Urban Water Publications

Review: Draft framework for lake rejuvenation

WELL Labs, in collaboration with Friends of Lakes and supported by DCB Bank and BBMP, has drafted a framework for sustainably managing lakes. We invite you to review it and share your insights.

by

Apr 4, 2025

Lakes play a crucial role in our cities and towns. They act as vital storage units and conduits within our water systems. Lakes can help regulate floods, recharge groundwater, support diverse ecosystems, and provide us with recreational spaces. However, these precious water bodies are under significant pressure. Pollution, encroachment, and erratic rainfall threaten their survival. Climate change only exacerbates these challenges.

In cities like Bengaluru, people have worked on restoring and rejuvenating lakes for the past two to three decades. Collectively, we have learned a lot about lake restoration, but have also made many mistakes.

WELL Labs, in collaboration with Friends of Lakes and supported by DCB Bank and BBMP, has developed a draft framework for the sustainable management of shallow urban and peri-urban lakes in peninsular India. As this is a collaborative effort co-created with key stakeholders, we invite you to review the current draft and share your insights.

If you’re interested in contributing to the draft framework, please fill this form and we will share a Google Drive folder containing the framework and supporting checklists. You can provide feedback by leaving comments directly on the PDFs. Kindly note that your feedback may be visible to other individuals or organisations. If you prefer to provide feedback privately, you can email your comments to Deepthi Nagappa at [email protected]

How to Leave Comments

  • To leave comments, open a PDF in Google Drive
  • Click the ‘Add comment’ button (speech bubble icon)
  • Select the relevant section and type your comment
  • Click ‘Comment’ to save it

Please note: Include your full name and affiliation in the first comment you make. This will help us identify your comments in case your email address doesn’t reflect your name.

Code of Conduct for Reviewers and Commenters

To ensure a constructive and respectful review process, we request all participants to follow certain guidelines when commenting on files in the shared Google Drive folder:

Be Respectful – Provide feedback in a professional and courteous manner. Avoid personal attacks, derogatory language, or inflammatory remarks.

Be Constructive – Comments should be clear, specific, and actionable. Focus on improvements and provide suggestions where necessary.

Stay Relevant – Keep comments relevant to the content of the document. Avoid off-topic discussions or unrelated feedback.

Be Concise – Make comments succinct and to the point to ensure clarity and efficiency in communication.

Respect Confidentiality – Do not share or distribute the contents of the files outside of the designated review group unless explicitly authorised.

Thank you for contributing to a positive and productive collaboration environment!

 

COMMENT ON THE DRAFT FRAMEWORK

Acknowledgements

The first draft was co-created with Friends of Lakes and various stakeholders in the sector.

The work is supported by BBMP and DCB Bank. 

Published April 2025