India: tree plantation drive in the Western Ghats and water conference in Pune

Sponge region project initiated by Hof University, Wilo-Foundation presented funding projects at water conference in Pune.

Before the start of the water conference at MIT-WPU University in Pune. Photo: Wilo-Foundation

On 22 October 2024, an all-day conference was held at the MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU) in Pune, with Evi Hoch and David Höltgen of the Wilo-Foundation and representatives of Wilo India attending the conference. It was organised and implemented by TERRE Policy Centre in Pune, a well-known environmental NGO in India, in collaboration with the German association Global Nature Fund (GNF) from Radolfzell. GNF has been a funding partner of the Wilo-Foundation for many years now and has close ties with the foundation because of their joint support for water projects in Cambodia, South Africa, Jordan and Colombia.

The conference started with a traditional opening ceremony with the representatives of the conference partners, including Dr Vinita Apte (Founder & Director, TERRE Policy Centre) and Evi Hoch. Afterwards, 70 conference participants, students of MIT-WPU University, experts from academia, society and business listened attentively to the presentations.

Evi Hoch and David Höltgen together presented the key funding areas of the Wilo-Foundation at the international level. In particular, they talked about the foundation’s funding activities in India, including the Water Quality Center of Excellence at Vishwakarma University Pune, the Enactus National Cup India and the Nanhi Kali education project for girls implemented by the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust.

From left to right: David Höltgen and Evi Hoch (Wilo Foundation), Jasmin Rose Mundackal (inwa, HAW Hof), Dr. Vinita Apte (TERRE Policy Centre), Katharina Gehrig (Global Nature Fund), Hemant Watve (Wilo India). Photo: Wilo-Foundation

Sponge region of the future – from Hof to the world

One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation by Jasmin Rose Mundackal of the Institute for Sustainable Water Systems (inwa) at Hof University, who, as a former master student of the Sustainable Water Management study programme, had also held a scholarship from the Wilo-Foundation. Together with the head of the study project Professor Günter Müller-Czygan, who joined the conference online, Ms Mundackal reported on the SPORE (SmartSPOngeREgion Upper Franconia) research project funded by the Wilo-Foundation (here: as a trustee of the WILO-Stiftung) and Hof University. The central research questions of the study and the pilot measures can play a significant role for large parts of India that are often hit by extreme weather events and heavy rainfall. After further specialist lectures on research and funding projects, the conference day ended with some networking and a guided tour of the university, including a meeting with its rector.

Visit of the foundation team to the current funding project of the foundation in the Western Ghats near Kodit. Photo: TERRE Policy Centre

Trees for water storage: plantation drive with Wilo India in the Western Ghats

On the next day, the foundation team, supported by the Wilo India team, participated in a volunteering campaign carried out as part of the ongoing funding project.

Under the leadership of the Indian environmental NGO TERRE Policy in Pune, the Global Nature Fund (GNF) has been working since 2022 to establish four tree nurseries in seven villages in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and a private donor, the Wilo-Foundation. The planting of at least 55,000 tree seedlings enables the rehabilitation and long-term protection of 70 hectares of degraded forest. The project contributes to restoring and conserving the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot and an important carbon sink and water storage. On the day of the volunteering event, the Indian Wilo staff became climate activists themselves, planted some trees and visited the newly built Tribal Museum, which conserves and disseminates traditional knowledge on the importance of forests and their sustainable use.

The trip also included other interesting visits, for instance to the recently opened rural community health centre, a wildlife hospital and a nature education centre, all of which are sponsored by the Rotary Club Pune and also by Rotary Clubs from Germany and Singapore.

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