About

The condition of water bodies (lakes, ponds, wells, etc.) in many Indian cities has generally been deteriorating over the last several years. Some are shrinking, some are getting polluted, yet others are completely encroached upon. This project aims to create a decision support system for cities to manage the water bodies within their jurisdiction. The outcome of this project is an Urban Water Body Diagnostic Tool that will help city officials, consultants, training institutions, researchers, academicians, and students to identify and prioritize actions for rejuvenation of water bodies within any city.

The diagnostic tool is based on assessing the status-quo of urban water bodies, in terms of various physical, chemical, biological, and management parameters. Importantly, the tool helps in conducting a rapid assessment that a city can perform easily and periodically in order to identify immediate actions for their management.

The tool is available in public domain as a digital webtool, which is used by various city officials, consultants, training institutions, researchers, academicians, and students in assessing the urban waterbodies across the world.

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500+

Students across the world have learned and used the Urban Water Body Diagnostic Tool for various applications

35+

Cities have had their officials introduced to the tool through workshops and training sessions

7

Countries were represented by experts who engaged with the tool during its introductory workshops

Events

Workshop: Management of Urban Water Bodies

Workshop: Management of Urban Water Bodies

location icon New Delhi calendar icon November 2022 - November 2022
<p dir="ltr">With an objective of building an understanding and learning practical applications of the ‘Urban Water Body Diagnostic Tool’, a two-day technical workshop on 'Management of Urban Water Bodies' was organised on 17th-18th November 2022, in New Delhi. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce the participants from River Cities Alliance Cities as well as member nations of &nbsp;NESCO New Delhi office (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) to the tool as a means for management of water bodies in their cities.</p>
UWDT Event Photo

Diagnosis of Urban Water Bodies

location icon New Delhi calendar icon November 2023 - November 2023
<p>National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) hosted an online training program focusing on ‘Diagnosis of Urban Water Bodies’. This initiative attracted over 500 students, including participants from China, East Africa, Thailand, Ireland, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. All attendees were provided with practical instruction by a team of 20 educators on the utilization of the ‘Urban Water Body Diagnostic Tool.’ This tool, developed collaboratively by NIUA and UNESCO New Delhi, serves to evaluate the condition of urban water bodies in Indian urban centers. The event, which took place on November 3, 2023, was executed successfully with seamless technical assistance from Jamia Milia Islamia University.</p>

Coming Soon

Know More

Urban Water Bodies in India: Challenges, Initiatives, and NIUA's UWD Tool
Urban Water Bodies in India: Challenges, Initiatives, and NIUA's UWD Tool
A Strategic Framework for Managing Urban River Stretches in the Ganga River Basin: URMP
A Strategic Framework for Managing Urban River Stretches in the Ganga River Basin: URMP
Strategic Guidelines for “Making River Sensitive Master Plans
Strategic Guidelines for “Making River Sensitive Master Plans
Urban River Management Plan - Kanpur
Urban River Management Plan - Kanpur
Urban River Management Plan – Ayodhya
Urban River Management Plan – Ayodhya
Gallery

Gallery

Our Team

Our Team

Anirudh Soni

Research Associate

Nikita Madan

Senior Environment Specialist

Vishakha Jha