Water security for the humid tropics: the State research centre built for Kerala's water sector

Background

Kerala is running 15% short of rain for the season, at 275.3 mm against a normal of 323.6 mm, and the India Meteorological Department has forecast below-normal rainfall through the month, which puts more strain on the State's reservoirs. The institution Kerala built for research on water is the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, known as CWRDM. The State Government created it in February 1978 as an autonomous research body, acting under its own Science and Technology Policy. In its silver jubilee year it was brought under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, or KSCSTE. Its stated mission is water security for all, delivered through research and development work that puts special weight on the humid tropics. Its work is organised in four research groups: Hydrology and Climatology, Ecology and Environment, Land and Water Management, and Training and Outreach. It runs sub-centres at Kottayam, Manimalakunnu and Neyyattinkara, and its facilities include a Water Resources Museum, an Isotope Facility and a Central Instrumentation Facility, with water quality testing and soil analysis offered as services. It is at present inviting nominations for a three-day paid training programme on Advances in Environmental Remediation Techniques.