River-linking project could spread invasive species across India, study warns
Researchers from ATREE say India’s proposed river-linking network could create routes for invasive species and aquatic pathogens to enter isolated basins. They warn that native and threatened species may be especially vulnerable, while altered flows could damage downstream biodiversity, fisheries and livelihoods.
India’s proposed National River-Linking Project could allow invasive species and aquatic pathogens to spread between river basins, according to research by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. The project proposes connecting 37 major river basins through 30 links, redistributing about 174 billion cubic metres of water and generating an estimated 34,000 megawatts of power. Researchers said such connections could create ecological routes between basins that have evolved in relative isolation.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, found that Northeast and peninsular basins were more vulnerable to biological invasions than basins in central and northern India. It identified the Southwestern Ghats, Kaveri, Krishna, Lower Ganga and Brahmaputra basins as areas with diverse habitats and many native, threatened and invasive species. Lead author Aravind Neelavar Ananthram said species currently restricted to individual basins could be introduced into new environments through river links.
Native species might be unable to compete with the newcomers, while pathogens from one basin could affect species in another. The researchers cited the Lower Ganga basin, which contains 13 to 15 invasive alien species, as a potential source for the Mahanadi basin, home to 69 threatened species. They also warned that reducing flows in donor rivers could harm downstream biodiversity and increase extinction risks for endemic species.
Environmental experts have separately questioned assumptions that some basins are permanently surplus while others are deficit, noting seasonal variation and climate-change uncertainty. They said dams, reservoirs and canals could also disrupt sediment transport, floodplains, fish migration and habitats. The researchers called for a specific Indian policy on invasive alien species and evidence-based basin management.
They said the project’s risks could extend to agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, public health and downstream nations, though the available data covered only 15 freshwater invasive species.
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