Ganga (basin area), Nepal, China and Bangladesh - PDF document

Ganga basin area), Nepal, China and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh. The basin occupies a quarter of IndiasAlthough the rivers annual flow regime is sub-wet season from July to November, with peak flowsusually occurring in August. The waters of the Ganga 1 Managing Rivers Wisely metre. As a result, there is strong demand and compe-into the river, along with thousands of animal car-casses, mainly cattle. Another 260 million litres ofindustrial wastewater, also largely untreated, are dis-charged by hundreds of factories, while other majorpollution inputs include runoff from the more than 6According to Hindu mythology, the Ganga Rivercame down to Earth from the heavens. Today, therelic, or for use in religious ceremonies. The riverBiodiversity valuesdifferent freshwater turtles. The Ganga also has the Priority issues for river basin lations. Among the key factors are:together, are the principal causes of the loss of aquaticbiodiversity, but typically their effects are exacer- address these issues, WWF established a pilotSuccessful river management requires effectivecal will of those in positions of authority, and partlynew social approachto the conservation of theGanga Rivers aquatic biodiversity and ecosystemfunctioning. This was based on informing and moti- Ganga aquatic ecosystems in general. Young volunteerswere trained and given responsibilities to organizephin. Acomprehensive education programme wasPublic opinion was largely swayed by the influencefigures. Although there was no direct economicor behaviour, they realized that they stood to gain achievements. These have included:paign by WWF-India in 2002.undertaken with support from the Narora Atomic Ganga Managing Rivers Wisely 3 Boys fishing on the Ganga River at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. untreated sewage was formerly discharged directIn addition, the river dolphin population isarea compared to just 20 in 1994/95. Aproposal forState Forest Department. The area has also beenof which is under way with support from WWF),tion of the Ramsar wise useconcept in practice.aquatic biodiversity and habitat quality, and a scien-and sand-mining contractors. There has been signifi- rural communities. Although covering just a short sec-tion of the river, the project demonstrates the potentialto promote a locally based stewardshipethos.officials. Capacity building for these local project been supported by investments from the WWF Development Agency. Partners provide local-level River Dolphinproject.dolphin in India and formulation of National ActionIdentification of threats to aquatic biodiversity.Development of target-specific education andJanuary: standardization of project methodology.communities through targeted education andpreparation of an Action Plan for the project area inJanuary: meeting with officials from State and local Ganga The 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 theprojects 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 implementingimplementation of conservation measures, reflecting villagersstrong belief in religion and rituals.Before 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.Promoting visits to the project site by foreign journalists, tourists, scientists and other externalgroupshelped to raise the projects profile and to secure international support. Ganga Managing Rivers Wisely 5 Coordinator, Freshwater SpeciesFreshwater & Wetland Conservation ProgrammeNew Delhi-110 003+91 11 24654889+91 11 24691226