vue - Achieving Sustainable Water, Energy and Agriculture in Gujarat, India

For decades farmers in North Gujarat, India have been tapping the region's groundwater at unsustainable rates. Water tables have fallen precipitously during this time and local aquifers at now at risk of collapse. Unfortunately, the government has also supported this overuse by providing cheap electricity to farmers to power groundwater pumps. Today, securing enough water for crops has become difficult for many farmers and a financial burden on the state. In 2008, PepsiCo Foundation provided a six million dollar grant to the Columbia Water Center, part of the Earth Institute, to initiate a joint pilot project to address the water-energy crisis in Gujarat. This video introduces the project, and features interviews with Upmanu Lall, Director of the Columbia Water Center and Vijay Modi, Director of the Modi Research Group. For more information: Gujarat, India at the Columbia Water Center http://water.columbia.edu/research-projects/india/gujarat-india/ Upmanu Lall http://www.columbia.edu/~ula2/ Vijay Modi http://modi.mech.columbia.edu/about/vijay-modi/ The Earth Institute http://www.earth.columbia.edu/