Page 24 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2021-22
P. 24

Convening                                           Collaborating with partners



              ecological                                          on ecological initiatives

                                                                  As part of its effort to build water-resilient rural
              restoration                                         communities, Reliance Foundation has worked with the
                                                                  Paani Foundation since 2016 in Western Maharashtra,
                                                                  Vidarbha and Marathwada.
              initiatives                                         In FY21-22, these initiatives included an on-ground,

                                                                  day-long water and ecological security forum involving
                                                                  6,024 people from 778 villages across 39 taluks staged
                                                                  for the first time since the pandemic and involved
                                                                  trainings as well as discussions. Subsequently, people
                                                                  from across Maharashtra came together for one of
                                                                  India’s largest decentralised well census and well water
                                                                  measurement initiatives. The initiative, led by residents
              In FY21-22, Reliance Foundation undertook crop      from 734 villages recorded a total of 36,237 wells and
              surveys and planning for 93 crops across 600 villages.   24,395 borewells, involving 18,649 measurements
              Conducted major plantation drive on Independence    across 7,359 unique wells.
              Day, along with shramdaan from villagers planting
              2,50,000 saplings on the banks of water bodies.     Meanwhile, under the Paani Eco programme, farmers
                                                                  (particularly women) have been trained in value
              Reliance Foundation helped create four Miyawaki     addition and sustainable livelihoods.
              forests in the villages of Jaipur, Pimpri and Warud to
              accelerate ecological restoration through native plant
              species. A further 150,000 bamboo saplings and
              1,00,000 other saplings were planted across 39 talukas.
              With Reliance Foundation’s support, over 60 villages
              have built nurseries and a further 614 villages created
              protected grasslands.


              Raising ecological awareness









                                                                    A citizen-led
                                                                    water initiative in

                                                                    Kharwan, Uttarakhand


                                                                    The Kharwan Gram Panchayat in Uttarkashi is
                                                                    home to 110 families, who depend largely on hill
                                                                    farming and animal husbandry for their livelihood.
                                                                    The village was suffering from an acute water crisis,
                                                                    aggravated by damage to two key irrigation canals
                                                                    during construction.

                                                                    Reliance Foundation worked with the Gram
              On World Environment Day 2021, Reliance Foundation    Panchayat to mobilise the community for a major
              provided awareness for 13.8 lakh people from 19 states,   initiative to bring water back to Kharwan. 30 women
              on climate change adaptation. Two lakh saplings were   and youth volunteers from the village worked
              planted. In FY21-22, digital programme sessions were   relentlessly for 28 days to reconstruct the 1.5 km
              conducted for 2,000 students, educating them on the   long irrigation canal in the sweltering months
              threat of climate change using interactive modules.   of May-June 2021. Their inspiring effort helped
              Towards the Nationwide Clean India Drive, over        restore irrigation to the village, benefiting 85 local
              20,100 people from 544 villages were reached with     households. This is an inspirational example for
              initiatives around cleanliness, WASH and plastic waste   villages everywhere and shows the power of
              management. These enabled increased community         citizen-led initiatives, where residents take
              support for ecological conservation.                  ownership of water interventions.



           24    Reliance Foundation
   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29