India’s river interlinks may carry invasive species to more areas
India's National River-Linking Project faces criticism from researchers who warn that connecting river basins could facilitate the spread of invasive species. Experts argue that the project ignores ecological complexities and may disrupt native habitats and biodiversity.
Why it matters
Large-scale infrastructure projects often have unintended environmental consequences that can threaten endemic species and long-term ecological stability.
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.
Yet the Project has also raised serious concerns about its environmental costs. Experts have said the idea of ‘surplus’ and ‘deficit’ basins can mask seasonal and year-on-year variations in river flows, and that transferring water between basins can alter downstream flows, sediment transport, floodplains, deltas, and the habitats that depend on them. Dams, reservoirs, and canals can also break ecosystems up into pieces and disturb fish migration and other ecological processes.
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