Clean the Ganges Campaign

Students explore the work of Australian NGO, OzGreen, and Indian NGO, Sankat Mochan. Both organisations are committed to improving the water quality of the Ganges River in India. Students explore issues relating to this topic and discuss the extent of responsibilities inherent in global citizenship.

Investigation

1. What issues does the Ganges River face? Information can be found on the OzGreen site and on the Sankat Mochan website. You may wish to access video material to support your understanding of how people use this river; You Tube has several clips including Ganges River – Pollution, Ganges River in Peril and Bathing in the Ganges River.
2. Explore other parts of the OzGreen site which also focuses on the Murray Darling River Basin. To what extent are there similarities in the challenges that each river system faces? Construct a Venn diagram which shows the similarities and differences.
3. OzGreen began when two teachers travelled to India and visited the Ganges River. They came to believe that the global water crisis is the most critical issue facing us and wanted to do something about it.  Explore the OzGreen site. In what ways has OzGreen worked with young people to generate change?
4. The OzGreen site uses a set of questions about behaviour as ‘pop-ups’ on the site to motivate users to change behaviour. In small groups discuss each of the questions. To what extent do any or all of these questions have an impact?
5. Look again at the Sankat Mochan site. The mission of this organisation is “not a drop of sewage in Ganga in the religious bathing area around it”.  What information would an Australian audience need to understand this slogan? Using the questions on the OzGreen site as a model, develop some questions which the Sankat Mochan site could use as motivators of behavioural change.
6. "Australia should put its own house in order before it tells other countries what to do!" To what extent are water issues a global challenge? What does global citizenship mean in this context? Participate in a class debate about these questions.
7. OzGreen puts forward the premise that the global water crisis is a critical global issue. What is happening in your local area to address this challenge? Participate in a class forum discussing the adequacy of our responses.

Extension Activities

The unit Water,Water Everywhere? provides opportunities for an extended focus on water issues and associated environmental actions in both Australia and India.

The Global Education website has an extensive array of activities and information about water issues in the Asia-Pacific region.