In pursuit of our objective to build technologies for communities to enhance natural resource management (NRM), the CoRE Stack (Commoning for Resilience and Equality) is addressing shortcomings in NRM supply- and demand- planning by introducing a systematic data-driven approach to understand the socio-ecological sustainability of landscapes, and participatory, community-friendly digital tools for communities to propose action plans.
Being built through a rich and growing collaboration network between IIT Delhi, IIT Palakkad, Gram Vaani, WELL Labs, Magasool, GIZ, FES, Common Ground, and Rainmatter Foundation, the CoRE Stack initiates the empowerment process in communities by leveraging data to facilitate a deeper understanding of their landscape. Through data-driven insights, communities gain knowledge about crucial factors such as water availability, forest health, topography, and land use. This foundational information forms the basis for informed decision-making. Being designed as a Digital Public Good, the CoRE stack enables an open-access co-creation network to innovate and scale digital technology solutions for ecosystem sustainability.
Progress Update: We are delighted to share significant advancements in various dimensions of the stack. The stack comprises four key layers. At the first layer, we leverage machine learning on satellite imagery to generate innovative geo-spatial layers, depicting changes in cropping intensity, water-table levels, health of water bodies, forests and plantations, and welfare fund allocation over the years. The second layer involves the generation of rich analytics on diverse socio-ecological variables, including aspects of fairness and equity in resource distribution, particularly focusing on groundwater and surface water. You can check out many of these layers and simple analytics on a Google Earth Engine application. These datasets and analytics feed into the third layer, where they will serve as inputs for APIs used by tools. This will enable communities, social enterprises, and other stakeholders to gain insights into any landscape, report new findings, and plan for sustainable natural resource management, including groundwater and forests. The fourth layer involves developing tools empowering communities to advocate for NRM assets promoting resilience and sustainability under relevant government and CSR programs. It also includes monitoring the impact of interventions over time.
Fig 1: CoRE Stack Layers
We recently field tested some aspects with promising results. Interactions and demonstrations during the field testing have been invaluable and are helping us to fine-tune our solution to address relevant needs.
Currently, our tool stands as a robust resource for facilitators, providing them with a profound understanding of the landscape and socio-ecological dynamics. Offering detailed insights into groundwater and surface water bodies, as well as agricultural practices, the tool empowers facilitators to effectively illustrate and communicate these complex dynamics to the community. This heightened awareness fosters greater community engagement and participation.
Fig 2: Detailed insights on the health of surface water bodies – from data to action
Fig 3: Detailed insights on the state of groundwater levels
Plan for the Next Quarter: The plan for the upcoming quarter is to improve and initiate pilot tests of various components of the stack, including a robust data validation exercise for several machine learning based novel datasets that we are computing.
Call to Action: As we continue on this journey of innovation, we invite organizations that share our vision to engage in discussions with us on new use-cases as these perspectives are crucial in shaping the impact of our initiative. We extend a warm invitation to explore collaborative opportunities and discover how our collective efforts can drive meaningful change.
We express our gratitude for the continued support that has fueled our progress. As we move forward, we remain committed to advancing our project and creating positive impact.
]]>Key Takeaways: Shaping NRM Plans
The consultations aimed to capture community and governmental efforts in water security, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, and the pivotal role of MGNREGA towards these. Our goal is to eventually develop a universally applicable socio-ecological action framework that integrates ecological and social parameters but is context sensitive at the same time to transform raw data into actionable insights for local communities.
Picture a tool that not only provides information but becomes a catalyst for informed decision-making at the grassroots level related to local restoration activities, ecologically sensitive livelihood opportunities, and market practices.
