How Can Trees Save Rivers?

“A few interlinking projects have already rolled out. It would be ideal if we evaluate the economic gains from these projects and weigh it against the loss of natural resource capital before embarking on new projects.”

—Sadhguru

The “Rally for Rivers” initiative is about revitalizing rivers and augmenting the flow of water in them. This focus on actually augmenting water supply is therefore qualitatively different from other measures, including river linking, that seek to utilize the currently available water supply.

From our interaction with a few scientists from ATREE, we got to know that the paradigm of “surplus” and “deficit” basins is, in itself, a limited understanding. It does not take into consideration the varying climate conditions we are going through. In many parts of India, complex changes in the monsoon regime is happening, and these regions are expected to undergo even more changes in rainfall regimes in the coming decades due to complex effects of warming atmosphere and oceans, impacts of aerosols and land-cover change. It is observed that the monsoons have weakened since the 1950s in regions such as the Western Ghats and in parts of central and northern India. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall has become more variable. Rainfall in parts of the country is now happening for fewer days and often in very intense spells. The “surplus” basins may in fact face severe water stress due to shifts in the nature of rainfall.

Read the full article on Isha Foundation Site.

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