Ted Talk: Noted Environmentalist, Water Conservationist And Journalist Anupam Mishra Who Passed Away Today

With wit and wisdom, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering by the people of India’s Golden Desert to harvest water, centuries ago. These ancient aqueducts and step wells are still used today — and are often superior to modern water megaprojects.

Mishra was born in 1948 in Wardha, Maharashtra. He was passionate about the environment and water conservation. After graduating from college, he co-founded the Gandhi Peace Foundation where he worked for many years. He is known as the Indian Gandhian. Also an author, journalist, environmentalist, and water conservationist, he was passionate about promoting water conservation, water management and traditional rainwater harvesting techniques.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests awarded him the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) in 1996. He travelled to villages across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, describing the value of time-tested systems of water harvesting. He advocated conservation of traditional water structures in India as well as abroad.

Mishra travelled across water-challenged India studying rainwater harvesting methods and learning from the people behind them. He presented his findings to NGOs, development agencies and environmental groups, pulling from centuries of indigenous wisdom that has found water for drinking and irrigation even in extremely arid landscapes through wells, filter ponds and other catchment systems.

Mishra worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between modern water management technology and India’s heritage of water harvesting so that every community is self-sustainable and could efficiently safe keep an increasingly scarce and precious resource.

Anupam Mishra passed away at the age of 68 at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) today. He was battling prostate cancer.

The Logical Indian mourns the death of a visionary and offers heartfelt condolences to the family and all the people whose lives he impacted.