Speaker
Description
With the constant dependence on groundwater and diminishing recharge capacity, along with untreated sewage and garbage dumping onto the water bodies, India is likely to be the most severely affected by water scarcity by 2050. As the most populous country with unique climate risk challenges, urban India has significantly stressed water resources. To address this, India recently completed its first water census of more than 24 Lakh water bodies across all states and union territories. This has provided essential information on the typologies of water bodies, their sizes, conditions, status, current use, ownership, storage capacity, seasonal fluctuations, etc.
With climate extremes and a dearth of open spaces, there has never been a more urgent need to restore these damaged ecosystems than now - both socially and environmentally. Although enormous funding for water body revival and restoration is in place for both alleviating climate change and creating public spaces in Indian cities, the lack of an evaluation method to determine the most critical sites, eventually lead to failure of the restored water bodies. Hence, the study use the first water census of India with focus on dried up water bodies, assess the restoration potential of critical, government-owned water bodies in most populated cities in India with a comprehensive evaluation framework.
The study propose a three-stepped research method to create a score-based prioritisation index to select the most critical water bodies. Firstly, the study identify the dried-up, rarely filled up, and never-filled-up water bodies against their ownership status in populated cities and compared the change in the physical characteristics in the last ten years. This help in the primary selection of the water bodies. In the second stage, through literature review and case studies, the authors document different models of water body restoration to understand environmental aspect of microclimate control, ecosystem services, as well as the socio-recreational benefit of water bodies. In the third stage, the study propose a framework with four key dimensions: a) physical parameters, such as size, hydrological status, and pollution levels; b) social co-benefits, including ecosystem services, cultural significance, and community reliance; c) contextual understanding, addressing regional climatic, geographical, and infrastructural factors; and d) ownership patterns, assessing governance structures, legal statuses, and stakeholder responsibilities. By assigning scores across these dimensions, the framework generate a prioritisation index to identify water bodies requiring urgent intervention.
The authors argue that this evaluative methodology enables a systematic approach to addressing urban water scarcity, ensuring the inclusion of ecological and socio-economic factors in decision-making. The framework further offer policymakers and urban designers actionable insights for the targeted rehabilitation of water bodies, fostering urban resilience and sustainable water resource management in the context of India’s unique climate challenges.
References
CEPT University. (2023) Water Plus Studio (LA4010) Monsoon 2023. Available at: https://portfolio.cept.ac.in/2023/M/fa/water-plus-studio-la4010-monsoon-2023
Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. (2023) All India Report of First Census of Water Bodies: Volume 1. Available at: https://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/document/all-india-report-of-first-census-of-water-bodies-volume-1/
Indian Express. (2023) India severely water-scarce; situation projected to worsen by 2050: UN report. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-severely-water-scarcity-projected-to-increase-2050-un-report-8514694/
| Keywords | water census; framework; prioritisation index; climate challenges; water restoration |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
