Proposed focus area
Yamuna River
A great northern river crossing one of the world's largest cities, and a place where independent observation and community care could help.
Program
Rivers
Proposed program
Rivers carry water, sediment, nutrients and, too often, waste, from where people live to the sea.
Purpose
Many of the world's busiest cities grew beside rivers. Today those same rivers often receive wastewater, litter and runoff from the land around them. Our river program aims to help communities understand what is entering their rivers and to support locally led care.
The program is a proposal. It would begin in places where people already work and where they have invited, or would welcome, outside skills.
Environmental challenges
Wastewater and sanitation gaps
When sewage and drainage systems cannot keep up with growing cities, untreated water can reach rivers.
Solid waste and plastic
Litter washes through drains and streams into rivers, where it breaks down into smaller pieces that are very hard to recover.
Industrial and farm effluent
Factories, slaughterhouses and farms can add pollutants if they are not carefully managed.
Land change and erosion
Clearing forest and wetlands, or building on riverbanks, changes how rivers carry water and soil, and can increase flooding.
Proposed activities
All activities are proposals. None has started.
- Baseline water-quality monitoring with local specialists.
- Riverbank and debris surveys that show what collects, and where.
- Locally coordinated cleanups with clear safety and waste-handling plans.
- Pollution-source assessment, led by specialists.
- Habitat and riparian support, such as protecting vegetated banks.
Clean-water access
Cleanup and habitat restoration do not make water safe to drink. If we take part in safe-water work, it would be as a separate program, supporting qualified local teams with appropriately scoped monitoring, equipment, maintenance and access projects.
Related locations
Proposed focus area
Ikopa River
A highland river beside Madagascar's capital, where research has found microplastics that are easy to overlook.
Proposed focus area
Msimbazi River
A river basin running through Tanzania's largest city, facing floods, waste and sewage all at once.
Proposed focus area
Infulene River
An urban catchment near Maputo where river water, drains and sanitation are closely linked.
Proposed focus area
Tana River
Kenya's longest river, where caring for the land upstream shapes the water that reaches millions downstream.
Proposed focus area
Odaw River
A city river linking Accra's streets to the sea, where plastic travels from drains to the shore.
Proposed focus area
Ogun River
A river where we have little current information, so listening and measuring come before anything else.
Proposed focus area
Jukskei River
A Johannesburg river where restoring springs and wetlands upstream could help the water downstream.
Organizations to explore
Listings are informational and do not imply a partnership with Flow for Tomorrow.
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
Swechha
A Delhi environmental organization that works with young people on river, air and nature issues. Its Yamuna-related work includes the Yamuna Yatra, a youth journey along the river, and it publishes river readings. It also works beyond Delhi.
Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise
Ran'Eau
Madagascar's national network for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. It shares information, brings organizations together and supports project leaders. It offers country-level expertise, and we have found no published connection to the Ikopa.
Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise
Nipe Fagio
A Tanzanian organization focused on waste reduction and community cleanups in Dar es Salaam. A 2024 report by the No Burn network describes its role in a citywide cleanup day. Its relevance is at city level, and the report does not mention the Msimbazi.
Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise
WWF Mozambique
The Mozambique office of the global WWF network, working on conservation across the country, including freshwater and ocean themes. We have found no published connection to the Infulene.
Organization to exploreWorks in a related habitat
Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Trust
A trust focused on watershed conservation and management in the Upper Tana, the highland catchment that feeds the Tana River. Its work is in the upper catchment rather than on urban rivers.
Official website of Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Trust (external site)
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
River Cleanup, Ghana program
An international organization whose Ghana program focuses on plastic pollution in the Odaw River, combining awareness, cleanup events and prevention measures. It is not a locally founded NGO.
Official website of River Cleanup, Ghana program (external site)
Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise
Nigerian Conservation Foundation
A long-standing national nature conservation organization in Nigeria with wetland and habitat interests. We have found no verified connection to the Ogun River.
Official website of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (external site)
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
Water for the Future
A citizen-led nonprofit in Johannesburg working to rehabilitate the upper Jukskei headwaters, restoring springs and wetlands. The most directly relevant organization in this directory.
In pictures
Illustrative photography of this kind of place.
A boat collecting floating waste from an urban waterway Illustrative stock media. Not a Flow for Tomorrow project. 
Litter on a coastal dune Illustrative stock media. Not a Flow for Tomorrow project. 
A plastic bottle in shallow water at dusk Illustrative stock media. Not a Flow for Tomorrow project. 
A jar beside shallow, rippled water Illustrative stock media. Not a Flow for Tomorrow project.
Share what you know.
If you work on rivers or the communities beside them, we would like to hear from you.
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