In particular, the population of India, with its vast geographical landscape and multiple climatic zones, may face severe water-related problems such as severe water shortages and excessive flooding if the global temperature rises above 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The climate change panel’s expectations may come true within this decade.
Two India-based organizations, Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust and Villgro Innovation Foundation, are working on solutions to combat such threats and were recently selected to receive a grant from the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund to explore new use cases for AI, ML and IoT. models which helps manage water supply and flood risk across the country.
Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust focuses on empowering women and equipping sustainable and equitable cities across India to build and provide training and technical expertise in construction, technology and urban management. With the grant, the organization plans to develop an AI-powered model for climate resilience in Amalner, Maharashtra, to serve as an archetype of a small urban village in India.
The project initiates the mapping of land use and watersheds to predict their susceptibility to flooding and inundation, thus helping to protect natural drainage systems.
Villgro Innovation Foundation is a non-profit incubator in India focused on supporting social innovation through technology. The grant supports the organization’s partnership with CultYvate to develop a mobile and web-based app, IoT sensors, satellite data and AI/ML models that provide real-time irrigation management knowledge and advice to Indian farmers. save water with precise alternative wetting and drying (AWD) and irrigation techniques.
These organizations are among 13 local sustainability organizations selected by the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund to help vulnerable and underserved communities in the region.
India’s population could be susceptible to severe water-related challenges across its vast geographic landscape and many climatic zones, if global temperatures cross the threshold temperature rise of 1.5 degree Celsius, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects could occur within this decade,” said Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president, Google India.
The tech giant supported the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund, founded by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), with a $3 million grant by Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, in partnership with Asian Development Bank.
- source: Google Blog
