Mahanadi River The Environmental Challenges and Way Forward

This book covers an overview of the Mahanadi River basin, spanning a total area of 141,581 square kilometers and extending across the states of Chhattisgarh (52.42%), Odisha (47.14%), Maharashtra (0.23%), Madhya Pradesh (0.11%), and Jharkhand (0.1%). It delves into the basin's hydro-development scenario, biodiversity, water quality, and sand mining, elucidating the pivotal role of the river in economic, social, and environmental viability of the eastern region of India. This volume emphasizes the environmental consequences stemming from unsustainable human activities such as river regulation, burgeoning settlements, sand mining, overfishing, and more. The Mahanadi River basin has been less explored for its biodiversity and environmental aspects compared to other prominent river basins like Ganga, Indus, Western Ghats, Godavari, and Krishna. This book seeks to fill this gap, offering new insights into the Mahanadi basin. The chapters address all dimensions of the environment, including social, ecological, engineering, and economic aspects, making it a multidisciplinary work.

The book is tailored for audiences with backgrounds in social studies, engineering, biodiversity, and ecology.

.- Chapter 1: Mahanadi River: Environmental Challenges and Way Forward
.- Chapter 2: A systematic review for conducting a meta-analysis: Synthesis from multiple studies in coastal ecosystems of Odisha
.- Chapter 3: Development of ecologically sensitive prototype plan for riverine island of Mahanadi River at Cuttack: A comprehensive assessment
.- Chapter 4: Soil genesis classification and land use of some soils of upper Mahanadi basin
.- Chapter 5: Why is the Mahanadi river not a conducive habitat for large reptiles, especially Crocodilia?
.- Chapter 6: Diversity and distribution of ichthyofauna of the Mahanadi River basin in India   
.- Chapter 7: Pathways of social inclusion for soil and water conservation in Mahanadi River basin
.- Chapter 8: Nature-based solutions for Mahanadi River basin protection and conservation
.- Chapter 9: Land use/Land cover change over quarter century in Paradip Port region in Mahanadi Delta of India: an investigation using remote sensing and geographical information system
.- Chapter 10:Risk assessment of heavy metals from IB and Bheden river: The main tributaries of Mahanadi in Western Odisha, India
.- Chapter 11:Interstate dispute on the Mahanadi Water: Political conflicts and eco-ethical solutions
.- Chapter 12:Water Governance: An overview of the Inter-State Political Conflict Pertaining to Mahanadi River.

Prof. Jay P. Bhatt is a professor of environmental science at the Faculty of Science at Sri Sri University. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand. Dr. Bhatt has been associated with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment and the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi. He has played a key role in more than 50 environmental impact assessments, biodiversity studies, and carrying capacity studies related to river valley projects. He has more than 23 years of research and teaching experience. His research, evident in both national and international publications, focuses on aquatic ecology, water quality, environmental management, as well as fish and fisheries, and wildlife.  

Ajay Kumar Mishra, a senior associate scientist in soil science at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, with a base at ISARC, Varanasi, has expertise in natural resource management and agri-relevant ICT (Information Communication & Technology) in rice-based agri-food systems. His significant contribution includes working on the rice crop manager tool, an ICT-based platform for context-specific rice farming management, which has notably benefited small-scale farmers in India. Dr. Mishra's accomplishments extend to over 30 scientific publications and several awards. Educationally, he holds a PhD in environmental studies from Kyoto University, Japan, and has served in various research and teaching roles before joining IRRI.