As part of the SEEED Accelerator, HPNET launched the SEEED cohort for the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween River Basins, in partnership with International Rivers, to advance community-scale hydropower in the region. 

​With support from TROSA and funding from the Government of Sweden and WISIONS, the SEEED cohort engaged in capacity building, multi-actor dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, including through a two-day virtual exchange event. 

​You can find video recordings, session summaries, presentation slides, and other event resources at this link!

While small-scale hydropower or hydro mini-grids is a viable solution energy access, its innate characteristics generate co-benefits, including increased local socio-economic resilience and increased climate resilience of the water-energy-livelihoods nexus. 

​International donor support for rural development (including electrification) in the global South is often implemented in close partnership with national governments.  However, increasingly national governments are the cause of dire conflict situations, involving human rights abuses, mass casualties, and socio-economic fallout from constant violence and lack of safety of civilians.  

IMPORTANCE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
​
International development partners can better integrate political economy analyses into the design of their programs.  For example, in the case of Myanmar prior to the 2021 coup the country had faced government takeover by the national military thrice since its national independence from the British in 1948.  While the closely monitored 2015 elections were democratic, the NLD government’s victory was a pseudo-democracy since the advantages granted by the country’s constitution to the Myanmar military dictatorship had not changed with the election.

​In spite of the obvious history of national military rule and its restraint on the civilian government, many international multilateral financiers and bi-lateral donors that entered the country after 2013 chose the fledgling national government as their primary client.  The repercussions of this decision are the missed opportunities to strategically use development initiatives as a tool to empower civilians and weaken the junta. Had the country’s political economy been accounted for by international development partners, a looming coup would have been anticipated, and the primary recipients of international support would have been local and non-government actors.  However, doing so would have required international partners to revamp their approaches to build trust with local practitioners.

The situation is similar in Cameroon and Ethiopia, where the conflicts are also rooted within national governments.   When governments begin to commit human rights violations, their international development partners can only simply cut ties with the government, having no institutional leverage to negotiate on behalf of ethnic and marginalized civilians.  However, hindsight analyses can help donors integrate the realities of local and national political economy into future scoping missions and program designs.

RESILIENCE OF LOCAL AND NON-GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDERS

​As the need for rural development has become greater with the pandemic and the humanitarian situations, international donors now seek non-government partners to deploy aid and support in countries of conflict.  However, such a noble approach comes too late -- local non-government actors are forced to focus on maintaining basic safety (ironically from violence caused by the same national governments that were supported by international donors) and economic stability.  

Yet local civil society organizations (CSOs) and local private enterprises continue to be resilient in the face of the conflict.  In Myanmar local CSOs have pooled together to provide aid to ethnic regions destroyed by the national military, micro hydro communities continue to build climate and economic resilience in a devastated economy, and local private sector actors have forged ahead with their promises to electrify communities. In Cameroon and Ethiopia government censorship has prevented access to understanding the plight of impacted rural communities, but it is clear that activists living in the conflict regions are frontline changemakers.

While it will be difficult for international aid to support the frontline during conflict, it is still valuable to conduct a hindsight analysis on what alternatives to government partnerships could have been more strategic from a political economy perspective.  From the energy access and local practitioner aspects of rural development, we offer the following hindsight.

MITIGATING INTERNAL BIASES
​
The staff and consultants of international development organizations come with their own biases, based on their professional journeys.  The biases prevent them from fully understanding the political economy aspects of energy access.  For example, they may be more open to a practitioner that is an English-versed extrovert with less experience and not from the local region, than an English-challenged introvert who has an extensive track record and is based locally.  They may chastise the crude appearance of locally developed technology without understanding the constraints it was built under nor the value of the local social capital that resulted.  The presence of such biases during the scoping of a mission and during every engagement between international and local, non-government stakeholders impedes trust-building.  The biases can be countered by acknowledging them and taking support from bridge-building facilitators who can strategize around the strengths, weaknesses, and incentives of the differing international donor, government, and non-government contexts.

TWO-WAY, RESULTS BASED CAPACITY BUILDING 

Local capacity building is a vital aspect of any development initiative to sustain itself post-implementation.  However, often the approach used by international development partners are not results-based, outcome-oriented, nor linked to implementation.  At times the specific need for knowledge building is not addressed because the international development partner has not taken initiative, effort, and/or lacks skill to understand the local context, and relies only on what its consultants can offer.  Trainers fly in for some days without having ample time to build understanding prior to the training event and follow up after.  Participant selection does not prioritize local practitioners; and when it does the targeted actors do not want to attend due to lack of trust and assurance of the training meeting their needs.  

Such pitfalls can be addressed with two-way learning between international and local stakeholders, where capacity building includes international actors learning from local practitioners.  In this way local knowledge is valued as much as international knowhow, i.e. local trainers are paid as much as international trainers.  Valuing local expertise is a robust and efficient way to build trust with local stakeholders, which also helps to develop customized, impact-based interventions. Scaled micro hydro contexts embraced two-way learning.  For example, Swiss trainers in Nepal in the early 1990s designed technical capacity building after understanding existing manufacturing skills and facilities, EnDev Indonesia’s management spent weeks in the field to understand the existing situation before iterating their program, and HPNET’s work in Myanmar started with a scoping mission led by local organizations involving foreign partners, and created space for two-way learning with international development organizations.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND?
​
As international development partners exit conflict stricken countries, the media’s attention fades, and funding priorities shift, the dire situations on the ground continue to worsen.  The progress of taxpayer-funded, international development interventions is unraveled.  Some donors stay on but must abide by the oppressive regimes’ rules, including not spotlighting the humanitarian crises and not holding the regime responsible.  While addressing post-conflict downstream impact (e.g. refugee crises) is critical, more must be done to integrate political economy analyses and the strengthening of local, non-government entities in development and aid interventions. 

