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One of the crucial parts of the ecology is the water bodies. Therefore, keeping them safe and clean is crucial for maintaining a suitable environmental condition. In places like India, the river system is highly important to the economy and lifestyle of the people.
Since rivers are an important part of the urban and rural ecology, it is important to maintain and preserve them better. The initiative of IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’ revolves around that primarily, as planned under the NIUA (National Institute of Urban Affairs) and NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga).
What is IDEAthon on The Future of River Management?
IDEAthon covers the series of brainstorming events under the NIUA and NMCG for increasing focus on improving river management and condition. Besides this, the significance of IDEAthon centres around showcasing the interconnection of the rivers and the urban lifestyle.
An international webinar was held related to IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’, discussing the pollution levels in river bodies. Around 500 global participants from varying countries took part in the webinar.
The two organizations mainly focus on the initiative to optimize and collaborate urban planning with river management factors.
Key Points of IDEAthon
The following are the key points about IDEAthon that are important for a basic understanding of the program.
- It focuses on brainstorming ideas and information related to the Covid-19 situation, the lockdowns, and how it affects river management plans in regions.
- The importance of IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’ relates to creating a framework for Urban-based planning for river management.
- It researches the impact of rivers and management strategies for other crises, presented from a social lens.
- NMCG inaugurated the Namami Gange plan alongside NIUA to present a comprehensive policy paper related to IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’.
The Background of IDEAthon
Since the recent pandemic, the entire nation has been on various lockdown stages for a long time. During this stage, there was decreased human activity in various regions. It contributed to the lowered pollution levels, especially in rivers.
After that, the main river system in India, i.e., Ganga and its tributaries and the Yamuna river noticed better conditions. Sightings of the species of Gangetic dolphins have increased since the lockdowns.
Following this, authorities organized and planned the Key Points About IDEAthon, centring on revitalizing strategies for river management since the Covid-19 crisis.
Main Objective or Viewpoint of IDEAthon
The main reason for organizing IDEAthon on the part of NMCG was to bring attention to the factors rotated to river management and its interconnection with urban society. It is important, it was surmised, to focus more on the river cities instead of the conventional urban planning approaches for the areas.
This way, it is possible to enhance and capitalize on the ecological, economic, and socio-cultural conditions with proper planning.
The NMCG is working on creating an Urban River Management Plan template to make river-based planning a major part of the inner-city planning framework. Working closely with this organization, NIUA member Dr Victor Shinde organized a webinar with participants from global areas centred around IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’.
Additionally, The DG of NMCG, Shri. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra planned and introduced the initiative of Namami Gange to the attendees of the webinar. Mishra noted the lack of solid waste contamination of the river waters during the lockdowns from visitors and industrial corporations during his research and presentation.
While this showed a marked ecological improvement, there is concern about sustaining the good river conditions after the Covid-19 crisis is over and things return to the initial cycle.
He further stressed reevaluating and modifying the parameters for urban planning toward river management programs. Taking ecologically-oriented initiatives in the urban areas would greatly benefit the economy and society.
According to Mishra, there was a high need for focusing on planning ideas and programs for the citizens, centred around changing their behaviour and understanding of river management importance. It covers the basic objective around IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’.
Useful Plans or Ideas for River Management in the Post-COVID-19 Period
Under IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’, various points hold high priority. Some of the suggestions for better river management include the following.
- It is important to shift the urban planning style towards ecology and human-based focus instead of just staying land-based. It is crucial to optimize the river-people connection and make the thinking process more river-sensitive.
- Training or informing citizens on river management factors and centring on behavioural change, like not dumping waste in water, should help.
- It is important to focus on better data collection about microbial diversity in river waters.
- One should study the hydropower projects on the rivers, focusing on their impacts like low flow, floods, sedimentation, and more.
- Constantly monitoring the water quality in rivers for nutrient content, heavy metals, and algae is crucial.
- Making provisions for the Environmental Impact Assessment for multiple regions and the upcoming big projects is useful.
Conclusion
Overall, the significance of IDEAthon is high in preparing the urban society and organizations for river-based planning. It aims to educate and promote better river management initiatives, focusing on changing people’s behaviour towards river-based conservation plans.
The key points of IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’, as the two organizations highlighted during the webinar, is how urban planning-based changes are important for river maintenance and ecology improvement.
