Water is limited and value resource. Indiscriminate use and misuse leads to many unwanted conflicts.

one aspect of our management plan for preserving the Mesopotamian marshes in Iraq is to educate the locals. simple applications comes from the nature. if you allow locals to test the value of their water body they can realize its importance. for example, in order to make marsh local use nets for fishing instead of poison, we had to make a simple workshop where we introduce the harm of the poison on their kids if they drink or swim in the water. when it comes to children safety, parents will do anything. also some of them use electricity for fishing. in this case, we advice them that if they kept fishing by electricity, the possibility of reducing the quantity of fish over time will increase. on the other hand, let them enjoy the nature and butty of the water bodies. also you can introduce them to the natural value of their water bodies. in our marshes, people start to increase their income by using reed and make several hand crafts. also they grow valuable medicine herbs.  

Dear Ramachandra

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First check with the local traditions (local culture) then use these traditions (the good and the traditions that went wrong) to organize public participation.

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When working in environmental education is easier to start with what is already known and then expand and introduce new concepts.

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If you do not follow this path, respecting millenarian cultures often, you will become a true ET (extraterrestrial being) to be respected but not understood.

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I think there is a certain value to education, no doubt.  Citizens should be brought up to speed in a way that helps them to make informed decisions.  However, in my work, I have found that people do not want to be lectured to.  The most effective method I have used is holding a meeting with locals advertised as a period of time for them to share their views on sustainability related issues.  In the end, the time spent is both educational for the citizens and the researchers interested in their perspective! 

Tools : Temporal data base and scientific analysis, effective presentation, films, success stories  

Celebrating one whole year for revival of the water body with series of programmes

Initially convincing the religious leaders, local leaders, teachers, doctors, lawyers, media and celebrities from entertainment industry or the people who have mass following.

Targeting the youth in neighboring schools, colleges about benefits of water bodies, by lecturing / films / group discussions / debate on related topics and roping sports persons or some one from stage or film industry. 

 Programmes may include participation of young students from National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS)  for cleaning, desilting, tree plantation drives, around water bodies and explanation to local public. But, this will only be possible when Vice Chancellor or Principal or District Collector is convinced. They will cooperate on the basis of data collected.

 In the last part, all citizens could be engaged for a week in which every day some known personality joins in the work.

This weekly celebration should be the annual feature.

Government spends enough funds in the name of such programmes but never reaches the actual cause. The reason is land mafia in cities is after any such open spaces and in connivance with politicians due to negligence and reluctance of public water bodies are dieing out from most of the cities.  

Awareness and  people participation is the only hope for reviving water bodies.  

Identify the Stakeholders of the lake. Form a committee who can contribute some thing . Do good analysis about the causes and impacts of the degradation of lake by  collecting onsite data and secondary data.Prepare a Sustainable plan fixing objectives of the Restoration.The objectives are explained in a manner, it shall be easily followed by a public.We have initiated some of the lake committee in Tamil Nadu.

According to the Prisonners' Dilemma (see e.g. Axelrod 1984 on TIT FOR TAT), a theoretical solution could be: create reciprocity between upstream and downstream parties. This can e.g. be done institutionally.

Another (small scale) answer could be the institutional design described by Elinor Ostrom on "Governing the Commons".

Book Clumsy Floodplains - Responsive Land Policy for Extreme Floods

Public participation in natural resource management is as much about developing trust between and among stakeholders and governing institutions, as it is about education and behavior change. Be wary of one directional technical prescriptions to environmental problems, although technical experts can produce recommendations for improvements in environmental quality those solutions are only useful when adopted by the populace at large. Developing trust and a shared understanding of the problem is key to achieving behavior change. Education is only one aspect of this process, and in reality one of the smallest. 

We all know that water resources are reducing year after year and there is an urgent need to educate the people about the importance of water resources for us and for our children in future. Need to create more ponds, water storing systems to store the rain water and to increase the ground water level, Need to bring strict laws and punishment to save ground water and for wastage of water.We all seeing that, majority of agriculture lands , ponds are turning in to plots to build flats in the name of development. The next world war will be on WATER RESOURCES AND SHARING.