Marathwada is a semi-arid region of the Indian state of Maharashtra known for cotton cultivation. It is one of India’s most climate-affected regions. According to government data, most parts of Marathwada receive less than half of the country’s average amount of rain each year. However, the average rainfall in recent years has already surpassed previous years’ records. The rapid accumulation of rain is causing concern. Soil erosion is more visible than it has ever been.
Groundwater is the lifeblood of Maharashtra’s agricultural districts, but climate change has altered the southwest monsoon rainfall pattern, influencing groundwater storage. Jalna, in the heart of Maharashtra, is one such agricultural district that has been impacted.
Rapid population growth in rural Jalna over the last three decades has resulted in an increase in water demand, inadvertently putting a strain on groundwater availability, especially given the unpredictability of the monsoon. More people means more demand for food and water (which drives agricultural demand), which goes beyond what is used to raise livestock. Despite Jalna’s reputation for droughts, the region has recently experienced above-average rainfall, with totals of >1000 mm rather than the usual <600 mm in a single calendar year. Despite an increase in average rainfall, the number of rainy days decreased during these two years. Crops are being harmed in the same way by heavy rainfall over shorter periods of time as they are by droughts.
Water runs off the fields and into the ditches along the edges when it rains. The extra rain that falls after the monsoon season cannot be used for irrigation because it does not add to the groundwater on its way to the Godavari basin and wears away the soil along the way. In 2020–21, WWF-India began a new way for the community to help recharge groundwater using Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). This was done in order to make better use of the limited available waterways. NBS’s philosophy is to use nature’s benefits to combat global warming and other pressing societal problems by improving natural ecosystems and increasing biodiversity. Local napier grasses and bamboo trees are being used to create Vegetative Barriers (VB) that slow the rate of water flow in these flood-prone areas as part of an effort to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. Groundwater levels can recover as velocity is reduced.
VB is a novel idea that WWF-India developed as part of the NBS. There was a lot of thought and research that went into deciding where to place the interventions. The WWF technical team and local researchers carefully designed and built this nature-based solution. They considered a wide range of weather conditions and topographical features, as well as the local community’s unique and important knowledge.
Planting four rows of Napier grass with a single row of bamboo down the center was the simple Jalna implementation. The communities then assisted in the spread of these plantations along the ditches adjacent to the farmlands. The distance between rows and between individual plants within a row were kept at 0.6 m and 0.3 m, respectively. First and foremost, it aids water retention by reducing water flow, allowing water to penetrate deeply and recharge the groundwater table. A bamboo plantation has been established along the stream’s banks to keep the water flowing freely from the agricultural catchment area. Even during heavy rains, these quickly growing grasses significantly reduce water flow in the drenches.
NBS harnesses the power of nature to improve natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being in order to address pressing social issues such as climate change. These solutions include a wide range of initiatives aimed at protecting, restoring, or managing landscapes, seascapes, watersheds, and urban areas to address issues such as food and water security, climate change, disaster risk, and human health.
