“Right now, [the invasive alien species] are isolated, restricted to individual river basins,”

The National River-Linking Project is the world’s most ambitious project of its kind to date, proposing to link 37 major river basins across India using 30 links, potentially redistributing around 174 billion cubic metres of water from ‘surplus’ to ‘deficit’ basins while generating some 34,000 MW of power.

“By connecting rivers, we would not only introduce new species which are not naturally found but also increase the vulnerability of the native species that cannot compete with the invasive alien species. This finding is consistent with research worldwide, which has suggested that biodiversity hotspots can accumulate more invasive alien species, thus compromising the long-term prospects of native species and themselves turning into ‘invasion hotspots’. Developed economies like Australia and in Europe have very strong policies for invasive alien species. It is an urgent need that India comes up with a specific policy targeted to regulate, manage and control” such species. Embedding evidence-based management of river basins into national infrastructure planning could provide ecological foresight.

“If one looks at all species across India, including terrestrial and marine systems, it would be approximately 350 to 400 species in different stages of invasion.

Recently, researchers from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, assessed the Project also possibly creating “ecological highways” that invasive species can travel on to new, ecologically sensitive areas. “Right now, [the invasive alien species] are isolated, restricted to individual river basins,” the study’s lead author and ATREE senior fellow Aravind Neelavar Ananthram said. “Right now, we have only considered 15 freshwater invasive species for which data is available,” Dr. Ananthram said. “The health risks, biodiversity, wildlife, and economic costs of [the Project] to India, especially for the agro-economy, farmers’ livelihoods, and fisheries, are matters of urgent attention,” he added. “While the government’s intention might be good to address water deficit, development plans and policy decisions should be holistic, addressing the ecological impact, the effect on biodiversity, and people’s lives.”