Judicious use of water is important to ensure sustainable agricultural and food security. India which hosts 18% of the world's population has only 4% of the world's water resources to meet the needs of its growing population. Agriculture uses more than 85% of available freshwater in the country. Water is increasingly becoming a scarce resource, even in "water assured" regions, where demand far outstrips supply and groundwater levels continue to plummet. Therefore, Agriculture carries a high responsibility for the management of water resources in quantitative and qualitative terms. Careful management of water resources and efficient use of water for irrigation is now the central criteria for growth in agriculture. While significant efforts have been made to increase the availability and supply of water, sustained efforts are required to address the demand side, or the way water is used in the farm. Managing the demand side of water requires changing our attitude and behaviour towards water to one of responsible stewardship characterised by consistent, efficient and equitable water use. Good water governance is what enables and sustains responsible water stewardship. In this regard, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Famers Welfare has formulated a 'Framework on Water Governance Standards (WSG) in Agriculture' to be implemented by each State/UT to enable communities to achieving better water governance. The specific purpose of WGS is participatory assessment of the quality of water management in a community with respect to a defined benchmark, raise awareness and provide a clear pathway for communities to improve the overall quality of water management. Ovierview of WSG The Water Governance Standard (WGS) presents an interesting approach to promote good water governance in rural communities. It is a rating and certification methodology that seeks to incentivise and nudge communities/water users. The WGS evaluates how effectively rural communities manage and govern their available water resources and rates them with a water score which uncovers deficits in water governance. This can generate a convergence of interests that incentivises communities to adopt water-smart attitudes and behaviours. Given that the goal of the WGS is to catalyse competitive dynamics and awareness, its widespread application can contribute to transforming the way rural communities manage their water resource. Method of Water Governance The Water Governance Standard is an assessment and certification methodology that seeks to incentivize and nudge farming communities/water users. The farmers need to be educated to adopt water saving/conservation techniques. The WGS evaluates how effectively rural communities manage and govern their available water resources. Crucially, since the assessment process uncovers key areas in need of improvement, the WGS offers communities a pathway to improve their overall performance in regard to water management and governance. The WGS works best in villages with scarce irrigation that are largely dependent on rainfall and groundwater. However, with suitable modifications, it can also be effectively applied to regions perceived as ‘water abundant’ where seasonal water deficits are common. Intended users of the WGS are rural communities and investors such as government agencies, private and social investors etc., who incentivizes positive water scores. The specific purpose of WGS are; Participatory assessment of the quality of water management in a community against a defined benchmark Raise awareness and provide a graduated pathway for communities to improve the overall quality of water management. Provides water stakeholders, investors and resource providers a basis to identify opportunities and projects that are likely to be “successful” and deliver expected outcomes. Provides a comprehensive framework to monitor, improve and evaluate water projects in terms of performance and impact across all water stressed Districts. For the Village Communities, WSG can be an important tool to incentivize and improve water governance and management at the village level in the following manner; WGS provides the villagers a yardstick to benchmark where they stand with regard to management and governance of water resources. The assessment process enables the villagers to obtain an objective assessment of their performance in managing their water resources, infrastructure and needs. Based on this understanding, which is arrived at collectively, villagers can identify, prioritize and work on areas in need of remediation, and develop an Action Plan with timelines and responsibilities to achieve the desired outcomes. With the assessment and a remediation Action Plan in hand, as applicable, villagers can approach relevant government departments, funders and resource providers to give them the confidence that investments made in their villages will have a markedly better chance of proving successful than elsewhere. The WGS identifies, assesses and tracks all the key elements including Governance, Supply and Demand. WGS Execution WSG will be aligned with Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme. The institutional set up for the implementation of PDMC scheme shall anchor the execution of Water Governance Standards in the States/UTs. At the State level, WGS implementing mechanism can be coordinated by the Departmental Working Group (IDWG) under the Chairmanship of Secretary Agriculture/Commissioner, and the execution at the District Level by the District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC) under the Chairmanship of District Collector/Magistrate, the structure which is as prescribed in the Operational Guidelines of PDMC scheme. The role of Inter Departmental Working Group (IDWG) at the State level is to coordinate with relevant Departments for planning and