Dr. Manoj P. Samuel
Executive Director
Water, one of the most important natural resource, is inevitable for the very existence of life on the surface of the earth. It plays a major role in the health, sanitation, agriculture and industry sectors of the State as well as the Nation. In view of greater mismatch between the supply and ever increasing demand for water, more emphasis has to be given on research, development and capacity building programs in water resources sector to evolve and disseminate innovative technological solutions for efficient water management. The research programs have to be reoriented towards developing techniques and strategies to ensure more supply by means of water harvesting, recharging, reusing and recycling and reducing water pollution. At the same time, better technologies and policies for irrigation scheduling, reservoir optimization, water allocation management and increasing water use efficiency are to be developed which in turn would reduce the water demand. It is also important to develop climate resilient technologies and strategies for judicious water management.
Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, more popularly known as CWRDM, has completed more than four decades of its existence and over the years, it has established itself as a premier centre for research, development, consultancy and training in various spheres of water resources management. With its dedicated group of scientists and other technical and administrative staff, state-of-art laboratory facilities, the Centre has made its mark not only in Kerala but also at the National and International level. Apart from developing technological solutions to water related problems, the Centre offers policy support and technical backstopping to the Government and line departments. Water, being the limiting factor for agriculture development and livelihood improvement programs across the country, importance of an institute like CWRDM need not be reemphasized. The Centre is now venturing and making strides into studies in the newer thrust areas like Climate Change, Water related Disaster Mitigation and Management, Biotechnology, Geo-informatics, Nanotechnology, Isotope Hydrology, etc. We also associate with the initiatives of both State and Central governments, like Jal Shakti Abhiyan, for ensuring water security.
I am sure that with the motivation of the highly qualified and efficient group of scientists, CWRDM will be able to play a significant role in making both Kerala and India self-sufficient in water resources both spatially and temporally.
