Apple to Enhance Water Management, Sanitation in India
Apple, the technology behemoth, unveiled a fresh programme to support better water, sanitation, and hygiene outcomes in India.
Apple is collaborating with the environmental non-governmental organisation Frank Water to promote the creation of a creative and adaptable strategy that reinforces indigenous water management and decision-making processes as well as broadens fair access to water quality information.
"Some of the most powerful solutions to climate change and the global water crisis come from the communities living every day with these challenges," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.
"By supporting innovative, community-based approaches in India and around the world, Apple is making progress toward our global climate goals while doing our part to help people improve their lives," she added.
Frank Water is commencing with a trial project in Anekal taluk, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where they are examining households and scrutinising multiple data sources to map the water usage in the locality. The NGO is utilising hydrological modelling and devising an advanced decision support system that empowers the community by providing them with the necessary tools.
Apple, Frank Water, and local partners are collaborating to use the enriched data and extended partnerships to demonstrate how collective water stewardship can serve as a model to replicate across India and beyond. By working with businesses, the initiative aims to show how the partnership can improve water management in the region.
In addition to water conservation, Apple is also working with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) to preserve mangroves along India's coast. Mangroves are an effective nature-based solution for carbon removal, with the ability to store up to 10 times more carbon per acre than terrestrial forests.
Since the launch of the partnership in 2021, over 200 marginalised fishing community members across Roha, Pen, and Alibaug blocks in the Raigad district of Maharashtra have been aided by local villagers who signed conservation agreements.
Under these agreements, villagers receive support in exchange for conserving privately owned mangrove forests. This effort is preserving the mangroves and keeping them healthy while also helping to transition the local economy, according to Apple.
In India, Apple is also working with the Barefoot College, which provides training to rural women to become solar engineers in their communities. This initiative helps create a more sustainable future by promoting the use of solar energy.
Apple has already achieved carbon neutrality for its global corporate operations and is focused on achieving its ambitious 2030 target of being carbon neutral across its entire global supply chain.
Source: IANS
