mrwgangacasestudy

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Ganga

Summary of basin characteristics

T he Ganga (Ganges) basin extends over morethan 1 million square kilometres and encom- passes parts of India (about 80% of the total basin area), Nepal, China and Bangladesh. Thelength of the main channel is some 2,525km, whilealtitude ranges from 8,848m in the high Himalayas,to sea level in the coastal deltas of India and

Bangladesh. The basin occupies a quarter of Indiasland mass.

Although the rivers annual flow regime is sub- ject to local variations, the predominant pattern is for a low-flow dry season from January to May and awet season from July to November, with peak flowsusually occurring in August. The waters of the Gangacarry one of the highest sediment loads anywhere inthe world, with a mean annual total of 1.6 billion

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Managing Rivers Wisely

Basin countries

India, Nepal, China, Bangladesh


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tonnes, compared to 0.4 billion tonnes for theAmazon.

Socio-economic importance The Ganga basin is one of the most populous regionson Earth, home to 450 million people at an averagedensity of over 550 individuals per square kilometre.In the delta zone this rises to over 900 per square kilo-metre. As a result, there is strong demand and compe-tition for natural resources, especially water for domes-tic use and irrigation, and most of the basin tributariesare regulated by barrages. Fisheries along the river areof considerable economic value and their output makesa major contribution to regional nutritional needs.

There are some 30 cities, 70 towns, and thou-sands of villages along the banks of the Ganga.

Nearly all of the sewage from these population cen-tres over 1.3 billion litres per day passes directlyinto the river, along with thousands of animal car-casses, mainly cattle. Another 260 million litres of industrial wastewater, also largely untreated, are dis-charged by hundreds of factories, while other major

pollution inputs include runoff from the more than 6million tonnes of chemical fertilizers and 9,000tonnes of pesticides applied annually within the basin.

According to Hindu mythology, the Ganga River came down to Earth from the heavens. Today, theriver symbolizes purification to millions of Hinduswho believe that drinking or bathing in its waters willlead to moksha , or salvation. Many Hindus keepwater from the Ganga in glass bottles as a sacredrelic, or for use in religious ceremonies. The river

becomes the final resting place for thousands of Hindus, whose cremated ashes or partially burntcorpses are placed in the river for spiritual rebirth.

Biodiversity values

The Ganga supports a rich fauna and flora, includingthe endangered Ganga river dolphin Platanista

gangetica and at least nine other species of aquaticmammal. Reptiles include three species of crocodilesalong with one species of monitor lizard and elevendifferent freshwater turtles. The Ganga also has therichest freshwater fish fauna anywhere in India.

The riparian zone supports many plant speciesthat are of both ecological and economic importance.

Some play an important role in nutrient and water conservation and in controlling soil erosion, whilemany also possess important medicinal properties.

Priority issues for river basinmanagement

Threats to the continued functioning of the Ganga asa living system have reached a critical level, due ulti-mately to the exponential expansion of human popu-lations. Among the key factors are:

pollution

competition for water

habitat alteration

introduction of exotic species

commercial exploitation.

The first three of these, which often occur together, are the principal causes of the loss of aquatic

biodiversity, but typically their effects are exacer- bated by the introduction of exotic species and over-exploitation of resources.

Role of WWF and its partners

To address these issues, WWF established a pilotdemonstration project along a 165km stretch of theupper Ganga, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.This aimed to develop a methodology for tacklingthreats to one of the most ecologically valuablestretches of the whole Ganga system, known to sup-

port one of the highest-remaining densities of Gangariver dolphin an indicator of the relatively goodhealth of the ecosystem in this location.

Successful river management requires effectiveimplementation and enforcement, which in turndepends partly on the resources, priorities and politi-cal will of those in positions of authority, and partlyon the understanding and support of local people.WWF and its partners therefore sought to establish anew social approach to the conservation of theGanga Rivers aquatic biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning. This was based on informing and moti-vating local people through advisory work and edu-cation/awareness programmes for rural communitieswhose activities contribute directly or indirectly todegradation of the river system.

Public meetings were arranged, initially through

building relationships with village leaders. Duringsuch meetings, local people were provided withdetailed information about the river and the value of

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aquatic ecosystems in general. Young volunteerswere trained and given responsibilities to organizecommunity-based conservation-related activities,including street plays, storytelling, slide shows, filmshows and expert presentations in local languages.This work has been supported by a detailed socio-economic study of 29 villages in the project area toensure that the full range of interactions betweenlocal people and the river are well understood.

Considerable emphasis has been placed on thereligious symbolism of the Ganga and the river dol-

phin. A comprehensive education programme wasdesigned using the dolphin to foster deeper under-standing of the river ecosystem and to promote sim-

ple conservation measures for example, thereplacement of chemical fertilizers with cattle dung.Public opinion was largely swayed by the influenceof religious leaders and other respected communityfigures. Although there was no direct economicincentive for local people to change their attitudesor behaviour, they realized that they stood to gainfrom the increased fish production of a healthier river system.

While this project is very much a work in progress, there have already been some significantachievements. These have included:

establishment of the Ganga Sanrakhyan Samiti(Ganges Conservation Committee), a local-level

body composed of all project partners, responsi- ble for conducting and monitoring river conser-vation activities.

stopping the use of plastic bags in townshipsalong the river near Narora, following a cam-

paign by WWF-India in 2002.

tree planting along some 5km of the main roadand the bank of the river near Narora township,undertaken with support from the Narora AtomicPower Plant Corporation, the local administra-tion and local NGOs this will enhance riparianvegetation and help to control flooding andreduce soil erosion, both of which are a major

problem in this area. construction of a sewage treatment plant at

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Boys fishing on the Ganga River at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. WWF-Canon / Michle Dpraz


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Lessons learnt

1. Before planning any conservation activities in a given area, understand and build confidenceamong local stakeholdersThe project established a presence in each village through regular visits by local volunteers, localNGOs and WWF staff. This resulted in the gradual development of trust and understanding of theprojects aims. Partners and volunteers were carefully chosen on the basis of their public standing andextent of interaction with local people. It was of particular importance that the local implementingauthority (in this case the State Forest Department) was one of the project partners.

2. Cultural and religious values can be very important in motivating community support forconservation effortsThe involvement of religious leaders in the project engendered public understanding, acceptance andimplementation of conservation measures, reflecting villagers strong belief in religion and rituals.

3. Preliminary research work must be carried outBefore designing specific project components, such as education and awareness programmes orbiodiversity monitoring, preliminary research work is needed to establish the extent of existingknowledge, as well as stakeholder attitudes and practices.

4. Regular presence in the media helps to generate public and political supportPromoting visits to the project site by foreign journalists, tourists, scientists and other external groupshelped to raise the projects profile and to secure international support.

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Lead WWF office contactDr Sandeep BeheraCoordinator, Freshwater SpeciesFreshwater & Wetland Conservation ProgrammeWWF-India172/B Lodi EstateNew Delhi-110 003India

T: +91 11 24654889F: +91 11 24691226E: [email protected]

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