ENVIRONMENT
RESTORATION OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Context
- A conference on ‘Restoring Water, Restoring Nature-II’ was organized by Water Digest in New Delhi to raise awareness and encourage action around water and related issues.
What is Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration?
- Due to various anthropogenic activities to cater the needs of growing population, the degradation of freshwater ecosystems by a variety of stressors has increased logarithmically. As a result, many aquatic ecosystems are in need of some drastic corrective measures/restoration.
What is Restoration?
- Restoration is the “return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance” or the reestablishment of pre-disturbance aquatic functions and related physical, chemical and biological characteristics.
Restoration processes for aquatic ecosystems need
- Reconstruction of antecedent physical conditions,
- Chemical adjustment of the soil and water,
- Biological manipulation, including the reintroduction of absent native flora and fauna.
Restoration principles to apply are
- Preserve and protect aquatic resources
- Restore ecological integrity
- Restore natural structure
- Restore natural function
- Work within the watershed and broader landscape context
- Understand the natural potential of the watershed
- Address ongoing causes of degradation
- Develop clear, achievable, and measurable goals
- Focus on feasibility taking into account scientific, financial, social and other considerations.
- Anticipate future changes
- Involve the skills and insights of a multi-disciplinary team
- Design for self-sustainability
- Restore native species and avoid non-native species
- Monitor and adapt where changes are necessary
Issues to address for a sustainable water system
- Environment: watershed protection, ecosystem balance, wastewater and bio-solids.
- Community: sufficient and reliable water supply, participation in planning and recreational use to water.
- Economy: Evolution and diversification, sustainable and long-term growth.
Water management system requires the following action to be taken:
- Strategic partnerships among national agencies, provincial agencies and local/city departments.
- Developing alternate water sources-reclaimed/treated water, desalination, rainwater and water reuse.
- Implementing new technologies for water fees/metering, leak detection and water auditing systems.
- Engage the community through education, local and regional planning processes and outreach to cultural and community groups.
- Scientific investigations involving aquifer monitoring, coastal marine environment study, supply-demand forecasting and pollution prevention.
Guidelines for repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies with external assistance and domestic support:
- The ‘Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies’ scheme that has been launched by the Ministry under the state sector. The scheme aims at:
- Comprehensive improvement of selected tank systems including restoration.
- Improvement of catchment areas of the tank.
- Community participation and self-supporting systems for sustainable management for water bodies covered by the programme.
- Ground Water Recharge.
- Capacity Building of communities, user groups, standing committee for Panchayats and State Government/Central Government Agencies concerned with the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project.
- Increase in storage capacity of water bodies.
- Improvement in agriculture/horticulture productivity and increase in recharge of ground water in downstream areas of water bodies.
- Environmental benefits through improved water use efficiency, irrigation benefits through restoration of water bodies, supplementation of the groundwater use and promotion of conjunctive use of surface and ground water.
- Development of tourism, cultural activities
- Increased availability of drinking water.
Way Forward
- Water quality and quantity are becoming increasingly critical factors of socioeconomic development in many parts of the world.
- Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration is a holistic process not achieved through the isolated manipulation of individual elements. Its objective should be to emulate a natural, self-regulating system that is integrated ecologically with the landscape in which it occurs.