SOPPECOM is a core group from Vikalp Sangam, a network of people and organisations thinking of alternatives for resilient community responses to livelihood, food and health crises. They have worked on Natural Resource Management in rural areas, committed to sustainable and rational use of natural resources, distributive justice for disadvantaged sections and decentralised governance. A key area of its focus is on water resource management: from organising people into legal associations as user groups for participative management of water, to sustainable use of water in cropping practices and sustainable irrigation systems, using different sources of water (ground and surface and local and exogenous) for sustainable use. A key aspect of their work is a commitment to social justice and affirmative action.

Why are they the right choice for others:

• Working on distributive use of natural resources for disadvantaged sections of society through the use of research and governance models.
• A focus on sustainable water and irrigation systems for rural areas with a specific focus on the law, user rights and social justice — for dalits, landless, women, democratic and decentralised governance of natural resources.