From Managed Aquifer Recharge to Managing Aquifer Recharge: Developing a Strategic Approach to Artificial Recharge in India

The rapid transition from a narrow focus on developing groundwater resourcesGroundwater resource to wider thinking on groundwater governance has been a result of many different developments in the South Asian Region, particularly in India. Policies and practices of groundwater recharge, especially through engineered mechanisms have also evolved from artificial rechargeArtificial recharge to the concept of managed aquifer rechargeManaged aquifer recharge (MAR). The large potential for MAR in India prompts strategic thinking on enabling projects on groundwater recharge, bearing in mind the diversity of India’s aquifersAquifers and the status of groundwater extraction in different regions of India. MAR is not just about adopting and adapting artificial rechargeArtificial recharge to different geographies but is also about understanding the contexts for MAR. Understanding groundwater conditions, making correct choices of recharge and conservation measures and gauging impact are an integral part of MAR, explained through case studies in this paper. Embedding groundwater recharge planning within the larger framework of participatory groundwater managementGroundwater management and governance will provide a further impetus to change the very meaning of MAR—from managed aquifer rechargeManaged aquifer recharge to managing aquiferAquifers recharge.