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AbstractStakeholder engagement for governance leadership has drawn interest from researchers, government agencies, and leaders of organizations with direct water management expertise and responsibilities. Most prominent research on theory and methods of engagement is documented in business management and natural resources management spheres. In contrast to public sector engagement initiatives, especially in the domain of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), the available literature mostly focuses on the experiences of specific studies. The plethora of research publications on such specific studies, on the one hand, provides examples of many attributes essential in an engagement initiative while, on the other hand, signifies a lack of literature on methodological approaches. Water governance leadership is about implementing socially acceptable water allocation and regulation and includes laws, regulations and institutions as well as government policies and actions. Nonetheless, a successful engagement process for governance leadership needs to be strategic with an appropriate scale for interaction defined and consideration is given to a practice that melds cognitive research with discipline expertise.In this paper, we critically examine the process of formulating a strategic engagement process based on theories, methods, and experiences from a wide spectrum of literature to develop a model for a holistic view of "engagement process." The engagement process is reflected under three stages: initiating, planning, and participatory engagement and it is contextualized under the characteristics and aspects of best practices in IWRM initiatives and water governance leadership. Six additional critical inputs for a successful stakeholder engagement are also recognized, viz., denoted by RECIPE—Representative inclusion, Early engagement, Continuity within the process stages, Interactions between participants, Participatory models, and tools and Effective communication. Further, the monitoring and evaluation process, which forms an essential component in an engagement process, is discussed and summarized through a framework for stakeholder engagement in IWRM and water governance leadership. The outcome of this paper is expected to provide insights into stakeholder engagement process in different contexts in the applications of better management of scarce and precious water resources. Further it is expected to be a guiding literature for future work on specific issues and experiences in stakeholder engagement for water governance.

Groundwater management practices need to take hydrogeology, the agro-climate and demand for groundwater into account. Since agroclimatic zones have already been demarcated by the Government of India, it would aid policy makers to understand the status of groundwater recharge and discharge in each agroclimatic zone. However, developing effective policies to manage groundwater at agroclimatic zone and state levels is constrained due to a paucity of temporal data and information. With the launch of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission in 2002, it is now possible to obtain frequent data at broad spatial scales and use it to examine past trends in rain induced recharge and groundwater use. In this study, the GRACE data were used to estimate changes to monthly total water storage (TWS) and groundwater storage in different agroclimatic zones of Rajasthan, India. Furthermore, the long-term annual and seasonal groundwater storage trends in the state were estimated using the GRACE data and the trends were compared with those in rainfall data. The methodology based on GRACE data was found to be useful in detecting large scale trends in groundwater storage changes covering different agroclimatic zones. The analysis of data shows that groundwater storage trends depend on rainfall in previous years and, therefore, on the antecedent moisture conditions. Overall, the study indicates that if suitable groundwater recharge methods and sites are identified for the state, there is potential to achieve more groundwater recharge than what is currently occurring and, thus, enhancing the availability of water for irrigated agriculture.

To minimize and counter decline of groundwater levels and improve the availability of water for cropproduction, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) interventions are widely adopted across India, often ini-tiated or supported by, local communities, state and central governments to improve the availability ofwater for irrigation. While the literature on MAR in India is vast, the science of their construction is lack-ing. Furthermore, there is an absence of a structured approach to evaluate the performance and impactof MAR interventions. Often, performance and impacts of MAR have been commented upon together,without distinguishing the two.In this article, we aim to propose that performance and impact are different from each other, andthat the evaluation of MAR interventions should take into account such differences between them. Aframework for performance and impact analysis, based on three levels, viz. primary, secondary and ter-tiary, is outlined. It is then applied to seven selected MAR interventions in India, Adarsha watershed –Andhra Pradesh, Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura watershed – Rajasthan, Kodangipalayam watershed – TamilNadu, Chikalgaon watershed – Maharashtra, Rajasamadhiyala watershed – Gujarat, Satlasana watershed– Gujarat and Sujalam Sufalam Yojana – Gujarat. Although, the evaluations of these case studies reportedwere not categorized into performance and impact, most of them have addressed both. However, noneof them could explicitly demonstrate that reported impacts were uniquely related to MAR interventions.If impacts are used as a surrogate for performance, it must be shown that impacts are uniquely linked toMAR interventions.

