Nature-Based Solutions for Water in the Peri-Urban: Case Study Brief - India, Bihar

This case study pertains to the recently adopted NBS, Jal-Jivan-Hariyali (Water-Life-Greenery) Mis-sion. Also referred to here as JJH, in the eastern state of Bihar, India. This mission is a multi-stake-holder program under the state’s Rural Development Department. Initiated in 2019, the JJH Mission involves NBS projects that have “green” technol-ogy-based and/or traditional knowledge-based components.  Presently under the administrative control, this mission foresees gradual transfer of ownership to local communities through training and participation programs. These projects are 
in various stages of implementation at communi-ty-level in peri-urban and surrounding rural areas, highlighting the requirement of integrated approach for sustainable water solutions with the objective of climate sustenance. For assessment of the Mis-sion, literature survey and field visits with interviews were done. The mission’s projects are aimed at enhancing sustained access to clean water for direct and indirect human consumption as well as minimising geogenic contaminants of underground water resources. From local to regional scales, these initiatives assist, health, welfare, agriculture and allied economic activities. Modes of project implementation reveal gradual increase of commu-nity participation, with special emphasis on women empowerment, as evinced from their involvement in awareness and decision-making, implementation, and execution of small-scale business plans.

This case study sought to assess the sustainabil-ity of the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali (JJH) Mission along environmental, social and economic dimensions. ‘Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali’ stands for Water-Life-Greenery, and hence represents an integrated approach to water management. This mission is being implemented since October 2019 across physical and socio-economic diversities of Bihar state. Bihar has an agro-based economy dependent on erratic monsoon rains, its 18 river basins and its huge reservoirs of groundwater. Its peri-urban population is dominated by pervasive social stratifications that influence, to a great extent, its economic activities. Within such environmental, social and economic diversities, targets sought by stakeholders, the existing barriers, results and scope of the innovative approaches implemented under JJH Mission were examined.