by Gopakumar Marayil (ELP 2001) | Executive Director, Nityata River Otter Conservancy, India

Riparian buffers are lands adjacent to streams where vegetation is influenced by the presence of water. Among their several services these diverse and unique forest ecosystems nurture and moderate the flow of the stream, regulate water quality in agrosystems, and act as corridors for animals like elephants, thus mitigating conflict with humans. In his commentary, Gopakumar Marayil calls for specific legislation to protect riparian forests, perhaps even to revert to their historic status as sacred forests.

Read his commentary here: https://india.mongabay.com/2018/10/30/commentary-the-vanishing-forests-of-the-river/