In spite of a long-awaited and victorious democratic election in 2015 in Myanmar, the National League for Democracy (NLD) government fell to the country's third and most devastating military takeover on Feb. 1, 2021.  Since then, over 1200 civilians including women and children have been killed by the military, and over 7000 peaceful protestors have been indefinitely detained, in prisons infamous for torture.  Prior to the coup, the military government has for decades inflicted horrid violence in indigenous regions, including the genocide waged against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017 that triggered 740,000 survivors to flee by foot to refugee camps in Bangladesh. 

Connecting with and supporting renewable energy practitioners in Myanmar amidst the dismal humanitarian situation, we are observing glimpses of resilience in the continued efforts of local mini-grid communities, developers, and civil society organizations (CSOs) -- as listed below.  [Names and locations have purposely been omitted for safety.]​

Considering that the post-coup context makes it difficult for international aid and development agencies to continue in Myanmar, it’s clear that robust rural development requires local actors at the forefront.

In the Asia Pacific and Africa political conflict this year has significantly impacted micro hydro regions.  We have been tracking situations in Myanmar, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, in order to understand the impact of conflict on rural development efforts and vice versa.

​Read more: Hindsight: Micro Hydro in Regions of Conflict

In Cameroon, located on the Gulf of Guinea in Central Africa, local pico and micro hydro practitioners had been making steady progress.  Unfortunately, the devastating conflict has brought the progress to a complete halt.  The region has become inaccessible without severe risk of safety.

Two violent conflicts are plaguing the country.  In addition to a reinvigorated Boko Haram insurgency, the ‘Anglophone Crisis’ has been ongoing since 2016, when peaceful protests were met with brutal government suppression that escalated into armed conflict.  Initially, Anglophone protestors demanded reforms related to the use of French in schools and courtrooms in English-speaking regions.  By September of 2017, freedom fighters were demanding full independence.  Since the 2018 Presidential election, the 2020 Parliamentary election, and through 2021, ethno-political tensions have been further heightened and amplified on social media. 

Because the situation has received sparse media attention, we would like to highlight key points voiced by the diaspora.

OPEN SPACE FACILITATION

​The half-day online event will utilize Open Space Technology (OST) facilitation.  OST as defined by leading facilitator Chris Corrigan is:

• A simple, powerful way to catalyze effective working conversations and truly inviting organizations — to thrive in times of swirling change.
• A methodological tool that enables self-organizing groups of all sizes to deal with hugely complex issues in a very short period of time.
• A powerful group process that supports positive transformation in organizations, increases productivity, inspires creative solutions, improves communication and enhances collaboration.
• The most effective process for organizations and communities to identify critical issues, voice to their passions and concerns, learn from each other, and, when appropriate, take collective responsibility for finding solutions.  

Four Principles and One Law
​
Open Space operates under four principles and one law.  The four principles are:

1.  Whoever comes are the right people.
2.  Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
3.  When it starts is the right time.
4.  When it's over it's over.

The Law is known as the Law of Two Feet:  "If you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or learning, move somewhere where you can."  ​The four principles and the law work to create a powerful event motivated by the passion and bounded by the responsibility of the participants. 

Day 2 is designed to utilize OST facilitation to catalyze dialogue on the theme of solutions for advancing community-scale hydropower for the climate and economic resilience in the GBMS basins.

Opening Session
12:30 - 1 PM IST, Welcome & Overview

The half-day event will commence with opening remarks, introductions, and event overview.​

• Welcome and Participant Intros, Nalori Chakma, International Rivers
• Overview of Community Hydro in GBMS Regions, "How We Got Here", and OST Orientation, Dipti Vaghela, Hydro Empowerment Network

Creating Open Space
1 - 1:30 PM IST, Open Space Technology (OST) Setup

The event will move into establishing the key components of OST.

• Collaborative Agenda Setting
• Short break
• ​Marketplace Wall

Multi-Actor Dialogue - Round 1
1:30 - 2:45 PM IST, Open Space Round 1 

Using the OST principles, the 1st round of participant-led interactive dialogue will take place.

• Convene Round 1
• ​Report Back 

Join us for a virtual exchange event to advance small-scale hydropower (< 1MW) for climate and economic resilience! ​

DAY 1:  PRACTITIONER EXCHANGE
DATE:  TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
TIME*:  12:30 - 5:00 PM INDIA STANDARD TIME (IST) / 7:00-11:30 AM (UTC)
REGISTER HERE
*You can use this time conversion table to convert from IST to your time.

HPNET is excited to host a virtual exchange event from 21-22 September, 2021, in partnership with International Rivers, supported by TROSA, funded by the Government of Sweden and WISIONS.  Read more about our partnership with International Rivers here.

Day 1 provides an opportunity to hear from locally-rooted practitioners who work directly with micro hydro communities across the Asia Pacific.  As shown in the agenda below, the half-day event is divided into two parts, each consisting of two parallel sessions.  Each session will include a 20-30 minute Q&A period, during which participants are encouraged to ask questions.  Our flexible platform will enable participants to move between parallel sessions, should they choose to do so.  If you haven't already registered, be sure to do so at the link above.

​The following agenda details the timing, topics, panelists and moderators for Day 1.

Closing Session, 4:30 - 5 PM IST
Summary and Ways Forward
​​
To conclude the day, event organizers will summarize the day's events and highlight points of interest.  Participants will be advised of relevant, upcoming events and activities to stay tuned for. 

​IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Event Summary & Recordings

Missed the event?  You can find video recordings, session summaries, presentation slides, and other event resources at this link!

The river basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers are endowed with rich natural resources, exceptional biodiversity, and vibrant indigenous cultures.  Yet social and environmental well-being continue to be undermined by large hydro development, as decision makers seek economic prosperity and economic recovery, in the stark context of a global pandemic. 

However, community-scale hydropower offers an alternative path that provides modern energy services, while strengthening the local social, economic, and ecological resources of this unique region.  The region is fortunate to have experienced local practitioners who have been advancing pico hydropower as a nature-based, community-centric solution for clean and sustainable energy access.

