The cry of the people living on the banks of Yamuna river over and over again, led this group of scientists to move on to other parts of India and the World resulting in the formation of Rivers of the World Foundation in 2009.. http://www.rowfoundation.org/1/mission
We generally spend much of our time either defending the reasons for the tasks we undertake, explaining and justifying that to our own family and skeptics--why and how the river can be saved, and/or fighting to defend environmental principles in a world where many people are too busy to do much more than just survive--let alone notice the River in their midst. Blue Yamuna team members stand for and against causes where we are often outnumbered and barely have enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things that must be done. The ability to help people, play a key role in efforts to save a watershed, and the chance to help build a statewide community of friends of the river, collaborators, and to participate in an extended family of people who think this is important and necessary work. Lots of people have a distinct and personal connection to their favorite river, and there are more than a million personal stories to be found on the rivers. That is why protecting the Rivers is a job and a mission that could consume several lifetimes and still continue to be awe-inspiring and spiritually uplifting. It simply does not occur to many of us that waterways are marvelous examples of a simple and complex chain of hydrologic factors in which what goes around truly comes around. Rain/snow, osmosis, stormwater, flooding, wetlands and the other manifestations of water are vital links in that chain. Water is also a universal constant. Civilizations rise and fall for the lack of it. Wars have been fought over it. Water, like "gold" is an objective standard and a central value that makes life itself plus our way of life altogether possible. Yet, where water is impaired, life does not thrive. Where the ecosystem is compromised, our lives fall apart. A glaring example is New Delhi with a literally dead Yamuna river with a dissolved oxygen level of zero. The number of cancer cases, chronic dysentery, and dengu fever is one of the highest in the country. Yes, the message is, "A polluted river destroys life and civilization, A clean river makes it flourish." Those of us living in Delhi area by the Yamuna River , find it unthinkable that clean water could one day be something found only in history books. Especially those who live close to the Yamuna find it unthinkable that clean water is increasingly scarce and irreplaceable. Clean water, fish, aquatic lives, water you can swim in, water you drink...these things are not assured. What is assured is that the demand for water resources is increasing even while the supply is dwindling. It stands to reason that we need to conserve and use wisely what we have. It is pointless and futile for only some of us to use water wisely, thereby raising the available supply to the remainder of us who will squander it, waste it and pollute it. Protecting our water resources is truly an all or nothing proposition. Yet one of the problems with environmental issues in general is that it is often hard to get People interested until the problems reach crisis proportions. We won't worry about the fishes until they are nearly gone. As Ben Franklin said, "when the well is dry, then you'll know the value of water." Our choice is simple. It is a practical choice and a moral choice. We can't make any more water. We need to better manage what we already have. There is no mystery about the cause of the decline in our watersheds. We should be set about doing the work we know needs to be done and together with the locales we must be unflinching in our choices. Save your Rivers and Streams next door and you'll do a great service to the World... Rivers of the World is trying to do just that.