Groundwater for agricultural purposes is of utmost importance in the Indian state of Gujarat. To augment existing agricultural water resources, the Gujarat Government invested in many large-scale and smallscale water infrastructures (WI). In order to increase water storage and groundwater recharge and to justify further investments in WI, a better understanding on the impacts of past WIs is needed. This study uses data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), along with soil moisture data from the Global Land Data Assimilation Systems, to estimate water storage before and after the intensification in the investment in WIs. In addition, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensor was used to show changes in seasonal cropped areas during the same period. The analysis of data showed that the water storage in the state was estimated to be 24 BCM in 2003–2004 and 30 BCM in 2010–2011, an increase of 29% pre and post WI intensification. The Pixel Crop Duration Index (PCDI) indicated an increase in cropped area (at district level) in 2010–2011 when compared with 2003–2004 period, by 30% on yearly basis and about 80% during non-monsoon period. Results also indicates a significant net increase in water storage (by 5890 M m3 after water used for crop intensification) and increase in agricultural crop area (by 63,862 km2) in Gujarat during the period of intensification in infrastructures for water storage and groundwater recharge. Results also indicate that some districts have higher net water storage (compared to 2003), however the cropped area duration - PCDI has not increased much (e.g., Valsad and Navsari). The findings of this study can increase the understanding of the potential of WIs and provide valuable guidance for increasing cropped area in high water storage regions of Gujarat.

There are many reasons behind the worsening groundwater situation that have led to a scarcity of quality water supply for sustaining lives and livelihoods in India, as well as in other parts of the world. The lack of a proper scientific understanding of this situation by the various stakeholders has been identified as one of the important gaps in the sustainable management of groundwater. This paper shares experiences from Gujarat and Rajasthan in western India where scientists, NGOs, government agencies and village leaders have worked together to explore strategies for sustainable groundwater management. The study involved a total of eleven villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. The study's main aim was to educate these communities through an intensive capacity building of (mainly) rural youth, called Bhujal Jaankars (BJs), a Hindi word meaning 'groundwater informed'. The BJs were trained in their local settings through relevant theory and practical exercises, so that they could perform a geo-hydrological evaluation of their area, monitor groundwater and share their findings and experiences with their village community. The BJs went through a training program of a series of sessions totalling 45-days that covered mapping, land and water resource analysis, geo-hydrology, and water balance analysis, and finally groundwater management strategies. This approach has highlighted important learning that can be replicated in other parts of the two states and beyond. There are now 35 trained BJs who regularly monitor groundwater and rainfall in the two study watersheds, and provide data to both scientific and their own rural communities. This study has demonstrated that BJ capacity building has helped to provide a scientific basis for village level groundwater dialogue. This is now leading the communities and other stakeholders to improve their decision making regarding groundwater use, crop selection, agronomy, recharge strategies and other aspects of sustainable groundwater management. Although the BJ program has been successful and BJs can act as a valuable interface between local communities and other stakeholders, there still exists some challenges to the BJ programme, such as the need for mechanisms and funding sources that will sustain the BJs over the longer term; wider acceptance of BJs among scientific communities and policy makers; and the acceptance of the role and involvements of BJs in natural resources management programs of the State and Central governments in India.

Participatory groundwater management is increasingly being recognised for its ability to address the challenges of equity, efficiency and sustainability. It can particularly help with effective engagement at the grassroots level for monitoring, recharging and managing the groundwater as a common pool resource. The main aim of this article is to discuss the training and management process used and the lessons learnt from a participatory groundwater management project, titled Managing Aquifer Recharge and Sustainable Groundwater Use through Village-level Intervention (MARVI). In this project, researchers, rural development facilitators and local villagers worked together to initiate participatory groundwater monitoring in 11 villages from the Dharta and Meghraj watersheds in Rajasthan and Gujarat, India. The study involved educating villagers through an intensive program of capacity building, wherein the villagers who participated in the program were called Bhujal Jaankars (BJs), a Hindi word meaning 'groundwater informed'. The BJs were trained in their local settings through relevant theory and practical exercises, so that they could perform a geo-hydrological evaluation of their area, monitor groundwater and share their findings and experiences with their village community. The study has highlighted that with a well-designed program of capacity building and on-going support through training and nurturing, BJs can play an important role in monitoring watertable depth and other data for estimating groundwater recharge, leading to a sharing of the groundwater information with the local village community to influence the sustainable use of groundwater. Overall they can act as local champions for groundwater futures. Further, this study has demonstrated that BJ capacity building can help to provide a scientific basis for village level groundwater dialogue and assist village communities and other stakeholders to improve their decision making regarding groundwater use, crop selection, agronomy, recharge strategies and other aspects of sustainable groundwater management. Although the BJ program has been successful and BJs can act as a valuable interface between local communities and other stakeholders managed aquifer recharge activities, there still exists some challenges to the BJ programme, such as the need for mechanisms and funding sources that will sustain the BJs over the longer term; wider acceptance of BJs among scientific communities and policy makers; and the acceptance of the role and involvements of BJs in natural resources management programs of the State and Central governments in India.