​HPNET has engaged with local practitioners in the region since 2013, in partnership with International Rivers, Nagaland Empowerment of People thru Energy Development (NEPeD), and the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA), and the Meghalaya State Council for Science and Technology for different activities.   We have mapped stakeholders, visited sites, and held dialogues on opportunities, challenges, and regional best practices, based on a 4-step approach to knowledge exchange.   Since 2019 the approach has been refined into a knowledge-to-impact initiative called Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED).  SEEED is based on 40-years of experiential hindsight in the global South on what makes community hydro systems sustainable and deliver optimal results.  The SEEED Accelerator was launched this quarter, enabling practitioners to customize proven sustainability mechanisms to local contexts, unlocking their potential to generate climate resilient socio-economic co-benefits.

Cohort Capacity Building
​
The GBMS SEEED cohort kicked off earlier this month with a 3-day virtual capacity building event, offering technical capacity building for small-scale hydro practitioners working directly with communities in the GBMS regions (i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal or Thailand).  The course was conducted by Mr. Ramasubramanian (a.k.a Rams) Vaidhyanathan, focusing on site assessment and the basics of system design for systems < 10 kW.  Days 1 and 3 were conducted online, and Day 2 included optional field assessment work.  The group of 20+ participants are continuing to solidify their understanding of key topics while also learning about each other’s work through group emails facilitated by Rams.  Remaining committed to field-based practitioners, the HPNET Secretariat will continue to facilitate learning exchange among the cohort beyond the HPNET - Intl Rivers partnership period.

Customized Individual Coaching
​
All participants who completed the 3-day group training have been invited to receive follow-up, customized capacity building.  This allows helping to resolve each participant’s specific technical issues in their ongoing initiatives and to improve their technical processes to prevent issues.   This type of support is important for both advanced practitioners (e.g. NE India practitioners scaling up their work to hundreds of implementations this year), as well as beginning level practitioners (e.g. civil society organizations in Myanmar who are conducting their very first feasibility studies).  It is also an opportunity for the HPNET Secretariat to continue refining its approach to the SEEED Accelerator, better responding to and strategizing context-specific needs for future cohorts.

​Peer-to-Peer Exchange Event

An exchange event will be held on 21-22 September, 2021.  Building upon exchanges conducted in 2016, 2018, and 2019,  this 2-day virtual event aims to provide opportunities for South-South, peer-to-peer exchange and multi-stakeholder dialogue.  Day 1 will focus on sharing from field-based practitioners from across the Asia Pacific, while Day 2 will focus on multi-stakeholder dialogue on country and state specific challenges and opportunities in the GBMS regions.  See here for details on how to participate!  

Decades of civil war have hindered energy infrastructure development in Afghanistan, particularly in rural regions, where 74% of the country’s population resides. Yet, more than 5000 hydro mini-grids were installed in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2015, vastly expanding rural energy access. The majority of these systems are community-owned and -managed, many are self-financed, and nearly all utilize local technology. (For a detailed overview of renewable energy potential and community-based projects in Afghanistan, see this presentation by HPNET member, Sultan Javid.) 

​Over time, micro hydro manufacturing capacity has developed in many regions of Afghanistan, thanks to the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs and the contributions of organizations like HPNET member Remote HydroLight (RHL). Through training and technical support, RHL supported communities seeking to manufacture, install and maintain turbines and electric load controllers (ELCs), from 2006 until 2013. RHL and the International Assistance Mission, which RHL’s founders were involved with prior, supported the installation of about 400 hydro mini-grids in total. 

​Reliable, locally manufactured technology is a foundational element of hydro mini-grid sustainability and community empowerment. For this reason, local technical capacity is prioritized in our SEEED initiative, which supports practitioners and communities to transition toward long-lived hydro mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise. By supporting technical capacity-building, practitioners like RHL can support local actors to achieve sustainable hydro mini-grids and lasting community empowerment. Indeed, although RHL discontinued activities in-country in 2013, many systems that were supported by RHL are still in operation after over a decade, thanks to RHL’s efforts to build the capacity and technical know-how of local workshops.

International donors are also stepping up to support the sustainability of small-scale hydropower in Afghanistan. This year, Skat Consulting Ltd. is collaborating with GIZ to assess 400-500 projects for rehabilitation. Assessment will focus on technical aspects, as well as productive end use, which is another critical element of mini-grid sustainability. Read on to hear more about the initiative from Skat consultant and HPNET BoA Member, Dr. Hedi Feibel.

The GIZ Energy Sector Improvement Program (ESIP) in Afghanistan, under its four objectives, supports: 

1. the improvement of the regulatory framework for renewable energies (RE) and energy efficiency (EE); 
2. vocational training and university education; 
3. the establishment of service agreements for private owners of RE systems and finally; 
4. rural electrification of micro and small enterprises (MSE) in the productive use of renewable energy. 

Under the fourth component, an “RE survey tool” has been developed to assess the current situation in the three provinces of Badakhshan, Takhar and Bamyan with regard to their RE supply and possible improvement, in particular for enterprises and their productive use of energy. The tool is an excel file which is filled with data and information collected by the local team of more than 30 experts of a joint venture between VOLTAF and SH Consultants. Before and during the survey, the local team is supported and guided by the mini hydro experts of Skat Consulting Ltd. and a solar expert of intec-gopa. The international consultants mainly act as external data evaluators, quality assurers and technical solution advisers on data collected from the national team during the survey.

​During the tough winter months, the team started the survey and provided valuable data, information and photos. 

The collected information will be condensed in various types of “fact sheets” (e.g. district fact sheets, MHP fact sheets, etc.) to finally assess, evaluate and select energy systems to be rehabilitated (MHP systems) or newly installed (solar PV systems), to increase income generation in MSEs that guarantee cost-covering operation of the RE systems in rural areas. The approximately 400-500 MHP fact sheets will summarise the technical and managerial status of the schemes to quickly assess the potential for improvement.

Guest blog post written by HPNET Board of Advisors member Hedi Feibel, PhD, of Skat Consulting Ltd., with introduction inputs from Owen Schumacher of Remote HydroLight.

Based on regional hindsight and best practices from local practitioners, we have identified several core elements that enable hydro mini-grid sustainability; these interlinking elements provide the basis for our initiative Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED).  Sustainable watersheds are the foundational element of SEEED because hydro mini-grids rely on, and can contribute to, the health of forest landscapes.

