Most conversations on agriculture focus on climate change, erratic rainfall, and the impact these have on crops. But we often overlook the very base of farming — the soil.
A Better Tomorrow
Stories, Practices, and Solutions
Drawing from work with smallholder farmers—from Kumbharwadi in Maharashtra to Madaul in Odisha—WOTR has contributed key experiences, insights, and evidence to the Stories of Resilience 2025, a publication launched by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.
How can smallholders farm fish while safeguarding their local ecosystems? One promising answer lies in farm ponds.
Making every drop count in Maharashtra’s rainshadow.
Integrated Farming Systems treat the farm not as isolated parts, but as a living ecosystem. Water harvesting, crops, trees, livestock, and fisheries are designed to support each other.
WOTR has helped build lasting water conservation structures, strengthened local governance, and empowered communities in 70 villages to manage their natural resources more sustainably.
This article explores villages where watershed management, conservation, and community participation have shaped a new model of sustainable development.
On International Day for Biological Diversity 2025, discover how the Learn-Unlearn-Relearn framework is a powerful pathway to achieve sustainable development.
The idea that pollution increases early in development but later decreases as countries get richer and adopt cleaner technologies—as suggested by the Environmental Kuznets Curve—doesn’t hold in reality, where the damage is often lasting and hard to reverse.
As Earth Day 2025 prompts global reflection on sustainability, biodiversity, and climate action, it is an opportunity to examine the intersections between environmental conservation and development in India.
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Read how ecohydrology provides the scientific foundation needed to link ecosystem restoration with reliable water outcomes.
Depleted soil is quietly reducing the nutrients in our food, driving hidden hunger despite full plates and rising food production.
Trees Transform Nallavelly village as 10,000 saplings revive barren drylands through community action, scientific planning, and sustainable rural afforestation.
Pashu Sakhi initiative empowers rural women as para-vets, improving livestock health, boosting incomes, and strengthening climate-resilient rural livelihoods.
A socio-technical watershed approach helped communities restore ecosystems, strengthen institutions and secure livelihoods, creating resilience that has endured for generations.
The Rabi Jal Pehal project brought trained Pashusakhis to Agarbatti’s doorstep, offering affordable livestock care and practical guidance.
Explore the golden beauty of Chhattisgarh’s harvest, where tradition meets modern science in the vibrant fields of India’s rice bowl.
Read how the results of community-led watershed development remain evident even after 25 years in the rain-shadow area of Maharashtra.