Restoration of ecological status of himalayan rivers in China and India: The case of the two mother rivers-the yellow and the ganges

Abstract

This chapter first introduces the contribution of the Himalayas as the Water Tower of Asia, especially for the large countries of China and India. For the role of the Himalayan rivers of the Yellow and the Ganges, in giving birth and sustaining human civilizations in these countries, they are revered as the respective “Mother Rivers." With rapid growth in the population in the two most populated countries with very rapidly growing economies, these two rivers have been impacted badly in terms of quality and quantity of their flows. Governmental and nongovernmental concerns over the decline of the ecological status of all rivers in China and India have led to important social innovations. The chapter reviews the research and innovations in policy and institutions made in China and India for ecological restoration of their rivers. In this context, the chapter reviews the status of clarification and articulation of environmental flows in the rivers in general but in the Yellow and the Ganges rivers in particular.