Healthy forested watersheds support consistent flow year-round, mitigate erosion and landslides, and contribute to climate resilience.  Small-scale hydropower can incentivize communities to tap into and revive traditional ecological knowledge, in order to protect and restore watersheds and enable reliable energy access.  (See our Earth Voices feature series for examples of indigenous communities that are harnessing the interconnected benefits of watershed restoration and small-scale hydro.)

To better understand best practices for integrating watershed restoration and community hydropower, we look to insights from Nicaragua.  In the video presentation provided below, we had the privilege to present the exemplary work of the Rural Development Workers Association Benjamin Linder (or ATDER-BL) and the Association for the Development of Electrical Service in Bocay (or APRODELBO).  ATDER-BL and APRODELBO have been advancing rural energy access in Nicaragua since 1987, while restoring many acres of watersheds in partnership with local communities.

   

​We hope that the presentation will inform and inspire watershed restoration efforts among practitioners, elsewhere.

Presentation developed by ATDER-BL, APRODELBO and HPNET 
Presented by HPNET Secretariat member Jorge Nieto Jiménez

For nearly three decades, Yamog Renewable Energy Development Group Inc. has been advancing clean energy solutions to improve socio-economic and environmental well-being in rural Mindanao, Philippines. Yamog’s holistic approach prioritizes local capacity building, watershed restoration and sustainable development—resulting in sustainable projects with high value-add that illustrate the wide-reaching potential of community-based, small-scale hydropower.

Keep up to date on Yamog’s impactful work by liking their Facebook page where they frequently post insightful and inspiring updates. A quick scroll reveals just how active the organization is — leading watershed resource mapping, facilitating workshops to build local technical capacity, supporting women-led enterprises, and so much more. Be sure to hit the ‘like’ button and show your support for Yamog’s dedicated efforts to advance sustainable, community-led development.

Our Hidden No More series features women micro hydro practitioners who have transformed gender barriers to generate energy access for marginalized communities.

But you really cannot ignore the environmental impact of oil and gas extraction. I got to witness firsthand how damaging drilling is to the environment. Even though I appreciated the opportunity to travel and work with a diverse group of people, I realized pretty quickly that oil and gas wasn’t for me.​

I then found myself in Somaliland in the Horn of Africa where I  was a volunteer teacher at a school. The school was putting up a 20kW wind turbine, the first one in the country. I supported the first phase of the project - putting in the foundation for the turbine- my first experience with renewable energy. ​

​I realized that I could still utilize my engineering background and work in international development. That was really how I came to learn about the energy access world. Wanting to get more experience with renewable energy systems, I spent a summer with my first micro-hydro project in Malaysia - supported by a then professor at the Masdar Institute (now my co-founder and colleague). When my time in Somaliland ended, I joined the Masdar Institute as a graduate researcher to continue working on community energy systems. 

What was your research focused on at Masdar Institute?

My work at the Institute was focused on understanding the links between community development and mini-grid systems, and how you could design engineering systems differently to incorporate community development objectives. I felt like I had spent enough time studying the engineering side of things, I wanted to get creative and merge all these learnings from other non-engineering fields into engineering systems. Using the tools that we know in engineering systems and architecture, and incorporating methodologies from social sciences and anthropology. The idea was simple and definitely not new, if you looked at a system and expanded the boundaries to include all the non-engineering aspects of it, you would get a much more comprehensive system. The challenge was translating those aspects into engineering requirements that don’t dismiss the people factor.

Tell us about why you established Energy Action Partners (ENACT). 
​
By the end of my time at Masdar, I was committed to the work that I was doing with community energy and wanted to take The Minigrid Game further and build it out. In 2014, with my graduate advisor and another colleague who has since left, we co-founded Energy Action Partners. In Energy Action Partners’ early days, we continued with the work we had been doing around community energy systems with The Minigrid Game, and short field-based courses for students and young professionals on energy access, community development, and social entrepreneurship. These early programs gave us the opportunity to partner with other organizations, while building up The Minigrid Game. Fast forward 6 years later, The Minigrid Game is now COMET - Community Energy Toolkit, and is very much our core program. COMET is a software tool that simulates a mini-grid system. It’s used in field-based mini-grid planning workshops to inform and engage communities through meaningful collaboration. Among other things, COMET helps communities and developers make better decisions around system sizing, tariff-setting, and demand-side management.

After receiving funding from Wuppertal Institute’s WISIONS, which enabled us to conduct our first Minigrid Game (now COMET) community deployments in 2017, we started seeing interest in COMET from other organizations. Last year, we received funding from Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst, which gave us the support we needed to take the software tool to the next level and turn it into COMET, a robust community-driven demand exploration tool for mini-grids. With our team working from home this past year, we’ve had the time to develop new features and rethink our plan to grow COMET. 

What's ENACT's approach to community engagement? 
​
Our approach is based on our values as an organization, heavily inspired by the Human Capability Approach from Amartya Sen. To us, community development is 1) defined by the community and not by anybody else, and 2) a set of capabilities and opportunities that communities want for themselves. Development should always be defined by the communities and not by an external entity telling them what development should look like. Our values guide us to develop micro-grid systems that meet those desired opportunities. If a community, for example, says that their set of capabilities includes wanting to be more politically active and to access more education, then the micro-grid system should enable that. It should enable television, telecommunication services, internet and all that they need so they can further their intended capabilities. And everything else may become secondary - if a system doesn’t run reliably 24/7 but still fulfils the community’s objectives and goals then that to us is still a success. Essentially, we define the objective of a system slightly differently than how others may view things, where it’s about making sure that the electricity system runs the way it was designed. I mean that’s definitely a positive, but what’s more important is the community actually achieves what they wanted to in the first place. That is key to our approach and values, and what we want to achieve.

What were the gaps in community engagement 10 years ago and how have those evolved over the decade? 

