Evidence-Based Holistic Restoration of Lake Anasagar, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

"This report has been prepared with the aim to apply the principles of sustainability science for long-term sustainability of lake Anasagar of Ajmer. Drawing on the scientific, experiential and traditional knowledge, this report provides an evidence-based strategy for restoration of lake Anasagar. There are multiple stressors degrading the Lake Anasagar including disposal of raw sewage and municipal wastewater, discharge of detergents, discharge of residual pesticides and chemical fertilizers, sedimentation due to soil erosion in the catchment, and challenges of land ownership and encroachment. In order to address these challenges and stressors, a holistic restoration strategy has been proposed for Lake. The key interventions suggested here are waste and sewage management, forest restoration in the watershed, sequential restoration of vegetation in sand dunes, management of urban green infrastructure, periodic sediment removal from lake, macrophyte restoration in littoral zone of lake, recovery of full costs of, and reinvestment in, urban services, and appropriate institutions, governance and collaboration."