TOPIC India River Linkage PlanTopic:Interested PartiesMethods for ResearchExpertise RequiredResourcesTimeStandardsLiteratureTOPIC India River Linkage PlanADVISOR Michael WileyCLIENT TBD. Possible clients include CEE and Friends of the Ganga. GROUP MEMBERS Carrie Knowlton ([email protected])Anne Finken ([email protected])Rebecca Reynolds ([email protected])Elizabeth Hamilton ([email protected])Erin Harrington ([email protected])Kobi Platt ([email protected])Topic:The Indian government is proposing to link several major Indian rivers, including the Ganga River, in order to divert water to the southern states for irrigation and municipal use. The tremendous environmental, social, and health implications of this plan have not yet been considered, and this project would entail gathering the information necessary to develop a preliminary environmental impact statement. This statement would attempt to address the fascinating and difficult paradox between immediate, human need for water and the long-term environmental and social effects of massive ecosystem alteration. There are also many interestingparallels between what the Indian government proposes and what is happening in our own Great Lakes, and this project hopes to be able to draw ecological, social, and cultural parallels between the two in order to shed some light on both issues. This information will be of particular importance due to the current policies concerning Great Lakes water removal.Possible Research Questions:- What is the background of this project? o History? Legal process? Key players? Community support?- What is the current status and goal(s) of the project?o What is the political environment? Economic analysis? o Are there endemic species in these rivers that will be detrimentally affected? o How will water be distributed among local communities?- What are the expected results of the Linkage?o What are the possible long-term consequences of this plan?o How will the ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic) be altered? o What are the human consequences of this project? Relocation? Disease?- What alternatives to the Linkage project should be considered?- What lessons can be learned?o What are the parallels between the Indian Rivers and the Great Lakes, and what can be learned from these parallels?o Other developing countries?Possible Products:Preliminary Environmental Impact StatementRecommendations for ActionInterested Parties- Indian government and interested scholars in both the US and India- Indian, International, and American NGO’s interested in conservation, public health, water usage, and sustainable development- Community membersMethods for Research- Literature survey from existing research on the ecological framework of watersheds. - Interviews with local individuals, agencies, NGOs, and academic experts.- Scientific assessment: flow data, water sampling, GIS data.Expertise Required- Understanding of legal frameworks.- Economic analysis of socio-political conditions.- Watershed—cycle, flow, drainage, recharge, evapo-transpiration.- Public health—sanitation, disease, food security.- Contacts in India.- Cultural—rules and norms, traditions, religious implications.- Quantitative skills (GIS, Microsoft Excel).Resources- Funding—travel, data collection, long-distance contact.- Local contacts—NGOs, professors, news or media members.- SNRE project office.Time- Roughly one year.February -----------------April---------------------August---------------------December-----------March(Begin research) (Divide work) (Potential travel to India) (Draft 2) (Revise/Bind) (Narrow topic/Make contacts Research) (Draft 1)Standards- Aggressive deadlines.- Stringent review process.- Work with advisor and client(s) toward a publishable product.Literature-
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