Conventional methods involve finding a community and asking them about their needs. The question of trying to find out what they need is challenging, and depending on how you ask and who is asking, you can get very different results. For example, a conventional method for demand estimation is you engage with the community and conduct household energy audits, but as many of us in the sector acknowledge, this doesn’t always work. Demand estimation has been a tough nut to crack in mini-grid development. For off-grid communities, surveys and questionnaires don’t always make sense. Questions around what are you going to do with electricity and what things you want are very difficult questions to answer; they’re related to so many different things like income, who lives in the house, my kids are going to grow and what are they going to do, so all these questions are really difficult for people to answer directly. Some might think it’s overcomplicating the issue because electricity provision involves a technical question that can be answered with a technical solution, and that you are just trying to answer some questions with numbers; but when you are talking about electricity use, it’s about people’s behaviour, it’s not just about numbers. 

I think unless you have a very strong relationship with the community where you really understand what they need and what they could potentially evolve into, you are more than likely to get the wrong answers to those very technical questions. At the same time, it is really hard for organizations to spend a lot of time and build that trust and relationship with the community. So these are some of the gaps I observed and wanted to work with. 

There has to be some kind of process that would make it a meaningful exchange. That’s why I started looking at the field of anthropology and social science, and how they approach a community to obtain objective information. It also cannot be a one-way, extractive exchange because communities are going to receive this big piece of technology, so they are going to have to learn things, and change, and build their own capacities to manage and operate. So, it has to be a two-way exchange. The one-way process was part of the community engagement that practitioners or project developers conventionally do where they collect information and think in exchange, they will give the community electricity and that would be sufficient, but it’s not.

The community really has to engage with the process as well and from the very beginning. To me, it’s a no-brainer because you get a better designed system! If engaged, people are better able to tell you what they need, what they will do with the electricity, and they are more invested in it, which leads to a higher success rate. Also 10 years ago, we saw more abandoned systems because it was so easy to fall short on the design and mis-appropriately size the system. I think now because of technological advances, we’re getting better at it and there are more options available for electrification, but it is still very much through technology and not through a people-driven process.

Could you tell me a bit more about the gaps in energy access practices locally and internationally, and the shortcomings of traditional approaches?

I think the gaps and the shortcomings are the same both locally and internationally. Everybody recognizes community engagement is very important, very key, but I don’t think we invest enough in processes to do it robustly. There has been very little investment going into developing and researching new approaches to the community engagement side of mini-grid development. So far, we have seen research institutes and universities come up with frameworks or a process. But framework and processes are, while they provide useful learning and outcomes, still not easy enough to scale up and deploy. And that's why as an organization, we decided to develop a tool for community engagement, focusing on demand exploration for mini-grid developers. 

There needs to be more effort into looking at community engagement and the opportunities, and asking ourselves how do we solve problems and gaps? We need to go further than the just fulfilling project requirements for community engagement. So far, community engagement has become the catch all phrase for any kind of engagement process but we know that there are different levels and outcomes to engagement. You can have engagement that’s one way and very extractive and you can have engagement that’s two way, but perhaps there is a lack of ownership, on the community side. What you really want is community engagement where there is ownership, there is two-way exchange, and there is capacity building happening on all sides. That’s the level of engagement we really need to push for in energy access and mini-grid deployments. 

​Once I could actually put language to it, I started realizing more and more that it happens more often than it should. I think I have been really lucky because I was so ignorant of it for so long and it didn’t stop me nor occur to me that it was happening to me because I was female. Although I think I was lucky; I definitely realize that isn’t the case for other women and with some women, it stops them from continuing and that’s what need to prevent from happening. I think now that I am aware of it, I can’t go back to how it was before. I see it now and can recognize when it happens to me, when somebody treats me differently just because I am female and they think I am less capable or technically incompetent. But being in the position that I am now, I am better placed to deal with it and hopefully I can do something about it too.

What we don’t do is we don’t enforce gender perspectives on the community because we recognize that all the communities are at different points when talking about gender equality and equity, and we have to be sensitive to that. If communities recognize themselves as gender unequal, then we will support them wanting to find ways to make things more gender equal. But if communities don’t recognize it despite our workshops and process, then we believe it’s not our place to do anything about. That has been our approach so far. ​

​For instance, we don’t promise that there will be an equal gender ratio when we form a Village Electrification Committee, because in some cases women may not want to be involved in that capacity.  However, if we find in our workshops that women want to be involved but they don’t have an opportunity, then it is important to us that we try and do something about that. If everybody is okay with the status quo, then we accept that. Yes, you can argue that acceptance is due to a lack of exposure. That may be true. But that’s why it’s also important for our team to have healthy gender balances and when communities see female teams like ours visiting them, we hope that that provides some exposure as well. But if, after this exposure and our gender workshops, they still make the decision to not do anything about things, we should respect that.

What motivates you to keep on doing the work you are doing?

I really like working with communities. I think communities, and especially rural communities, have such a special role to play in the world. First of all, regardless of what governments or anybody else tells you, rural communities are on the front line of renewable energy and the transition. Unlike urban communities, rural communities don’t have much of a choice. They use decentralized renewable energy systems because they have to, and remember, off-grid communities have been using these systems way longer than urban users. I feel like that’s something that people forget, or they don’t think of. That rural communities are on the frontlines of climate change issues and the transition. And the transition to renewable energy for them is a live or die situation for survival. I learn a lot from these communities and being able to work with them is what motivates me.

Since 1984, SIBAT has fostered a network of dedicated, local champions committed to advancing sustainable solutions in their communities. A country-wide Filipino people’s network, SIBAT supports renewable energy applications, sustainable agriculture techniques, and water access solutions.

SIBAT’s community-based, sustainable approach has enabled long-lasting energy access for many communities in Abra, Philippines. Last year, SIBAT upgraded the Barangay Dulao micro hydro system, which had been in operation for 25 years! Local capacity building is an important element of their sustainable approach, and is supported through training offered at SIBAT’s Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATech) in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines. In fact, SIBAT takes part in knowledge sharing to build capacity across the region; for instance, in 2019, practitioners from Philippines and Malaysia gathered for a training session on Pelton micro hydro turbine fabrication, organized by SIBAT and HPNET.

