THE CHALLENGE OF WATER CONSERVATION
The challenge for water conservation is complex and urgent. It is imperative to believe in the ability to get tangible quickly, to hold both the individual needs and the big picture at once. This is what’s needed to change the system.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. A sustainable economy isn’t just going to happen. We’ve got to make it. That’s what drives us. I strive towards achieving local water security. Slowly, each of these local solutions will build together a larger hope for the city, state, and country. Individual action as a doer and inspiring larger communities for water conservation is what I really aspire to do. Rather than to sit back, analyse, and see our future crumbling down, building action on the ground is the way forward.
KALPANA RAMESH
Kalpana Ramesh, fondly called as ‘Water Warrior’ is an environmentalist advocating water conservation and restoration. A designer by profession and vexed with the cities’ dependency on water tankers, started working towards solving water woes by implementing rainwater harvesting in and across the city. She is also a lead for water initiative SAHE, Society for Advancement of Human Endeavors and drives initiatives like Save 10k bores and Live the lakes. She believes in Building communities for local decentralized action for water and works on replicable models with a city wide approach . She believes in working on a three part plan which includes communities ,corporates and the government for a sustainable water future.
Her current social start-up, “The Rainwater Project”, provides sustainable integrated water management solutions in public and private sectors, along with lake & well restoration and conservation.
She played an active role in the Hyderabad design forum (HDF)’s Stepwell documentation initiative. As a lead of Blue Hyderabad initiative’, in collaboration with various organizations, she worked on restoring the ‘dead’ KudiKunta lake. The quality of water, the environment of the lake vicinity have improved significantly, over three years.
In collaboration with the government, she worked on restoring collapsed drain networks around the lake, regaining possible catchments, and improving biodiversity. Besides working with researchers on Lake revival, she has also conducted various water – awareness workshops for students and corporate, reaching out to 6 million people.
Under Blue Hyderabad campaigns she identified significant traditional and irrigation wells that lost their context due to rapid urbanization.Restoring such traditional wells helps in connecting communities and spaces by reviving traditional water harvesting structures.
She is one of the seven women honored on women’s day to take over the Prime Minister’s social media handle for a cause. She received many recognitions with many prestigious awards like Water Heroes by Jal Ministry,SCSC awards,HMA Women entrepreneur of the year 2021 and Hysea award.
