The Commercial Approach vs. the Ecological Approach to rivers: An essay in response to the Indian River Linking Project (IRLP)

This paper provides a critique of the Commercial Approach to rivers and argues for an alternative, Ecological Approach, taking the Indian River Linking Project (IRLP) as a case study. It begins by summarizing the criticisms of IRLP expressed by scholars from India and other countries of the subcontinent, and then asks the question of why this project has been launched despite its apparent weaknesses. The paper shows that IRLP is a culmination of the Commercial Approach to rivers that sees rivers as objects to be ‘conquered’ and ‘consumed.’ The paper notes that time and experience have made the Commercial Approach outmoded, and a new, Ecological Approach has emerged. According to the Ecological Approach, rivers should be appreciated for what they are, i.e. as progenitor of various eco-systems and cultures. The Ecological Approach encourages harvesting river resources in a way that does not affect fundamentally the natural course and flow of rivers and the eco-systems and cultures they sustain. In view of their strong tradition of reverence towards rivers, the people of South Asia can play a prominent role in championing the Ecological Approach and emerge as an example for many other developing countries to follow.