Restoring Ecohydrology: Appraisal of Multistakeholder Biodiversity Conservation Programme and Pathways for Sustainable Management of the Ganga River

ABSTRACT Ganga River basin supports high biodiversity and provides important ecosystem services, but it is rapidly deteriorating due to anthropogenic activities. In this study, we evaluated freshwater biodiversity restoration interventions in the Ganga River basin under the ‘Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation’ initiative implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). We conducted a structured narrative review of peer‐reviewed literature, policy documents and technical reports (2001–2025) related to the Ganga basin. Sources were thematically coded across ecological, governance, restoration, community and sustainability domains. Cross‐sectoral integration enabled identification of gaps and formulation of strategic, evidence‐based recommendations aligned with sustainable development goals and targets. We found that the programme's existing six‐component institutional structure, which spans biodiversity monitoring, species restoration, capacity building, rescue and rehabilitation, community‐based conservation and environmental education, represents a significant shift from infrastructure‐centric pollution control towards ecosystem‐based river governance. However, long‐term biodiversity recovery remains constrained by uneven monitoring coverage, limited longitudinal datasets, policy fragmentation, invasive species pressures and competing water demands. To address these challenges, we propose 16 recommendations emphasizing environmental flow management, pollution control, protected area effectiveness, invasive species regulation, socioeconomic evaluation, open data platforms and strengthened multistakeholder collaboration to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.