Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), Dharwad was established under the Water Resources Department of Government of Karnataka (the then Irrigation Department) in 1985 to provide leadership in capacity building in water and land management. Within a span of little over 37 years, WALMI has made a mark for itself in building capacity of farmers NGOs and engineers in water and land eanagement. It has been conferred with outstanding Jal Prahari Award (2019) Government India for its efforts in mass awareness in water conservation and management. Presently, WALMI has been recognized at national and international levels.

WALMI, Dharwad is located at about 14 km on National Highway-4 between Bengaluru and Pune on the outskirts of Dharwad city.  Spread over seven small hills at an average altitude of 750 meters above mean sea level, Dharwad enjoys a salubrious climate amidst thick vegetation. Dharwad is known as educational and cultural centre and has excellent climate throughout the year. Temperatures are moderate from late October to early February (25-28°C, with no rainfall). Dharwad is well connected by road, rail and air. Nearest domestic airports are located at Hubballi (20 kms), Belagavi (70 kms) and Goa (180 Kms). Hubballi is an important railway junction with connectivity of trains to Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, New Delhi, Howrah, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Thiruvanantapuram, Chennai etc. Goa is the nearest international tourist place (180 km). Other nearest places of tourist attraction are Vijayapura (200 km) famous for Golgumbaz (world’s second largest whispering gallery), Almatti Dam with garden (220 km), Kudala Sangam (200 km), Aihole and Pattadkallu (180 km; having sculptures of Chalukya’s period of national heritage) and Badami caves (150 km). The Western Ghats, globally acclaimed hot spot of biodiversity are within 50 km from Dharwad.