The River Runs Through
Shalini Balagopal
Yet another World Water Day went by on March 22, with politicians making the usual statements on the need to conserve this irreplaceable natural resource. As if to goad the politicians and their governments into more concrete action, on the same day, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released a report on the current state of the world’s ten most magnificent rivers. The report was not very encouraging: it said there were ‘menacing threats’ to the rivers, and without immediate and ‘serious restoration efforts, they could be lost’.
These rivers, many of which have been responsible for the birth of major world civilisations, including our own, must continue to flow if life on this planet is to survive. It is important that our children know this and take better care of these limited resources than we have. Therefore, let us teach them about rivers, and make it an enriching and interesting experience they will always remember.