A plural knowledges model to support sustainable management of dryland rivers in western India

Abstract

Direct and indirect human disturbances present major challenges to sustainable management of dryland rivers, impacting upon their role as critical lifelines in arid and semiarid regions. This paper presents an overview of changing human–river relations, knowledges and practices in the management of dryland rivers in western India over the last 4500 years. In ancient times, traditional knowledges underpinned local water harvesting techniques that worked with nature. Subsequent imposition of external values and knowledge frameworks in colonial times applied a command-and-control ethos that asserted human authority over rivers. Postindependence, development programmes in the second half of the 21st century further accentuated this legacy, with profound implications for river health. Discipline-bound approaches to river restoration in recent decades have failed to address these concerns. Using the Sabarmati catchment (~20,000 km2) as a case study, we develop a holistic, transdisciplinary approach that integrates traditional place-based knowledges and practices alongside scientific understandings and the generative potential of Big Data to show how a plural knowledges model can support proactive and precautionary approaches to sustainable river management.