implementation of the WGS on the ground. The role of District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC) is to coordinate with line Departments in the District/Technical Institutions to ensure its proper execution including empanelment of third party agencies as validators. Progressive farmers, leading NGO, SAUs, KVKs etc. can be included as members in DLIC. The States/Districts can further customized the assessment parameters which is suitable/applicable to the local requirements. Gram Panchayat/Village can be taken as Unit for the purpose of assessment of WGS. The personnel involved in implementation of District Irrigation Plans may be entrusted with the job of facilitating the villages/GPs in respect of adoption of WGS as per the given parameters. The WGS certification can be a two stage process: Stage 1: Gram Panchayats self-rank based on filling a score chart and claim certification. Stage 2: Third party agencies can validate the self-rank and give a score. DLIC will empaneled third party agencies as validators and mobilize them. Members of SHGs, FPOs, WUAs, JFMCs, CBOs can also be involved by GP in field level assessment/assessors. Krishi Sakhis under NRLM can be given basic training on field level assessment and can be mobilized as assessors. Based on the adoption of WSG criteria, village/GP may be graded and certificate issued. The villages/GPs showing good adoption rates may be given due recognition at the District and State Level by DLIC and IDWG respectively. PDMC scheme provision can be utilized to facilitate the execution of WSG. Key Parameters of WSG The key Parameters of WSG are given in the table below. Sl. No. Components Response Module: Governance and Institutions 1 Community awareness, sensitization and management of water issues 1.1 History of participation and collective efforts made towards water conservation and use Y/N 1.2 Indigenous knowledge on techniques of water saving and applications Y/N 2 Institutional mechanisms and engagement of Gram Panchayat, decision making bodies, etc. 2.1 Functioning and effectiveness of village water Committees/water institutions Y/N 2.2 Guidelines/measures to ensure accountability, transparency and quality in water supply systems for daily needs Y/N 3 Participation and representation in water related institutions/bodies 3.1 Representation of stakeholders in Village Water Committees/Water Management Bodies (WMBs) Y/N 3.2 Representation to woman in such committees Y/N 4 Awareness of regulatory aspects related to water access and management 4.1 Awareness of laws and regulations related to water management by Gram Panchayat/mandated bodies Y/N 4.2 Whether regulations about groundwater usage are adopted at village/GP/watershed level Y/N Module: Supply-side Water Management 1.0 Water availability and quality; plans for supply-side augmentation (surface and ground) 1.1 Hydro-Meteorology monitoring and display of data at village /GP/Milk collecting booths are made. Y/N 1.2 Assessment of number, quality, actual and potential capacity of existing storage, soil and water harvesting structures and of proposed measures/sites Y/N 1.3 Inclusion of plans for surface and groundwater augmentation in the Gram Panchayat Development Plans Y/N 1.4 Ensuring adequate and equitable access to water for basic needs (Agriculture & domestic) Y/N 1.5 Assessment of quality of water for agricultural purpose Y/N 1.6 Treatment of saline water for irrigation purpose Y/N 1.7 Efforts initiated for recycling of water for agricultural purpose at village/GP/watershed level Y/N 1.8 Efforts for water conservation through check dams/farm ponds under MNREGA Y/N 1.9 Use of flood/run-off water for recharging of bore wells Y/N 2.0 Planning, budgeting and resource mobilization for supply augmentation plans 2.1 Allocation of budget for water resources augmentation (including water source augmentation and establishment of water distribution system) by PRI, FPOs, JFMCs, CBOs etc. Y/N 2.2 Convergence of scheme funds for creation of additional water resources. Y/N 2.3 Linking of natural flows or desilting of water bodies for increasing water availability at village/GP/watershed level Y/N Module: Demand-side Water Management 1 Assessing and understanding the overall demand of water in the village, its ecosystem, local biodiversity, resident wildlife and downstream users 1.1 Identifying the different water demands and estimating the amount of water required for livelihoods, Agriculture and ecological stability of the village as well as downstream needs. Y/N 1.2 Whether crop water requirements of major crops grown in village are assessed Y/N 2.0 Formulation of the Water Budget Plan and its execution 2.1 Matching water demand with available water (including appropriate cropping pattern, needs of nature, and downstream users) and measures implemented. Y/N 3 Improving water use efficiency and responding to environmental/weather changes/weather events 3.1 Planning and execution of water use efficiency enhancing measures (eg:-micro irrigation). Y/N 3.2 Adoption of soil health management by the farmers (Soil Health Card). Y/N 3.3 Whether rain water harvesting and micro irrigation systems are promoted and adopted to a large extent. Y/N 3.4 Initiatives to adopt alternate cropping pattern in commensuration to the availability of water at village/GP/watershed level. Y/N 3.5 Whether good agronomic practices like mulching and water saving techniques are adopted by the farmers Y/N 3.6 Equity to access and sharing of water resources (surface and ground). Y/N 3.7 Promotion of renewable energy for lifting of water. Y/N 3.8 Regular monitoring of Ground Water Table, Environmental impact of over-exploitation of ground water, density of bore wells and unscientific methods of increasing water yield in bore wells in perched areas are assessed. Y/N Source : Ministry of Agricutlure and Farmer's Welfare