The Importance of Rivers

Today, in the world, we are building medical infrastructure in such a way that we seem to expect that everyone will be seriously ill someday. There was a time when there used to be one doctor for the whole town and it was enough. Today, every street has five doctors and it’s not enough. This shows how we are living. When we forget how to live, when we do not respect what makes our life – the earth that we walk upon, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the very space that holds us in place – when we have no respect and reverence for that, how they behave within us will be very different.

You are a water body. And on this planet, rivers are the water bodies with which we have the closest relationship. But our rivers have depleted dramatically in a matter of a few decades. In two generations, our perennial rivers – which have been flowing for millions of years – are turning seasonal. We are turning this land into a desert. For thousands of years, these rivers have embraced and nourished us. A time has come when we have to embrace and nourish our rivers.

People think because of water there are trees; no, because of trees there is water. If there is no forest, there will be no river after some time. The solution is that, for a minimum of one kilometer on either side of the river and half kilometer for tributaries, wherever it is government land, we plant forest trees. Wherever it is private land, the government needs to subsidize farmer to move to tree-based horticulture. This will also be of economic benefit to the farmer because his income will more than double in five years.

We urgently need to shift from thinking of how to exploit our rivers to how to revitalize them. We have to make everyone aware that there is an express need for action to save the rivers. If we spread this awareness to everyone, arrive at a common policy, and start the implementation, it will be a huge and successful step for the future of nations and for the wellbeing of generations to come.