Report of Workshop Understanding aquifer systems of Sunderbans- special emphasis on ASR using saline aquifers to improve farmers livelihood

Abstract

Groundwater Hydrology Division of National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee organized a workshop on “Understanding aquifer systems of Sunderbans- special emphasis on ASR using saline aquifers to improve farmers livelihood” on December 09, 2019 at Kolkata (Fig. 1) under IUKWC pump priming project in association with R. Prasari and BGS, UK. Indian Sunderbans comprises of 2 districts having 19 Community Development Blocks, 190 Gram Panchayats and 102 islands is the largest Gangetic delta in the Indian Subcontinent. It also habitat of 2.79 million people living in 48 habitable islands and more than 50% are dependent on agriculture and allied activities of whom 1 million are small and marginal farmers with less than 1 acre monocrop land for cultivation. The livelihoods of the rural population of the Sundarbans are precarious, freshwater aquifers are deep, expensive to exploit and suffering over-exploitation. Farmers use ponds, filled during the monsoon for dry season irrigation, but these have limited capacity. An Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) approach that utilises saline aquifers adds resilience to the water supply system, without the challenges inherent in the management of the freshwater aquifers. The approach may be applicable beyond the deltaic systems studied, for instance in areas of irrigation induced salinity or geogenically contaminated aquifers. In this workshop researchers, academicians and policy makers associated with Indian Sunderbans were invited to share their work experiences and vision for improvement of this region. The panel discussions were also held on the livelihood issues, soil and water conditions of Sunderbans and this workshop outcome are very much useful in development of some innovative techniques for management of soil and water of the region to improve the livelihood of the local inhabitants.