To stay in the loop on SIBAT’s inspiring community-centred work, we encourage you to scroll through and ‘like’ SIBAT’s Facebook page. There you’ll find insightful updates on technical training for local community members, open source mini-grid management tools, videos featuring socio-economic impacts of energy access, and much more. Recently, SIBAT has shared updates on their efforts to distribute facemasks and supplies to vulnerable, indigenous communities. Be sure to ‘like’ SIBAT’s page to show your support and learn about their ongoing initiatives.
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We’re excited to share the new edition of our video podcast series Streamside Chats!  The platform allows us to dialogue with experienced practitioners about their in-depth experiences in developing sustainable hydro mini-grids. It brings together grassroots innovators and international experts, providing firsthand insights from the field, framed within multi-thematic analysis. 

Intro to Speakers

Dipti Vaghela, the Manager of the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), introduces the speakers, Bikash Pandey, Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, and Bir Bahadur Ghale, Founder and Managing Director of Hydro Concern Pvt. Ltd. and provides an overview of the topic.  Both speakers are renown for their pioneering work of over 35 years.
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PART 1:  Start up and scale up of hydro mini-grids in Nepal

Dipti chats with Bikash about the key actors that paved the way for micro hydro development in Nepal and the stages through which the sector evolved over the past four decades.  The micro hydro sector is known to have its earliest roots in Nepal within the S/SE Asia region.  In this discussion, we delve into the pivotal reasons for which the country has one of the most dynamic micro hydro programs around the world.  Tune in to hear how multi-actor collaboration resulted in an ecosystem that scaled-up hydro mini grids, enabling energy access in over 3000 communities in rural Nepal. 
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PART 2:  Impact of a social enterprise approach

Bikash dialogues with Bir Bahadur, taking us on a journey of the renown Barpak hydro mini-grid, developed by Bir Bahadur Ghale in his home village 1991, when he was 24 years of age.  Being his first project and having no previous experience, he shares the obstacles he encountered and how he overcame them, including acquiring technical and financial skills to go onto developing hundreds of projects to date.  We also learn about the impact of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Barpak, the epicenter of the disaster, the rehabilitation of the micro hydro project, and the critical role it played in rebuilding the village and its economy.  Established using a social enterprise approach, 30 years later the Barpak project is a prime example of a hydro mini-grid that is self-sustainable, providing electricity to over 1200 and many village-based enterprises. Bir Bahadur Ghale's approach has transformed the economic resilience of the community.
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PART 3:  Best practices for economic resilience

In this final part of the 3-part dialogue, we learn about Bir Bahadur Ghale's journey beyond Barpak, gaining insight on how energy access can be accelerated by proven developers.  The dialogue also discusses different types of ownership models and the factors for success of each.  The conversation concludes with policy recommendations to accelerate energy access in Nepal, and the role of energy access in pandemic era economic recovery. 
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Join the discussion!​

Over the next few days, we’ll be posting the questions below, in our post-Chat social media forum.  Share your insights on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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• How can governments better support local manufacturers, producing local jobs and enhancing skill sets?
• What are the different roles that subsidies and loans have in scaling up mini-grids?  Can they complement each other?
• What can help enable communities to identify financially viable productive end use?
• What productive end uses can especially be leveraged by and benefit women?  
• How have mini-grids played a role in economic recovery and resilience of communities in the pandemic age ? 
• What types of policies can support community-private partnerships to accelerate energy access?

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In case you missed it
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Check out our first edition of StreamSide Chats in which we discussed the role of micro hydro in contributing to long term rural economic recovery and resilience in the pandemic era. 

📽️:  StreamSide Chats - Edition 1, Recovery & Resilience

The transition to successful social enterprise requires a number of core elements (as shown below).  The foundational elements focus on functionality, namely quality of technical design and installation, as well as the condition of the catchment area that dictates the seasonal and long-term consistency of the water flow.  These have been discussed in previous posts, discussing the need for technical standards and watershed strengthening.
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This quarter we spotlight the SEEED elements that can be achieved once reliability is established,  namely productive end use and inclusive enterprise aspects that bring value-add to local livelihoods.   

We will soon collaborate with partners to further analyze best practices within each of these sub-elements. The following examples of enterprise-based hydro mini-grids continue to inspire and refine our approach to the SEEED initiative, in terms of management, ownership, productive end use, and livelihoods enhancement aspects.

Asia Pacific 

• Winrock Nepal economically revived five micro hydro projects in Nepal, using a peer-to-peer approach, supported by WISIONS.  Read more here.
• The association Hydropower for Community Empowerment in Myanmar (HyCEM) is transitioning to cooperative-based models for hydro mini-grids.  Read more here.
• Hydropower Concern Ltd., under the leadership of Bir Bahadur Ghale in Nepal, uses a developer-owned approach that has led to high productive end use and economic resilience.  Read more here.
• The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) has established community-owned mini-hydropower utilities that are electrifying entire valleys, while nurturing women-led enterprise.  Read more here.

Africa 

• Energising Development (EnDev) Ethiopia is initiating a process to revive micro hydro projects, in order to instill optimization in end use and long-term sustainability using an enterprise-based approach. ​ Read more here.
• ​The Association des Ingénieurs pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables (AIDER) installs and operates micro hydro systems in Madagascar.  Read more here. 

Latin America 

• Association of Rural Development Workers—Benjamin Linder (ATDER-BL) has interconnected multiple hydro mini-grids with each other, providing electricity to a sub-region in northern Nicaragua.  Read more here.

As a part of our knowledge exchange process (below), we continue to look for additional examples for peer-to-peer exchange, in order to collectively advance community-scale hydropower.  If you would like to share about your approach to sustainable hydro mini-grids, please let us know here!

The initial phase of the effort involved field visits to understand the social, technical, and management issues faced by each of the projects.  The next phase, as detailed in the released ToR, focuses on structured data collection to assess reviving and optimizing the project focusing on the following assessments for each project.
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​Technical assessment.  The condition, functionality, operation records, safety, flow data, and electricity generation, units sold, and costs will be assessed, along with assessment of whether extending the distribution to nearby villages is feasible.

