Editing Chennai (section)

=== Environmental issues ===
[[File:Chitlapakkam-lake-chennai-7-r.jpg|thumb|[[Chitlapakkam Lake]] in the southern part of the city]]

Chennai had many lakes spread across the city, but [[urbanization]] has led to the shrinkage of water bodies and wetlands.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/vanishing-wetlands/article6860776.ece|title=Vanishing wetlands|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730150251/https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/vanishing-wetlands/article6860776.ece|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lakshmi|first=K.|title=The vanishing waterbodies of Chennai|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=1 April 2018|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/the-vanishing-waterbodies-of-chennai/article23404437.ece|access-date=21 October 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127175534/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/the-vanishing-waterbodies-of-chennai/article23404437.ece|archive-date=27 November 2020}}</ref> The water bodies have shrunk from an estimated {{cvt|12.6|km2}} in 1893 to {{cvt|3.2|km2}} in 2017.<ref name="Shrunk"/> The number of wetlands in the city has decreased from 650 in 1970 to 27 in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Next time by water|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2015/12/12/next-time-by-water|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=11 December 2015|issn=0013-0613|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027132431/https://www.economist.com/asia/2015/12/12/next-time-by-water|archive-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> Nearly half of the native plant species in the city's wetlands have disappeared with only 25 per cent of the erstwhile area covered with aquatic plants still viable.<ref>{{cite news|last=K.|first=Lakshmi|title=Indigenous flora in city wetlands under threat|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=20 January 2019|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/indigenous-flora-in-city-wetlands-under-threat/article26039519.ece|access-date=3 February 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203021114/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/indigenous-flora-in-city-wetlands-under-threat/article26039519.ece|archive-date=3 February 2021}}</ref> The major water bodies including the Adyar, Cooum and Kosathaliyar rivers, and the Buckingham canal are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic and commercial sources.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-society/issues-of-pollution-raised-at-meeting-for-adyar-river-restoration/article6194140.ece|title=Adyar River pollution|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730140403/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-society/issues-of-pollution-raised-at-meeting-for-adyar-river-restoration/article6194140.ece|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/TNs-Cooum-river-80-dirtier-than-sewage/articleshow/3382689.cms|title=Couvum River pollution|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310100749/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/tns-cooum-river-80-dirtier-than-sewage/articleshow/3382689.cms|archive-date=10 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="River"/> The encroachment of urban development on wetlands has hampered the sustainability of water bodies and was a major contributor to the floods in 2015 and [[2023 Chennai floods|2023]] and [[2019 Chennai water crisis|water scarcity crisis in 2019]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-file/living-without-water-in-chennai/article28065458.ece|title=Living without water in Chennai|last=V|first=Jinoy Jose P|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=18 June 2019|language=en|access-date=19 June 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225161257/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-file/living-without-water-in-chennai/article28065458.ece|archive-date=25 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Nagarajan|last2=Megson|first2=Jody|last3=Wu|first3=Jin|first1=Ganesh|title=How One of the World's Wettest Major Cities Ran Out of Water|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-02-03/how-a-water-crisis-hit-india-s-chennai-one-of-the-world-s-wettest-cities|access-date=15 February 2021|newspaper=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=3 February 2021|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402180757/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-02-03/how-a-water-crisis-hit-india-s-chennai-one-of-the-world-s-wettest-cities|archive-date=2 April 2021}}</ref>

The Chennai River Restoration Trust set up by the government of Tamil Nadu is working on the restoration of the Adyar River.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/good-governance/tamil-nadu/Muck-in-Chennai-rivers-may-soon-turn-manure/articleshow/49074041.cms|title=Muck in Chennai rivers to turn into manure|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102012423/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/good-governance/tamil-nadu/Muck-in-Chennai-rivers-may-soon-turn-manure/articleshow/49074041.cms|archive-date=2 January 2016}}</ref> The [[Environmentalist Foundation of India]] is a volunteering group working towards wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/more-citizens-initiatives-for-restoring-waterbodies/article7748606.ece|title=More citizens initiative for restoring water bodies|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730150443/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/more-citizens-initiatives-for-restoring-waterbodies/article7748606.ece|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/water-security-mission-to-watch-out-for-citys-needs/article7700011.ece|title=Water security mission to watch out for city's needs|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407180443/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/water-security-mission-to-watch-out-for-citys-needs/article7700011.ece|archive-date=7 April 2021}}</ref>