Editorial

In Indian culture, from times immemorial, the River Ganga (also known as Ganges) has been considered as the most sacred and spiritual river, and is mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabahrata. It occupies a unique position culturally, religiously and ecologically. It is also called “Mother Ganga” as a sign of utmost respect. The Ganga basin is a cradle of Indian civilization, center of pilgrimage, and host to festivities attended by millions. In addition to many customs and festivities, Kumbh Mela (held every 3, 6 and 12 years) is a grand religious gathering which over ten million people attend in order to take a holy dip and to perform sacred rituals. The Ganges water (Gangajal) is not meant merely for human utilities, irrigation and fisheries, but also for purification from sins and devotion to God according to Hindu beliefs. Its water is believed to possess some unique healing, bactericidal, self-cleansing and putrefaction resistance properties.The Ganges basin is highly populated with over 400 million people. Historically, the Gangetic Plain served as the centre of several powerful dynasties, from the Maurya to the Mughal Empires. Politically it has been very important as many former imperial and provincial capitals such as Patliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Kashi, Allahabad, Murshidabad, Munger, Baharampur, Kampilya and Kolkata have been located on her banks. Due to its historical, cultural and economic significance, the Government of India, in 2009, declared Ganges to be the “National River of India” and established the National Ganga River Basin Authority (Government of India 2009, 2010).Ganges is a trans-boundary river shared by India and Bangladesh. It rises in the western Himalayas in Uttarakhand State at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Rivers. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul and Kamet. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the true source of Ganga which rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gaumukh, at an elevation of 3,892 m. River Ganges is the longest river in India covering a course of 2500 km from the Himalayas to the Gangetic plain in north-eastern India, Bangladesh and emptying into the Bay of Bengal.The Ganges Delta is a complex ecosystem formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers. It forms the world's largest delta and stretches 322 km along the Bay of Bengal. The hydrology of the Ganges River is very complicated, especially in the Delta region and is dominated by the Southwestern Monsoon. Approximately 84% of the total rainfall is due to this monsoon, which falls from June to September and results in variable seasonal flow, sometimes so inconstant it can cause both drought and flooding.It is worrying that the Ganges was ranked among the five most polluted rivers of the world in 2007. Pollution threatens not only humans, but also many fishes, amphibians, as well as dolphins which have been declared endangered. Ganges has been identified as one of the global priorities for maintenance and protection of aquatic biodiversity. And yet, in spite of its ecological and economic significance not much has been published in primary literature about its health, integrity and management.The AEHMS, as part of its global program, has been active in India for almost 15 years, convening major symposia/conferences and publications (AEHMS, 2001, 2005). This major burst of AEHMS activities emerged as a result of the collaboration between the Society and the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI). For example, a special symposium was organized during the 2008 Indian fisheries forum in Kolkata, which became instrumental in publishing a compendium of 5 research papers on the ecosystem health of the majestic River Ganges (AEHMS, 2010). These articles were extensively downloaded from the publisher's website and proved inspirational in organizing another symposium to focus on the health and fisheries of major rivers of India, with emphasis on the biology and ecology of the Ganges. This was an opportune time to launch future plans under the excellent leadership of Dr. A.P. Sharma, CIFRI's new director, who enthusiastically supported the convening of an interesting workshop, a symposium and publications. Recently, a two day symposium entitled ‘Health and fisheries of major river ecosystems of India with emphasis on River Ganga’ was organized in conjunction with centenary celebrations of the 100th Indian Congress in Kolkata in January 2013, with over 40 presentations. The present special issue is based on this Indian Science Congress symposium. The issue consists of 11 peer-reviewed articles which cover a variety of topics such as ecosystem health indicators, community structure of zooplankton, macrobenthos, fish diversity and ecological integrity, invasion of alien fish, impact of climate change on inland fisheries, Ganga River Dolphins, altered hydrologic regime in Ganga's estuary, ichthyofaunal diversity in the Gangetic delta, metal and pesticide pollution, and institutional arrangements.We are grateful to Drs. C. K. Minns (Scientist Emeritus, Fisheries & Oceans Canada) and N. Mandrak (University of Toronto) for their support, advice and assistance. Thanks are due to more than 30 international referees for the high quality reviews, constructive criticisms and revisions which enhanced the quality of all the articles. We sincerely thank Dr. A. P. Sharma, Director of CIFRI, for his continued support of the AEHMS’ collaborative projects, as well as for the award of the IFSI (Inland Fisheries Society of India) Honorary Fellowship. We thank Dr. Dilip Kumar for his interest and assistance in the project. The AEHMS editorial staff deserves much appreciation for their patience, revision and meticulous technical/linguistic editing of the manuscripts which plays a significant role in meeting the high standard of the journal. Finally, our thanks are due to all contributors for their efforts during various phases of manuscript preparation, peer review, revisions and editing. The AEHMS is very pleased to organize and publish this special issue dedicated to the River Ganga. It represents a unique compendium of research on the Ganges ecosystem, published for the first time. We hope that these state of the art papers are useful to researchers, students and managers for conservation and protection of the mighty Ganga River ecosystem.

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