Management assessment.  The details of the MHP management roles and responsibilities; tariff collection; business model strengths and weaknesses; disputes; and the management aspects of the cooperative.

Productive end use assessment. Skillset for enterprise management, productive end use opportunities, regional best practices, catalog of end uses optimal for each cooperative, business plan for increasing load factors and revenue generation, appropriate micro finance institutions, and opportunities for scale up.

Social assessment.  Impact of electricity access on gender aspects, equitable decision making, and social service institutions.
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EnDev Ethiopia’s initiative to rehabilitate and optimize micro hydro projects for economical and technical resilience are commendable and will lead to in-depth best practices for new project implementation and rehabilitating existing mini-grids.  We look forward to following up with an update on the outcomes!

Community-driven sustainability 

SRSP’s bottom-up and community-driven rural development approach has helped the community build community-owned social enterprises, resulting in reliable income generation for the Kalasha. SRSP has ensured active community decision-making at all stages of MHP projects, from identifying potential sites and developing community structures, to keeping the system operational and participating in the cost-benefit sharing of the system. For long-term access to clean and green energy, committees have been set up to evaluate and provide connections to households, collect fees and ensure periodic maintenance of units. [10] ​

Developed by Hashim Zaman, Environmental Economist
Content support from Atif Zeeshan Rauf, Sarad Rural Support Programme
Editing support from the HPNET Secretariat

Locally-developed micro hydropower

AIDER has built eight MHPs, ranging from 7.5 kW to 100 kW, electrifying a total of about 450 households in rural municipalities of the Analamanga and Atsimo Andrefana regions.  Five of the projects are owned and operated by AIDER.  All of the systems use turbines that have been locally manufactured by AIDER, thereby having generated local employment.  In addition to providing reliable electricity to households, the MHPs power town halls, police stations, clinics, churches, schools, and street lighting. ​

They also provided technical support to our utility company, e.g. train operators and connect households to the company. They continue to assist in locating investors for the sustainable development of other mini hydro in the valley. So basically AKRSP is providing support to communities in terms of skills building and finance for the long-term sustainability of electricity in the valley. 

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​How did the local community become involved in the mini hydro project?

We underwent the usual protocol of AKRSP, which consisted of dialogues, in which the communities established the need for electricity and the willingness to engage in a micro hydro project.  The communities contributed in the construction, and eventually they became shareholders and now they are the owners in this venture. The project started around 2012, but due to financial constraints, it was delayed till 2015. It was a hybrid model of financing. Initially, it entailed a grant, followed by obtaining a loan, and ultimately it was sustained by investment from the community, who eventually became the shareholders in the project. 

The money that is usually collected through community mobilization for the formation of a maintenance fund, was later on transformed into equity. The initial minimum contribution per household was fixed around PKR 6000 to contribute to maintenance funds. The minimum contributions were set by AKRSP at PKR 10 Million for the community as a maintenance fund or community contribution for the project, which is an equivalent of approximately 5% of the project cost. With the transformation of the unit into public limited companies, the initial investments/contribution of the community members were converted into shares and transferred to individual persons as share capital. The value of 1 share was set at PKR 100. Furthermore, the minimum investments were reduced to PKR 1500 for women, so that the women members of the community could also participate as shareholders/members of the company. 

How many women are involved in this project and what is their background?

More than 400 women are shareholders in this mini hydro project. A small portion of the women are educated and most of them are housewives, but many of them have started their own businesses at household level. In this mini hydro project, we have obtained a loan and our sales are not high enough to meet the loan repayment, given the high operational and maintenance costs. But we are moving in the right direction and by 2023, we will hopefully repay the entire loan and then the company will receive profits, and we will receive shareholder dividends.  

What was it like for the women in the area before the mini hydro project? 

We had everything in terms of natural resources, but we didn't have electricity to ensure basic facilities and sustainable development in the valley. There were no diesel generators and everyone used kerosene lamps. 

For more insights on AKRSP's work, be sure to check out our program case study Evolution to Inclusive Social Enterprise.
 
If you enjoyed this Hidden No More interview, sign up below to receive our newsletter and hear from other women change-makers in the sector!

Mini-grids are an important component in the renewable energy mix. They have been considered to be a sustainable and cost-effective solution for providing reliable energy access to various communities across the planet. Mini-grids have become increasingly popular in the recent years due to:

• the enormous cost of grid extension in rural areas
• the limitations of household systems (e.g. solar home systems).
  
  

Within the mini-grid spectrum, it is pertinent to note that there exist various mini-grid technologies, i.e. solar, wind, biogas, diesel and hydro mini-grids, being implemented for energy access.  In fact the nature of mini-grid development is such that systems must be customized to meet each community’s energy demand, resource availability, and governance structures. So while mini-grid development partners tend to be technology agnostic, it is also extremely crucial to differentiate between technologies, as each has its own strengths, challenges, investment costs, price of energy, and operational management models.

To assist in technology differentiation, the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET) in partnership with Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development (SKAT) have developed the Mini-Grid Technology Differentiation Table.  The tool was originally released in HPNET’s 2017 Mini-Grid Webinar Series and recently updated to ensure a detailed overview of the various mini-grid technologies.

​Mini-Grid Technology Differentiation

The table differentiates mini-grid technologies based on system design, advantages, limitations, productive end use, resource assessment, spare part availability and investment costs of all the mini-grid technologies. Key insights include:
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• Range of investment, which refers to the monetary investment required for generation and distribution, is the lowest for diesel and hydro mini-grids, while solar-battery, biomass gasifier and wind battery-based systems can go up to even USD 13,000/kW, compared to as low as USD 300/kW and USD 500/kW for diesel and hydro mini-grids respectively. However, despite the low investment costs, diesel has high operational and environmental costs in the long run. 

 

• The operations and maintenance (O&M) costs (with assumptions) is on average 10% roughly for all technologies, except hydro mini-grids which incur only 2-5% of investment.

 

• The percentage of local contribution is only 5% in solar-battery and diesel mini-grids, while it is around 60%, 70% and 95% for wind, hydro, and biomass mini-grids, respectively. Higher local contribution means increased local job creation.

