‘Collaboration is key to protect water bodies’

Village Square: What common misconceptions do you come across with respect to water conservation?

Shri Krisha: You must have seen a green sheet of plants covering water bodies. There are several such water bodies across India. People usually assume that it’s a good thing, but actually, it’s water hyacinth, an invasive species that completely takes over the lake or pond. It was introduced in India during British rule for water conservation.

Water hyacinth grows quickly and sucks up all the oxygen while also blocking the sunlight for the other aquatic species thriving underneath. Similarly, the African catfish, which is very common in India, is a dominant species that doesn’t let native Indian species survive.

At the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI), we promote growing native trees because they improve the soil quality, surrounding water quality and also purify air.

VS: How does the community’s role feature in your vision?

SK: EFI is an environment conservation group that works in 18 states in India. Our primary focus is to take up environment conservation activities with a larger focus on water conservation and afforestation projects. So far we have restored over 430 water bodies across the nation. 

We emphasise on involving communities in all our efforts in a given region. Our vision is to motivate fellow Indians to take up environmental conservation. It is not a compulsion, it’s common sense. We hear a lot of people say that they want to do something for the environment but don’t know where to start. This is where EFI comes in – we give people that opportunity.

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We depend massively on our volunteer workforce. Just last year we were able to engage over 2 lakh volunteers across India for activities like lake and beach cleanups, mural painting, plantation of native trees, nature walks and bird watching. 

Over the years not only the government but the people themselves have reached out to us with issues concerning local water bodies. We have realised over the years that collaboration is the key. 

VS: How do you mobilise communities?

SK: Our biggest challenge is to make conservation exciting for the masses. We organise many activities like interactive games so that they are able to come back for it and bring more people. It doesn’t matter if they work with us exclusively or not, so long as they take up the cause it’s enough. 

We organise a series called ‘lake night show’ through which we highlight community testimonials about water bodies in their area. They tell us about their memories associated with the water body, how they used to play there as kids and how their kids are no longer able to use them. Through this, we are also able to capture their reactions to restoration.

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VS: Why do rivers and other water bodies matter? 

SK: Water is the lifeline that connects us all. Our history revolves around it. The ponds, lakes, streams, canals and rivers that we see today are carefully architectured water bodies created by our ancestors. They understood the importance of water. 

Sir M. Visvesvaraya, the famous engineer and architect responsible for construction of several dams, was one of the prominent figures responsible for ensuring that we kept ourselves prepared for famine. In a mini video series called Hydrostan on YouTube, we tell India’s water stories. We go from one place to another talking about the significance of each water body in the community’s surroundings.

One such project that we covered was the Prakasam barrage constructed in Hyderabad through Visvesvaraya. The city was affected by a major famine in the early 1900s. Construction of the Prakasam barrage ensured that water was retained in the locality and agriculture could flourish. 

There are many such stories spread across India that depict how our ancestors struggled and strived to save water for us. We at EFI, try to improve water literacy to make people realise the importance of water bodies. It’s not just about human life but about a broad range of flora and fauna. 

VS: What steps can we take in our everyday life to make our water bodies better?

SK: Besides the industrial waste, our everyday consumption habits, like use of shampoos, soaps and other chemicals, also contribute immensely to water pollution. We need to look back at our ancestors for answers. By switching to alternate homemade remedies for soap, toothpaste and shampoo we can do a lot of good to the rivers. 

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The lead image at the top shows an aerial view of the lake restored by EFI. (Photo courtesy EFI)

Shri Krishna is the Chief Admin Manager at Environmentalist Foundation of India.