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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Water‐Related Traditional and Indigenous Practices
ClearIndigenous and Modern Practices for Water Conservation and Management in Africa
This review examines indigenous and modern water conservation practices in Africa, focusing on how traditional knowledge systems can be integrated with contemporary water management technology to address growing scarcity. The authors identify numerous traditional techniques—including stone bunds, sand dams, and sacred grove protection—that complement engineering-based solutions in the context of climate variability.
Technological Solutions for Water Sustainability: Challenges and Prospects
This book provides an overview of sustainable water management technologies for the Global South, with a focus on India. It covers new materials for water purification including nanocomposites for removing contaminants, low-cost sensor technologies for monitoring water quality, and strategies for urban water infrastructure management. The study suggests that integrated approaches combining advanced materials, new treatment technologies, and improved infrastructure planning are needed to address water sustainability challenges.
Rejuvenation of the Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalayas Through Transdisciplinary Approaches—A Review
This review examines the declining water output from natural springs across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which provides water to millions of people. Factors including climate change, deforestation, and unsustainable land use are reducing spring discharge, threatening rural agriculture and driving urban migration. The authors advocate for a combined approach that integrates scientific monitoring with community-based interventions and public-private partnerships to restore and sustain these critical water sources.
Sustainable Water Infrastructure: Visions and Options for Sub-Saharan Africa
This review assesses the challenges facing water infrastructure sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa, including aging systems, limited resources, and environmental pressures. Researchers evaluated global interventions and assessed their relevance to the African context using a framework that considers societal, technological, economic, environmental, and political dimensions. The study recommends an expanded analytical approach to develop more resilient and sustainable water systems for the region.
Decentralized Wastewater Management in India: Stakeholder Views on Best Available Technologies and Resource Recovery
Researchers organized three stakeholder workshops in Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai with representatives from academia, business, civil society, and government to identify barriers to resource recovery in decentralized wastewater treatment in India, using structured questionnaires and a Mathematica aggregation function to synthesize stakeholder views.
A Look at Issues Related to Water Common Among Indigenous Peoples of North America
This paper reviews water access challenges facing Indigenous communities across North America, highlighting how colonialism, climate change, and geographic remoteness compound water insecurity in these communities. Issues include flooding, drought, permafrost thaw, and coastal erosion that disrupt water systems and traditional relationships with water.
Renewable, natural, traditional dish wash cleaning materials used in India: an overview
Researchers reviewed India's long-standing tradition of using plant-based materials — such as soapnuts, coconut coir, ash, and citrus fruits — as natural dishwashing and cleaning agents, tracing practices back to pre-Harappan times. These biodegradable alternatives outperform synthetic detergents on environmental safety, allergenicity, and sustainability, and align with global goals for reducing plastic and chemical pollution.
A Critical Review on the Characterization and Distribution of Microplastic Contaminants in Indian Water Environments: Pathways and Related Hazards
This systematic review examines microplastic contamination in India's freshwater environments, including rivers and lakes. While marine ecosystems have gotten the most attention, freshwater sources — which supply drinking water — are also heavily contaminated. The findings highlight how inadequate waste management and recycling infrastructure allow microplastics to spread through the water systems that communities depend on.
Utilization of Rainwater as Consumable Water with Rainwater Harvesting Methods: A Literature Review
This review examines how rainwater harvesting systems can provide usable water for households and communities. Researchers found that harvested rainwater can serve many purposes, including cooking, if the water quality meets health standards. The study suggests that widespread adoption of simple rainwater collection systems could help address growing water scarcity challenges.
Fostering Sustainable Development in Water Supply Management: Crucial Role of Credible HR Capacity Building
This paper examines the role of credible human resource capacity building in sustainable drinking water supply management, with a focus on India's Jal Jeevan Mission and its goal of delivering safe piped water to all rural households.
Implementing Rainwater Harvesting for Sustainable Water Management in Faridpur, Bangladesh: Mitigating Pollution, Waterlogging, and Ensuring Safe Drinking Water
Researchers demonstrated a rainwater harvesting system in Faridpur, Bangladesh, showing that utilizing existing buildings as catchment areas could address the city's entire drinking water scarcity problem. They found that harvested rainwater quality was significantly better than local pipe-well water, and the system could reduce urban runoff by nearly 15%, helping alleviate waterlogging and water pollution. The study provides a practical blueprint for improving water access while reducing environmental contamination in similar regions.
