A more-than-human health approach to ensure the rights of rivers

It is a right of rivers to be free from pollution that exceeds their assimilative capacity. One source of river pollution is the discharge of antibiotics as part of household liquid and solid waste. Such discharge can also lead to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment. AMR refers to the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial drugs, which can be transferred between human beings, animals and the environment with significant multi-species health impacts. The One Health approach to address AMR recognises the connections between human, animal, and environmental health but it remains inherently anthropocentric. Using the example of India, this chapter advocates for the adoption of a more-than-human health approach, which considers the impacts of human antibiotic use on the environment, to prevent or control river pollution and the emergence of AMR in the river environment, and to contribute to the operationalisation of rights of rivers.