Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

India is endowed with extraordinarily diverse and distinctive traditional water bodies found in different parts of the country, commonly known as ponds, tanks, lakes, vayalgam, well, step-wells and others. They play an important role in maintaining and restoring the ecological balance. They act as sources of drinking water, recharge groundwater, control floods, support biodiversity, and provide livelihood opportunities to a large number of people. Currently, a major water crisis is being faced by Delhi, where 10 million people are on the frontlines of a nationwide water crisis, and many major cities facing an acute water shortage. One of the reasons is our increasing negligence and lack of conservation of water bodies. Experts say that cities may not run out of water if urban planning engages more critically with the city’s terrain, along with propagation of knowledge about the local history of lakes, meaningful community engagement, and ownership of water bodies. Many cities are working towards the conservation of waterbodies like the steps initiated in the capital city of Delhi for instance. The success of the lakes should be tested on all three fronts namely Economic, Environmental, Social. Many studies point out that a deliberate effort has to be made on the social front for which better publicity of the environmental benefits of the project and enhancing environmental awareness of its time to invest in governance, capacitating our institutions, strong regulations, and enforcement, or else we will fall back.