatory Governance around Groundwater Resources | Dr. Debashish Sen & Dr. Anil Gautam Groundwater sustains millions of livelihoods across India, yet its management remains one of our most pressing community challenges. In this eighth session of the RRA Network Masterclass Series, Dr. Debashish Sen (Director, Peoples Science Institute) and Dr. Anil Gautam (Head, Environmental Quality Monitoring Group, PSI) unpack why conventional, source-centric groundwater management is falling short — and how participatory, community-led governance offers a more sustainable path forward. In this session, we cover: 🔹 Key gaps in current groundwater governance from unregulated extraction and source-centric management to the missing link between "development" and true sustainability. 🔹 Why groundwater must be treated as a common pool resource, not a private one 🔹 The building blocks of Participatory Groundwater Management (PGWM): community awareness, water user groups, capacity building, community-based monitoring, and convergence with government systems 🔹 Case Study 1 — Thanakasoga, Himachal Pradesh: Reviving declining springs through recharge area protection, trenching, and plantation 🔹 Case Study 2 — Ranipura, Madhya Pradesh: Managing overexploited dug wells through aquifer characterization, water budgeting, and Farmer Interest Groups 🔹 Case Study 3 — Dhar, Madhya Pradesh: Tackling severe fluoride contamination by tapping safe water sources and community-led water sharing 🔹 Ground-level reflections from community members Kamal, Roshan, Indu, and Diksha, who have directly driven these interventions 🔹 An open Q&A where we discussed on health impacts of fluoride, forest department land challenges, convergence with the Jal Jeevan Mission, and the way forward for rainfed and neglected regions 📌 A must-watch for practitioners, community mobilizers, and organizations working on natural resource management and water security. 🎓 Organized by RRA Network | Speakers: Dr. Debashish Sen & Dr. Anil Gautam, Peoples Science Institute (PSI)