 

• Each technology has its own advantages. For instance, hydro mini-grids have low cost per kW; abundant sun in most places means solar is versatile; easy storage biomass resource allows optimum efficiency for gasifiers; and local manufacturing leading to lower O&M costs for wind and hydro can be beneficial.

 

• There are certain limitations associated with each technology. Accessing funds for high initial investment is an issue for both hydro and solar mini-grids, while pre-mature technology is a hindrance facing the biomass gasifier. Batteries in wind systems face high temporal variability and high maintenance costs, while diesel has negative environmental impacts due to carbon emissions.

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• Providing electricity for productive end use, such as agri-processing, irrigation purposes, and various mills/local industry, generates optimal impact and sustainability of mini-grids.  Mini-grids that are not dependent on batteries -- such as hydro and biomass mini-grids -- are ideal for powering motorized loads.

 Advantages of Hydro Mini-Grids 

Although there are certain challenges associated with hydro mini systems, including relatively longer resource assessment and installation periods, hydro mini-grids have the following advantages: 
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• Hydro mini-grids typically produce 3-4 times as much kWh per kW installed. Moreover, hydro mini-grids generate electricity 24 hours, compared to solar and wind that are limited to 6-12 hours on average, depending on the availability and fluctuation of wind (average of 8 hours/day). 

 

• Local manufacturing brings down the cost of hydro mini-grids and increases employment. Hydro mini-grids are especially apt for local manufacturing, since most components can be developed in a local metalworks fabrication facility.  

 

• Although hydro mini-grids have a large range of investment costs (USD 500 - USD 10,000/kW) based on accessibility and the local terrain, most easy-to-access systems have low investment and generation costs. 

 

• Low cost of energy enables greater productive end uses, and higher revenue from productive loads means lower cost energy for everyone.

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• ​Hydro mini-grids create opportunities for dynamic tariff structures to increase sale of electricity during off-peak hours. For example, a bakery or induction casting facility can be motivated to utilize electricity during off peak hours with reduced tariff.

• Community micro hydro builds up of local social capital. Hydro mini-grids transform the traditional models of energy of social assets into social enterprise. This means that they improve the social and environmental well-being of the communities, maximize social impact, and generate profits for co-owners. 

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• Hydro mini-grids are especially conducive for grid interconnection, reducing voltage drops in the main grid and generating income for the MHP community. Moreover, the revenue from the project can multiply in the case of later grid interconnection.

Last quarter HPNET board member Biraj Gautam described our project, focused on the development of a Turgo turbine design, appropriate for local manufacture in Nepal. Whilst common in larger scale hydropower and with some off-the-shelf products available, the Turgo turbine is not currently manufactured by micro-hydropower companies in Nepal. As a medium head turbine, the Turgo offers a viable option for sites where the characteristics make the choice between Pelton and Cross-flow turbines difficult. This article provides an update on our progress in the project so far.                                                   

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Site Visit

Unfortunately, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has prevented PEEDA staff from visiting the field site. A feasibility study is required to find out the technical and socio-economic features of the site and the community. Technically, we need to evaluate the current status of the civil structures and installed equipment. In addition, we require measurements of the powerhouse layout so that the new turbine can interface with existing components. From a socio-economic perspective, we want to understand how the plant is managed, whether the plant generates sufficient income, and assess the opportunity to maximise the plant’s capacity factor. It is important that we ensure that the plant is sustainable in delivering electricity to the community. We continue to monitor the coronavirus situation and hope to be able to visit the site when it is safe to do so. 

3D CAD Design
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Using the head and flow rate from the site and our scaling model, it has been possible to begin the detailed design of the Turgo turbine. The long-term intention is to develop a range of Turgo turbine designs appropriate for sites across the micro-hydropower range. We have been developing calculation sheets for all of the key components which allow dimensions to be determined. We have developed a parametric 3D CAD model that is linked to the calculation sheets. This allows us to quickly adapt the design depending on inputs into the calculation sheet. The 3D design is taking place collaboratively between the Electrical Energy Management Group at the  University of Bristol and Nepal Yantra Shala Energy. The design objective is to produce a design that can be readily manufactured in Nepal with existing machinery and readily available materials. It is expected that detailed design will be completed soon allowing the production of engineering drawings to begin. Initially, the focus is on developing a complete design package for the site in Taplejung. This will include 2D engineering drawings, bill of materials, and supporting 3D CAD files allowing the design to be manufactured in Nepal. Subsequently, we will use the parametric 3D model to generate multiple design packages for the complete operational range.​​
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​This article was written by Joe Butchers, PhD candidate at the University of Bristol. The project is titled Upscaling locally manufactured Turgo Turbine: Dissemination and Demonstration includes the Electrical Energy Management Group at the University of Bristol, PEEDA, Nepal Yantra Shala Energy, Turbine Testing Laboratory at Kathmandu University and HPNET as project partners, and is funded by Energize Nepal.  The work undertaken by the University of Bristol is also funded through an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account titled Development of an open-source Turgo turbine design tool.

Sustainability of Springshed-based Water Sources

Mountain Springs are the main water source for most of the tribal population living in the Eastern Ghats range of Odisha. Many of the villages, in the region, are over the hilltops, in the form of scattered hamlets. They get little or no access to streams flowing down to the valleys. About 60% of the population in these hamlets depend upon spring water for basic needs like drinking, domestic use, and for agriculture and livestock.  Despite their significance, springs are drying up due to variations in rainfall patterns, changes in land use and reduction in forest cover. Many have become seasonal with low discharge. There are also apparent changes in the quality of water available. Only about 30% of the water sources are estimated to be functioning without any apparent decrease in water availability. ​

​​Spring Water Atlas

The Spring Water Atlas is an online repository of information on springs, spring-sheds and spring-scapes to strengthen springs management for addressing water scarcity issues for tribal communities in India.  The tool is GIS-based, providing maps, spring health, water quality, and discharge, among other properties.  The knowledge tool is hosted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and UNDP India.   It can be access by the public here:  thespringsportal.org.