The role of groundwater continues to gain importance on the global agenda. Global Groundwater Sustainability – A Call to Action – a statement calling for action to ensure that groundwater benefits society now and into the future – currently has over 1,200 signatories from 99 countries. This highlights the concern of a large number of groundwater scientists, practitioners and experts regarding the status of global groundwater resources, despite the increased attention. This will have significant repercussions on sustainability, as we all recognize the critical importance and human dependence on groundwater in building resilience to climate change and for water and food security across the globe. In 2022, the World Water Day campaign is led by the UN-Water Expert group on climate and water.

To make India a well-watered surplus country Union Government has started The ‘Namami Gange Programme’ which is an integrated conservation programme to mitigate water crisis in our country in 2014. It was approved as a flagship programme by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was founded for the conservation of river Ganga with five major objectives covering all the aspects of water conservation, management and mitigation.

In this context, Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, is taking this opportunity to take forward the initiatives that contributes to nation as capacity building.

AIES is organising a Five Days Activity Based Seminar Cum Training Programme in collaboration with National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), GOI, New Delhi, for interacting, enabling of information exchange and sharing experiences in the field of “Groundwater Crisis, Water Security and Fostering Resilience towards Climate Change”.

This will be an extensive event for a week with several activities, training and webinars every day. The event is focused to explores the linkages and the connection between the various aspects of groundwater crisis, water security and the associated disasters. The event also explores the management strategies in relation to climate change and building resilience for water crisis. There are several issues that need to address with immediate actions to minimize the impact due to water loss and poor management. The idea is that all the organizers, scientists, experts, and other stakeholders across the world and nation should come together for a better understanding and solving the problems of water crisis, management, climate change and disaster mitigation through the mass awareness, technical/technological, policy and legal perspectives and sustainable solutions. The main aim is to monitor and manage the groundwater and will focus on sustainable management and protection of groundwater quality to meet the needs of both human and ecological systems and to timely predict the associated disasters.

Objective of the Five Days Activity Based Seminar Cum Training Programme

The primary objective of the Five Days Activity Based Seminar Cum Training Programme is to provide opportunity for academicians, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and research scholars to share and discuss ideas and practices across a range of empirical, theoretical, practical, technical and applied approaches to deal with the water crisis, climate change and climate triggered disasters. The other objectives include the mass awareness and capacity building for the nation and to developing eco-youth brigade to create public awareness through various competitions like photography, nuked natak, paintings, debate, model making projects, surveys etc.

The expected learning outcomes are placed below:

1. Develop an understanding of water security and the water crisis in the country
2. Develop an understanding of water crisis in the country and the associated disasters
3. Identify the various water resources and the importance of groundwater for the survival of human beings
4. Explore how to use the knowledge and the research findings to address the problems of water crisis and climate change.
5. Identify opportunities and recent strategies for mitigating and managing the water bodies and to mitigate various natural disasters.
6. Gain actionable insights into the water conservation strategies and contributes to the building capacity for river conservation.
7. To promote formal training and education for river conservation, pollution monitoring and disaster management in India and in the region.
8. Understand the latest technology and tools to evaluate the impact of human activities on water resources, and established linkages between the climate change, disasters and water problems.
9. Develop and disseminate technologies and monitor and implement national policies for the Scientific and Sustainable development and management of India's Ground Water Resources.
10. Understand groundwater exploration, assessment, conservation, augmentation, protection from pollution and distribution, based on principles of economic and ecological efficiency and equity

Main Sessions:

1. Surface and Groundwater Assessment, monitoring, pollution, management, and remediation
2. Environmental and Socio-economic impacts and health implications of Surface and Groundwater scarcity, climate change and the natural disasters.
3. Effect of Climate Change on Groundwater, Water Related Disasters and Hydrological Changes
4. Sustainable and technical solutions for management of surface and ground water resources of the country.

Themes for the Five Days Activity Based Seminar Cum Training Programme

1. Surface and ground water resources: serious depletion and pollution problems and prevention
2. Groundwater and climate change adaptation process: solution for people to access safe water.
3. Biodiversity conservation and Ganga rejuvenation for sustainable use of surface water resources.
4. Monitoring and modelling of water pollution for emerging pollutants.
5. Groundwater contamination risk - protection zones and Irrigation water management under climate change
6. Environmental laws and governance for control of surface and groundwater pollution
7. Climate Change, adaptation and resilience, climate disaster risk management for water crisis.
8. Natural and climate induced disasters, problems, and repercussions
9. Disaster Risk Management, prevention, mitigation and preparedness, policies, and strategies for water conservation
10. Human activities (including population- and economic growth) and climate variability
11. Water and wastewater treatment and reuse to reduce impacts on ground and surface water.
12. Groundwater/surface water Modelling and Groundwater quality and quantity conflicts at the urban-rural interface
13. Entrepreneurship, gender & governance in Groundwater crisis, Water security and fostering resilience towards climate change
14. Water resources management and sustainability.
15. Water harvesting techniques ,Food security under climate change and their relation to agriculture.
16. Gender & governance for creating awareness through CSR, media, IPR etc
17. Threats to groundwater, such as overuse; salinity; nonpoint source pollution from agricultural activities, animal farming, ranching, and forestry activities

Target Audience

1. Policy makers & regulators
2. Academicians
3. Research Scholars
4. Industry Experts
5. Government organizations
6. NGO’s & Registered Societies/Trusts
7. Faculty & Practitioners in-
   • Environment Management
   • Disaster management
   • Psychology & post trauma doctors and nurses
   • Counselling
   • Social Work & activist
   • Health & safety
   • Law & governance
   • Technology & Engineering
   • Rehabilitation & Resettlement
   • Earth Sciences &
   • Food & Agricultural Security
   • Information Technology
   • Mass communication