Hari Srinivas

Why are Rivers Important?

Rivers in general embody many values. For example, rivers symbolize connections, since they touch everyone, and everybody in principle lives downstream. Rivers also symbolize human health, since fresh water from rivers is essential to our communities and ourselves. Another value embodied by habitat, protecting freshwater ecosystems for fish and wildlife.

Rivers are also major destinations for recreation by communities. Fishermen fish in rivers, and other recreative activities such as boating, wildlife-watchers, sports and other leisure activities also take place along rivers.

What we fail to see sometimes is that throughout a river's course, human activities have a significant impact on rivers. For example, pollution is increasingly becoming a major problem, where the economy and traditions are affected by polluted water.

Environmental Problems of Rivers

Rivers are indeed facing a number of environmental problems. This is despite the fact that more than half of potable water comes from rivers. This is so bad that in some cases, rivers, lakes and estuaries are unsuitable for such basic uses as fishing and swimming.

Communities living along rivers are most affected by these negative trends. Pollution of drinking water and rivers and lakes are top two environmental concerns. Communities realize that protecting and conserving rivers - the major source of drinking water - is critical for their future survival, but don't know how to take action. Many communities don't know how their everyday actions create water pollution, even though most are willing to change simple behaviors once they are informed.

Many river-side communities, for example, still believe industrial output is the main source of pollution in our rivers. But the experts know the story is more complex. One of the most overlooked causes is non-point sources of pollution. This is the leading cause of water pollution in rivers today, and is expected to increase. The main sources of non-point pollution are from farm fields and lawns, roads and parking lots, storms and flooding etc.

The Way Forward

The problem is complex, and therefore the solution is also complex and multi-faceted. Communities living along rivers need to be the key targets for action to mitigate problems related to river pollution.

Programmes need to be developed that help the communities take action to improve the condition of rivers. This can be done using an aggressive public awareness and education campaign to show how everything we do on a daily continual basis, negatively impacts our rivers.

Partnerships are the key in order to bring together a range of stakeholders who bring different resources and skills to the partnership in order to solve multi-faceted problems. Community-based action therefore needs active partnerships with local stakeholders such as local governments, universities and research institutions, private sector companies, NGOs/NPOs et al.

Each stakeholder will bring an important resource to promote the activities that will lead to a healthy river. For example, local governments help in creating a healthy river policy and governance system; universities and research institutions help in monitoring to keep the river healthy; private sector companies help by checking their production processes, and by sponsoring activities that focus on a healthy river. NGOs/NPOs essentially initiate activities and create groups within and among communities to campaign for a healthy river

It is critical to remember that everyone has a role to play. For example, communities need to be innovative to be able to create, develop and manage a river campaign. Local governments need a clear governance structure to link the different issues and problems together. Universities and research institutions need to have the capacity to assist and train communities to monitor and evaluate the river campaigns.

All these activities need to take place within a larger framework. It is critical that each of the local stakeholders not only help in the river campaign, but also help other stakeholders to perform their tasks. The river campaign needs to have a broad vision and implementation framework within which activities have to be planed. Such a campaign needs an environmental management system that brings together actors, resources and actions.

Some Strategies for Action

This can be implemented in a number of ways. In one case, the river was divided in different segments of different lengths, and each section was handed over to a community in that segment to create a 'River Watch' group. Such groups need to be provided training and awareness to monitor the river.

Simultaneously, the local government's planning and development departments - where much of the planning and design decisions at the city level are taken - need to be involved in a comprehensive manner to create citizens-friendly river-fronts.

Involving local school children is also important - they are the ones, after all, who will inherit the river. Private sector companies can help in monitoring their production process and provide sponsorship for river-cleanup activities.

Ultimately, it will be collective action, with different stakeholders bringing in different resources and working towards commonly agreed goals, which can and will bring about sustainable and lasting positive results.