Current Status of Ponds in India: A Framework for Restoration, Policies and Circular Economy.

Healthy pond ecosystems are critical for achieving several sustainable development goals (SDG) through numerous ecosystem services (e.g., flood control, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration). However, the socio-economic and ecological value of ponds is often underestimated compared to the larger water bodies. Ponds are highly vulnerable to mounting land-use pressures (e.g., urban expansion, and agriculture intensification) and environmental changes, leading to degradation and loss of the pond ecosystem. The narrow utilitarian use-based conservation fails to recognize the multiple anthropogenic pressures and provides narrow solutions which are inefficient to regenerate the degraded pond ecosystem. In this paper, we holistically examined the legal challenges (policies) and key anthropogenic and environmental pressures responsible for pond degradation in India. The country is strongly dedicated to attaining SDG and circular economy (CE) through aquatic ecosystem conservation and restoration. Considerable efforts are required at the administration level to recognize the contribution of pond ecosystem services in attaining global environmental goals and targets. Worldwide restoration strategies were reviewed, and a framework for pond restoration and conservation was proposed, which includes policies and incentives, technologies such as environmental-DNA (e-DNA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and other ecohydrological measures. Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer a sustainable and cost-effective approach to restoring the pond's natural processes. Furthermore, linkage between the pond ecosystem and the CE was assessed to encourage a regenerative system for biodiversity conservation. This study informs the need for extensive actions and legislative reforms to restore and conserve the pond ecosystems. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13157-022-01624-9.