Floating Islands for Urban Resilience Aquatic Resources Management in the Tropics: Win-Win-Win Strategies for Eutrophication Control, Aquafarming and Waterborne Green Transport System

Abstract

Various wastes from ever rising populations, widespread use of fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, hormones for intensified agriculture, aquaculture, livestock farming, direct sewage discharge have been the major drivers of excess phosphorus responsible for eutrophication in inland freshwaters. Reduction of nitrogen did not prove effective for eutrophication control, while multiple lines of evidence indicate that phosphorus control works best to mitigate eutrophication in freshwaters. More specifically, it is the N:P ratio that modulates the types of algal bloom as NP ratio > 16:1 favours the bloom of harmful blue green algae and the reverse for green algae. Although there are different physical, chemical and biological methods used for phosphorus removal, the constructed floating islands have proved immense potentials to remove phosphorus mediated through plant-microbe uptake mechanism to restore clean habitat for sustainable development. The current challenge of the conversion of numerous valuable lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, rivers into wastewater systems unacceptable for fish farming and other economic driven activities can be confronted with win- win- win strategies of environmentally safe and sustainable solutions of floating landmass for agriculture, bio-reclamation of eutrophic lakes and rivers, a farming in these water and urban resilience waterborne green transport system across small to medium scale rivers. It is that floating islands made of selective powerful plants and microbes can be installed not only in the confined polluted lakes and reservoirs, but this facility can be extended to rivers of different dimensions for clean up as well as a network of waterborne public transport in the form of environmentally- safe passage boat, water taxi across the rivers. This is of special significance in small to medium scale rivers in India, Bangladesh and other rich countries in Asia not only for public transport and fish farming as well. However, multidimensional technological approaches and strategies with innovative cutting edge technical nature based solutions are most welcome to achieve the success of such giant holistic functionality project.