Climate variability, rainwater-harvesting structures and groundwater levels in Odisha, India: an empirical analysis

ABSTRACT

To examine the driver of groundwater depletion, this paper estimates a dynamic panel regression model using district-level secondary data from 1995 to 2017. Results show that the number of rainwater-harvesting structures, annual average rainfall, forest cover and net sown area improve groundwater levels. Tube well irrigation and rice cultivation can adversely affect groundwater levels. The positive relationship between surface water and improved groundwater level is consistent in all the estimated models. Hence, efficient use and management of surface and groundwater are crucial for the long-term sustainability of water resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate variability
• groundwater
• rainwater-harvesting structures
• SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
• Odisha
• India

Acknowledgement

The authors express their gratitude for the invaluable feedback and suggestions provided by the journal’s Editor-in-Chief and the anonymous reviewers, as well as the organisers, discussants and participants of the conference entitled Water Resource Management for Achieving Food Security in Asia Under Climate Change, October 26–27, 2022. Furthermore, the authors deeply appreciate the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and the guest editors for initiating this special issue. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of Dr Panharoth Chhay (Research Associate, ADBI) during the manuscript submission process. In addition, they are thankful to Adam Majoe, ADBI, for help with the editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.