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Ghongha River Sanctuary

On January 3rd, 2024, with assistance of the Nature People Network, the village council (Gram Sabha) of Belgahana Village in India’s Chhattisgarh declared parts of a local river flowing through its jurisdiction a river sanctuary. This was done in part after repetitive discussions with the rural community on the decreasing global biodiversity and extinction of several local rivers in the state of Chhattisgarh. After repeated engagements, all rural community members expressed their concerns on the consequences of a potential extinction of the Ghongha river on their livelihood, economy, biodiversity, and agriculture. The village council members also shared concerns, in part, about the climate and biodiversity crisis and reiterated the findings of UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP 15 which urged the world leaders to protect 30% of their land and water for nature by 2030

​The Nature People Network Organized a two day cleanup on the banks of the river Ghongha. Over 20 percent of the village participated in the cleanup which saw the removal of an astounding 784 Kgs of plastic waste.

 A Ghongha Nadi Gram Sabha (Village Council) River Sanctuary constitution was passed in the declaration that aimed on the following nine legally binding tenets: 

 

  1. The village council will undertake ecosystem restoration initiatives such as tree diversity analysis and census, species identification, ecosystem management, grassland management, restoration of ecosystem relevant tree numbers and diversity on the river's floodplain or bank area to promote conservation efforts.

  2. The village council will take up management of rotational cattle grazing on the river floodplain or bank areas to ensure mutual benefits for cattle and vegetation, preventing riverbank erosion, avoiding spread of invasive plants, and preserving floodplain areas.

  3. Strict measures will be enforced to prohibit dumping plastic waste in the river or its floodplain.

  4. Construction of any dams on the river by any or all authorities without conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or obtaining relevant research results from autonomous government institutions like the WII, or the ICFRE, will be considered strictly unlawful. Any such measure would be challenged on legal grounds citing ungauged probabilities of unsustainable outcomes for the long-term survival of the river and surrounding communities.

  5. Regulations will be put in place to prohibit and prevent commercial sand and stone mining in the river, with consequences and appropriate action taken against offenders. 

  6. Conservation efforts will focus on identifying and protecting native species of biodiversity, including aquatic biodiversity of turtles and fish, in accordance with wildlife laws listed on the constitution of the Republic of India. Fishing will be allowed only for species not protected by such laws, and the rural council will ensure strict curbs to fishing during any possible spawning or breeding season to ensure conservation while providing sustainable employment opportunities.

  7. Priority will be given to employment opportunities related to river conservation, tourism, afforestation, ecological system maintenance, and fisheries for villagers. Non-residents will only be considered when suitable job appropriate skills are not found amongst the village residents.

  8. The rural council will actively craft and look for subsidies and other forms of support for organic agriculture, and use of bio-manures to minimize surface runoff of harmful pesticides and other toxic chemicals into the river ecosystem.

  9. The rural council will promote and encourage high-yielding agriculture methods, and will identify appropriate river friendly agricultural policies to ensure long term river and riparian ecosystem conservation.

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Therefore, with the passage of these nine laws, we successfully helped Belgahana village overcome its very first barrier in conservation. Things that await now, however, include scientific research to establish the baseline on biodiversity that informs us on the current biodiversity health, and therefore helps formulate species recovery plan. We have also identified floodplain sites where riparian ecosystems need to be regenerated, and are working with the rural council in getting the restoration work started. 

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