BENGALURU
WELL Labs and Friends of Lakes launched a new framework to rejuvenate urban and peri-urban shallow freshwater lakes in peninsular India. Designed alongside civil society groups and government agencies, the five-stage science-backed roadmap focuses on community involvement and long-term outcomes rather than basic infrastructure projects. The structured model covers diagnosis, design, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring to balance technical goals with local needs. Crucially, the framework excludes lakes affected by complex industrial pollutants, concentrating instead on managing domestic waste and nutrient runoff. Experts emphasized taking a holistic approach, warning that isolated lake interventions can inadvertently disrupt downstream ecosystems.