When Bottom-Up Matches with Top-Down: Motivating and Sustaining Citizen Participation in River Restoration Projects

While numerous river restoration projects are implemented on a large scale, few demonstrate long-term sustainability. To understand the mechanisms for sustaining river restoration projects, this case study analyzed government-citizen interaction in the ‘Let me flow now … People’s campaign for restoration of watercourses’ river restoration campaign in Kerala, India, which cleaned and restored environmental flow in 100,988 km of streams as of 2026. Using a mixed-methods approach that included qualitative interviews (n=26) with decision-makers and quantitative surveys (n=79) with citizens, we analyzed the factors that drive citizen participation and sustain their engagement over time. Our findings reveal that participation was initially motivated by a combination of top-down drivers (i.e., strong local government and favorable conditions for participation) from local governments and bottom-up drivers (i.e., ecological and social awareness among citizens and converging perspectives) from the local community. However, sustained citizen engagement was primarily linked to the government moving down the ladder of participation from decision-making authority to facilitation, transferring decision-making power to citizens. Overall, the results highlight that a synergistic matching of government and citizen efforts is essential for active citizen participation. Kerala’s model, characterized by decentralization, subsidiarity, the transfer of decision-making power to citizens through local governments, and the inclusion of the elderly and women, offers valuable insights for participatory river restoration projects, particularly in regions of the Global South. Keywords: River management, Top-Down and Bottom-Up approaches, Participatory River management, Community initiatives, Local governments