This case study focuses on the Arghyam’s ‘Springs Initiative’: an open platform for discussing the revival of water springs and an overarching template for springshed management in India.

It highlights that India’s springs are vulnerable to extinction and current practices are inadequate to deal with springshed management. It is argued that better demand and supply-side management, greater institutional convergence, improved capacities, and an empowered community are key elements of a new paradigm in springshed management in India.

Arghyam, an India-based charitable trust, has been supporting several non-government organisation (NGO) partners in springshed management. Recently, Arghyam has catalysed a collaborative group of government and non-government organisations, donors, and academic institutions to take part in a ‘Springs Initiative’. The paper argues that, considering that there are some elements of commonality among springs, it is possible to envisage an overarching management template for springs and to make joint pitches for improved public policy and demarcated investments for springshed management in India.

[Adapted from source]