Socio-ecological variables: Insights from the consultations revealed the importance attached by communities to some key socio-ecological aspects
Ecosystem Perspective: The consultations highlighted the crucial need to shift from isolated resource approaches towards an ecosystem perspective. Recognizing the interconnected nature within an ecosystem emerged as a key takeaway, emphasizing the interdependence of various socio-ecological variables. This perspective urges a holistic understanding of how changes in one aspect may have a broad impact across the entire system. For instance, an emphasis to address biodiversity concerns in forests may require communities to diversify their livelihoods towards agriculture, and require an integrated water management plan that can sustain both water needs in forests for rejuvenation as well as for irrigation in cropped areas. The ecosystem perspective thus encourages a comprehensive approach to NRM by acknowledging the dynamic relationships between different components.
Community Engagement: The importance of actively listening to local community experiences also came out prominently, to ensure that NRM plans are tailored to address local needs, and foster a sense of ownership and commitment to conservation efforts. The unique perspectives and traditional knowledge held by communities positions them as crucial stakeholders in the sustainability journey.
Based on the consultations conducted, a comprehensive set of 80+ socio-ecological variables were developed, spanning Agriculture, Water Bodies, Forests, Pastures, Social aspects, Climatic variables, and Welfare considerations. Among variables that can be obtained from remote-sensing data, the most prominent ones were related to rainfall deviation across the years, regular time-series for runoff and groundwater recharge, surface water availability, and agricultural metrics such as cropping intensity, and changes in land use and forest health. Not all the variables can be obtained through secondary data such as from satellite imagery and other maps though; primary data will also be required for a wide range of variables such as on agricultural elements like market linkages to socio-economic aspects such as land ownership, livelihoods, and education. Further, community feedback will be needed to appropriately weigh different ecological considerations based on the context, such as variables related to forest and pasture dynamics, invasive species, and extreme weather events. Cultural elements such as sacred groves and socio-demographic factors including caste distribution and women-led households will also need to be modeled. Economic variables, political connectedness, and welfare scheme utilization were also examined, to build a holistic understanding of a region’s dynamics. An extensive survey has been prepared to collect such data.
Next step: Build Digital Public Infrastructures
Based on the insights, we have begun working on the CoRE Stack (Commoning for Resilience and Equality), a digital public infrastructure for climate adaptation by rural communities. This stack enables an open-access co-creation network, fostering innovation and scalability of digital technology solutions for ecosystem sustainability. Currently, the first tool being built on the CoRE stack, Commons Connect, stands as a robust resource for community volunteers, providing them with a profound understanding of the landscape and socio-ecological dynamics. Offering detailed insights into groundwater and surface water bodies, as well as agricultural practices, the tool empowers them to effectively illustrate and communicate these complex dynamics to the community. Read the first quarter update on the CoRE stack.
]]>One such ward sabha took place in Begayin village, Advara block, Gridih District. Over 25 members actively participated in the discussion. These community members had previously informed their panchayat representative about land levelling, canal boundary repairing, and the need for pond construction to preserve rainwater. However, their demands were consistently ignored. The Mobile Vaani volunteers advised them to document the key discussions of the ward sabha and submit them, along with all the demands and information about available land, to the mukhiya of the panchayat.
Following a diligent follow-up process, the volunteers and Mobile Vaani representatives persistently urged the inclusion of these demands in the MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) work demand. Eventually, the demands were incorporated, leading to the successful construction of ponds on the lands of Heeralal Tudo and Prakash Tudo. Heeralal Tudo’s pond measures 50 ft in length, 60 ft in width, and 10 ft in depth. Thirteen MNREGA workers were employed for over two months, and they received their wages directly in their bank accounts. Similarly, a pond of the same size was constructed on Prakash Tudo’s land, with twelve workers completing the task in two months and six days. They, too, received their wages in their respective bank accounts.
These ponds will provide significant benefits to over 50 individual families by serving as a reliable source of irrigation. Moreover, they will contribute to enhancing water recharge within the village, resulting in improved plantation, agricultural crop production, and overall livelihoods of the farmers. The farmers are optimistic about the potential of these ponds to collect a substantial amount of water, which would enable them to engage in fishery cultivation. This additional venture would allow them to sell their produce in nearby villages, further enhancing economic opportunities in the region.
