Research Projects

Watershed management is a crucial process for achieving sustainable use and conservation of water, land, vegetation, and other natural resources. Rivers, as integral components of watershed ecosystems, are particularly important in this process. The Damodar River basin, located in the eastern Chhotanagpur Plateau, is known for its extensive water supply dams and weirs. However, recent government initiatives have focused on restoring environmental quality and addressing health-related concerns within larger river basins. There is a need for an integrated approach that considers not only water supply and water quality enhancements but also the preservation and interplay of natural ecosystems within the watershed. This study aims to quantify spatial and temporal variations in river water quality and nutrient levels, examine the spatial distribution of water quality and carbon storage in dams, characterize the impact of anthropogenic land use practices and dams on the ecological security of fluvial water systems, evaluate watershed health and ecological environmental quality using geospatial modeling, estimate ecosystem service values, and use XGBoost-based explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to identify responsible factors at different sites of the final ecological health condition areas. The findings will provide evidence-based insights into the economic viability of various options, enabling farmers to select the most profitable strategies, leading to enhanced productivity, increased income, and improved livelihoods for small-scale farmers. This study demonstrates how a health-oriented evaluation and monitoring of watersheds can bolster water resource management and provide valuable insights for policymaking at the watershed scale.