Water within Vegetation
This textbook chapter examines how water moves within and through vegetation as part of a holistic introduction to water's roles in Earth's environments, providing foundational biological context alongside coverage of contemporary water quality issues including microplastic pollution.
Multifunctional applications of bamboo crop beyond environmental management: an Indian prospective
This review explores multifunctional applications of bamboo in India, covering its roles in bioenergy production, environmental pollution mitigation, and sustainable development beyond traditional uses.
The Historical Significance of Water
This textbook chapter explores the historical significance of water to human civilizations as part of a holistic introduction to water's environmental and biological roles, situating historical perspectives alongside contemporary challenges such as microplastic pollution and climate change.
A Critical Review of Water Reuse: Lessons from Prehistoric Greece for Present and Future Challenges
This review traces the history of water reuse practices from ancient Greece to modern times, highlighting how early civilizations already understood the value of treating and repurposing wastewater. Researchers compare historical approaches with current advanced technologies including membrane filtration and direct potable reuse systems. The study argues that lessons from antiquity can inform contemporary water management strategies, particularly as growing populations and climate change put increasing pressure on freshwater resources.
Elevating river basin management and cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region: Insights and recommendations
This review synthesizes insights from three reports on the Brahmaputra, Indus, and Ganga River basins in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, examining governance arrangements for shared transboundary water resources amid climate change. The study recommends multilateral cooperation among basin countries to ensure equitable water access for both upstream and downstream communities.
Nature's Blueprint: Using Biomimicry for Advanced Water Management and a Sustainable Future
This paper reviews three biomimetic innovations — beetle-inspired fog collection, aquaporin membrane proteins, and whale baleen-inspired filtration — as models for developing efficient water collection and conservation technologies in response to freshwater scarcity.
Topical Collection: International Year of Groundwater—managing future societal and environmental challenges
Researchers and hydrogeologists highlight the growing importance of groundwater in the global water cycle and call for better assessment, management, and public communication strategies to meet the UN's water-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Financial Aspects of Sustainable Rainwater Management in Small-Scale Urban Housing Communities
Not relevant to microplastics — this study assesses the cost-efficiency of sustainable rainwater harvesting systems for a small urban housing community in Lublin, Poland, finding that only above-ground reservoir designs are economically viable.
Groundwater resources: challenges and future opportunities
Researchers reviewed the major challenges and future opportunities in managing groundwater — a critical global water resource — emphasizing that sustainable use requires integrating new technologies, improved governance, and awareness of social, economic, and environmental factors unique to each region.
Surface water quality evaluation of Mahanadi and its Tributary Katha Jodi River, Cuttack District, Odisha, using WQI, PLSR, SRI, and geospatial techniques
This study assessed surface water quality at nine locations along the Mahanadi River in India using several analytical methods. While not directly focused on microplastics, the water quality findings have implications for understanding how pollutants, including plastic particles, move through and accumulate in river systems that serve as drinking and irrigation sources.
Application and Impacts of Mulch Installation Techniques on Indian Horticulture: An In-depth Review
This review examines mulching techniques used in Indian horticulture, covering organic, inorganic, and biodegradable mulch materials along with both traditional and modern application methods. The study highlights the benefits of mulching for soil moisture retention and crop yield while noting environmental concerns, particularly related to plastic film mulches that can break down into microplastic fragments contaminating agricultural soils.
Leaves as dining plates, food wraps and food packing material: Importance of renewable resources in Indian culture
Researchers documented the long-standing Indian tradition of using plant leaves as biodegradable food plates and packaging, highlighting their cultural, medicinal, and economic importance as a sustainable alternative to plastic disposables. The authors argue that supporting leaf plate production and restricting plastic alternatives could reduce both plastic pollution and microplastic contamination from single-use items.
Next generation decentralized water systems: a water-energy-infrastructure-human nexus (WEIHN) approach
This review explores the need for sustainable decentralized water management systems that consider the interconnections between water, energy, infrastructure, and human behavior. Researchers highlight how emerging contaminants, including microplastics, challenge conventional centralized water treatment approaches. The study suggests that next-generation water systems must integrate infrastructure innovation with community engagement to address pollution and resource sustainability.