]]>The main objective of this research is to quantitatively assess the changes caused by the farm ponds built under the government scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which are observable through remote sensing techniques. Specifically, the research aims to:
Using remote-sensing methods brings a lot of challenges in assessing the impact of the farm ponds and may lead to very incomplete insights. After going on a field visit in the Gaya district of Bihar, various discrepancies and complexities were found. For example, a sample farm pond was found as shown in Figure 1, which was constructed without any scientific analysis. This was found to be useless after construction because of its lack of ability to retain water in the pond. Later, it was discovered through remote sensing that there is a long 5 km lineament lying just below this pond, through which the water percolates underground and leaves the pond empty. Hence, the whole investment in the construction of the community pond was a wasted expenditure. Also, this would show no impact on the nearby farms when observed through remote sensing methods.
Some examples were found, where the data of the pond exists but the pond does not exist physically. Either it was never constructed (possibly a corruption case), or it was covered with mud again due to lack of use for the farmer.
Even where the ponds existed, they did not necessarily lead to an increase in the cropping intensity for the farmer due to its low capacity, lack of rainfall, use of pond for pisciculture (as shown in Figure 2), or some other factors.
Hence, there are many complexities associated with assessing the impact of farm ponds when we observe from the sky using remote sensing methods, such as:
· Data issues (work type): Some bigger water bodies like Ahars or maintenance works are wrongly mentioned as farm ponds in the work type while digitizing the information in the database.
· Size of farm pond: It is difficult to distinguish bigger farm ponds from smaller ones, and their impact would vary with size.
]]>We have designed an application on the QField App using which our field partners can mark individual farm plots and enter specific metadata associated with the cropping practice on each plot. The farm plots can be delineated by physically walking on the field and marking the polygon via the GPS facility in the app.
The metadata form associated with each farm marking involves the farmer details (like name, contact number, etc.), crop/plantation details (like crop type, sowing and harvest time, irrigation method, etc.) and whether the land was fallow in any duration or not. The field volunteers are requested to add this information for as many years as they can recall.
Once this data is entered into the Qfield application, it is processed by the moderators for different validation checks like correctness of marked farm polygon, the validity of sowing and harvest time, visualizing time series data from remote sensing to validate the cropping pattern (single/double/triple cropping). The accepted data is then pushed to the servers and used for LULC classification.
]]>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
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John Doe
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Bibendum est ultricies integer quis. Risus quis varius quam quisque id diam vel. Lorem mollis aliquam ut porttitor leo a diam sollicitudin. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a. Faucibus scelerisque eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec. Aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque convallis. In hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque.
]]>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
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John Doe
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]]>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
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Viverra aliquet eget sit amet. At ultrices mi tempus imperdiet nulla. Arcu dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Arcu cursus euismod quis viverra nibh. Cursus vitae congue mauris rhoncus. Faucibus ornare suspendisse sed nisi lacus sed viverra.
John Doe
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At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus.
Bibendum est ultricies integer quis. Risus quis varius quam quisque id diam vel. Lorem mollis aliquam ut porttitor leo a diam sollicitudin. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a. Faucibus scelerisque eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec. Aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque convallis. In hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque.
]]>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
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John Doe
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Bibendum est ultricies integer quis. Risus quis varius quam quisque id diam vel. Lorem mollis aliquam ut porttitor leo a diam sollicitudin. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a. Faucibus scelerisque eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec. Aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque convallis. In hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque.
]]>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
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Viverra aliquet eget sit amet. At ultrices mi tempus imperdiet nulla. Arcu dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Arcu cursus euismod quis viverra nibh. Cursus vitae congue mauris rhoncus. Faucibus ornare suspendisse sed nisi lacus sed viverra.
John Doe
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At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus.
Bibendum est ultricies integer quis. Risus quis varius quam quisque id diam vel. Lorem mollis aliquam ut porttitor leo a diam sollicitudin. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a. Faucibus scelerisque eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec. Aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque convallis. In hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque.
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