Green Roads for Water (GR4W)- a first outlook in Madhya Pradesh, India
The basic idea of “roads for water” is to make roads instruments of beneficial water management and resilience. Roads make a major imprint on hydrology. They block and guide water, concentrate runoff, interfere with subsurface flows, and change flooding patterns. The impact of roads on landscapes and surface hydrology is often negative. Roads cause erosion and local flooding and trigger sedimentation. Road bodies are the main reason for drainage congestion and waterlogging.
Water is also considered the prime enemy of road infrastructure and the single greatest factor in road damage. A commonly used estimate is that for unpaved roads, the damage caused by water is around 80 percent (Chinowsky & Arndt, 2012) and for paved roads the proportion is 30 percent. There is a strong case for road-asset management to better manage water around roads and to see roads as an integral part of the watershed and landscape in which they are situated. The negative impact of roads on the surrounding landscape can be turned around and how roads can become instruments of beneficial water management. Roads provide an enormous opportunity to contribute to better water management and climate resilience. This will create the triple benefit of less road damage, less land degradation, and more beneficial use of water.