Reviving traditional water management systems to build resilience to drought in India

Over the past decade about one-third of India's districts have experienced more than four droughts​​. Even large cities like Delhi and Mumbai experience severe water cuts (the most recent in May-June 2024). In rural areas, droughts cause temporary migration, with the most severe effects being felt by the socio-economically marginalised sections of the rural population. With around 55% of the population relying on agriculture, droughts pose a challenge to both water and food security. Moreover, they have significant economic repercussions, with India's GDP reducing by an estimated 2-5% over the past two decades.

There are ongoing efforts to reduce drought risk in India by enhancing storage capacity through new reservoirs, lift projects for domestic and irrigation use, and improved water management practices. However, challenges such as fluctuating seasonal water availability, governance and other socio-cultural issues impact their effectiveness. Traditional water management systems such as tank cascade systems in Telangana (Cheruvulu), traditional springs (Naula), step wells (Baoli) and village ponds (Pokkali) have evolved over centuries to address the diverse climatic, geographic, and socio-economic conditions across the Indian subcontinent. Recent research recognises the value of traditional water management systems and provides evidence on the increase in water access they bring locally. These systems are being revived in some rural areas with the support of local NGOs but there is a limited reach of these initiatives. The revival of decentralised traditional water management systems and their integration into wider centralised water management systems has a high untapped potential to improve overall system resilience by helping diversify water sources. However, there is a need to demonstrate how these two different scales and approaches to water management can be harmonised at the planning and operation stages, and understand the enablers and barriers to maximise synergies in each specific context.

This contribution will present the findings of interviews and participatory workshops with water managers and local communities in Telangana and Uttarakhand states, complemented with a literature review. The findings identify specific challenges related to drought management, the interface between existing centralised and traditional water management systems, and governance. Effective hybrid centralised-traditional water management systems are proposed as a multi-scale system solution to overcome these challenges. This research contributes to improve drought management practices, enhancing community resilience and contributing to sustainable water resource management in the study areas, with potential transferrable learnings for other regions.