India joins global alliance of river cities
09 Dec 2023
India has cemented its position in the Global River Cities Alliance with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) signing a memorandum of common purpose (MoCP) with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI).
The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 or the United Nations Climate Change Conference, currently underway in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
MRCTI represents 124 cities/towns situated along the banks of the Mississippi River in the United States.
The River Cities Alliance (RCA), being launched on Sunday, brings together 267 river-cities, including in India, USA and Denmark.
This agreement positions NMCG a step closer to the imminent launch of the Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA), as the current River Cities Alliance (RCA) has now expanded its strength to the membership. The official launch of GRCA is scheduled for 10 December, with expectations of additional global river-cities joining the global alliance.
The MoCP seeks to establish an efficient framework for collaboration between the River Cities Alliance (RCA) and MRCTI. The alliance will facilitate capacity building and knowledge exchange on integrated river management to address climate change impacts on the ecosystem. The collaboration includes a comprehensive water monitoring program, sharing best practices for renaturing urban areas, and restoring aquatic ecosystems for sustainable urban development.
The proposed collaboration emphasizes collective action for safeguarding environmental flows and acknowledges the role of floods in maintaining river ecosystem health.