Ground water and Environment Management through Social and Scientific Approach, India

The growing urbanization, demographic growth and enhanced agricultural activities has led to the increased demand and consumption of ground water resources. Ground water being a hidden resource is often developed without proper understanding of its occurrence in time and space. The necessity of the hour is to retain and recharge ground water while judiciously using limited fresh water resources. If adequate steps are not done promptly, the country will face a crisis, resulting in the depletion of the water table and an increased risk of quality deterioration. Thus, ground water management on scientific lines is the key for sustainability of this vital resource. The two generally acceptable approaches towards groundwater management are the optimal yield and controlled over exploitation. The ground water management not only requires proper assessment of available resources and understanding of interconnection between surface and groundwater system, but also actions required for proper resource allocation and prevention of the adverse effects of uncontrolled development of ground water resources. Sustainable development and management of groundwater requires the strategies like Scientific Development of Ground water, Artificial Recharge of Groundwater, Regulation of groundwater Development Ensuring water for agriculture, Checking Contamination of Ground Water.

The path to groundwater management success is on understanding the social factors that motivate collaboration and the consequences for sustainability. Water users must coordinate with one another in order to achieve stable cooperation levels in the sustainable management of groundwater extractions. Examining the social aspects of excessive groundwater consumption provides a chance to explore the complexities of the behavioral and social aspects of water use. The factors that influence individual decisions to extract water cooperatively, the barriers that prevent collective action toward sustainable extraction, the perception of symmetric neighbors’ capacity to collect water, the competition for resource units, the interaction and responses to outside regulations, the development of autonomous rules and their integration into communities, and the dynamic of choice in the provision of public goods and personal preferences are some examples of these dimensions. In order to ensure the development and sustainable management of groundwater resources, planners and decision makers will need to evaluate a multipronged integrated approach that combines professional, technical, administrative, and legal steps with community participation. This will pave the way for laying a solid ecological foundation and guaranteeing sustainable management of groundwater resources.