Reforesting Baran

Location: Baran, Rajasthan, India

Rocket Themes: The Environment, Economic Model, Food & Nutrition, Equality and Education

Funded since: 2023

Reforesting Baran is an ambitious ten-year project to rejuvenate and reforest 125 sq km of degraded land in Rajasthan, India. Land which was once a dense forest, but due to lack of water, soil erosion and famine it has crossed a tipping point of ecological degradation – no water, no trees and severe soil degradation. The tribes who inhabit the area have lost their source of livelihood.

This is a transformative journey, working with the communities across the region, in collaboration with the Jal Sahelis (friends of water) who take responsibility for water security across the villages.

The project is at the very beginning and it not only has huge potential to restore biodiversity and store thousands of tonnes of carbon, but also to restore a basic healthy life for the tribes and communities who rely on this land.

Three Core Pillars

WATER RETENTION

The Baran region has dried up. A lack of water-holding structures means that when it rains, the water is not held in the land and it is lost. The lack of water has a domino effect – leading to soil degradation, the forest dying and destabilising the lives that depended on it.

SOIL REGENERATION

There is a vicious cycle of drought and soil degradation, each exacerbating the other. Retaining water in the area will improve the soil health, increasing the soil’s capacity to hold water and preventing the land from drying out.

REFORESTATION

Once the area can retain water and soil health is restored, the land can once again be the home to a returning forest, which will replenish the ecosystems as well as sequester thousands of tonnes of carbon, and provide food sources and livelihoods to the people.

Project Plan

1

Stage 1: Completed - Spring 2024

4 ponds built storing 140,000 sq m of water in just 3 months
Over 9,000 trees planted
Agriculture land & productivity more than doubled leading to increased incomes and decreased migration
Water School India Launched
Detailed planning and hydrology study for the next phase
Over 1,800 people impacted

Stage 2: 2024/2025

Expanding the work across the Purana Faredua catchment, (4 additional ponds)
Establishing nurseries and seed banks employing the Jal Saheli women
Community training
Planting 10,00o trees
Developing regenerative agriculture
Work to revive the Talipashi River

Funding Needed: CHF 280,000

2

3

Stage 3: Broader 10-year + project

Expanding to 220 villages
Restoring 125 sq km of land
Thousands of tonnes of carbon sequestered

"Bringing back the water, restoring the soil and regenerating the forest would rejuvenate the Baran region, restore its water balance, and yet again, prove the link between water, trees, carbon sequestration, cooling of the planet and climate change mitigation."

Our Project Partner

This project is led by The Flow Partnership with lead NGO Parmarth SSS. Together they have successfully mobilised community action to revive water structures and food security in over 300 villages in surrounding states, impacting the lives of many hundreds of families.

A key advisor to the project is ‘The Water Man of India’, Rajendra Singh, the Stockholm Water Prize winner who has revived 7 rivers in Rajasthan, enabling the construction of over 15,000 community water structures in these 7 river catchments.

Stockholm Water Prize 2015

Initial Project Impact

The pictures show the transformation in Purana Faredua, one of the first four ponds built. They show the land in April 2024 and again in October following the monsoon. This pond alone collected 25,800 m3 of water in just three months.

Together with the ponds built in Bhoyal, Guwari and Ranipura, water equivalent to 60 olympic sized swimming pools full has been retained, demonstrating how just six months of focused efforts in repairing and rebuilding rejuvenate the land.

The Water School India

Water Schools are a shared platform created by The Flow Partnership to hold, exchange and implement a community-led water-retention movement across the planet. The vision of the global Water Schools is for local communities to come and share their water wisdom, learn practical and successful methods of holding water in their landscapes from each other and hold rainwater in ever-increasing quantities to rehydrate the planet at a micro level.

This two-pronged strategy (of literacy and action) enables local communities to remain independent, responsible and in charge of their actions to become water secure and self-reliant at their level.

Stockholm Water Prize 2015

This repair of the small water cycle helps the recovery of the planet’s climate. The Water School India will showcase the Baran project, enhancing the skills and knowledge of people from across the planet to hold and manage water in their landscapes successfully and build resilience in the face of economic and climate uncertainties.