August 24, 2018
Forestry with Water conservation – Series 3
In my previous series no 1 and 2, I have discussed causes of water shortage or water stress in brief with the fundamentals of greening and it’s positive impact on ground water recharge and how an individual at ground and micro level can lead a change for improvement.
In subsequent series I will discuss with modus operandi to develop a sustainable model to achieve a water efficient bliss for a village or locality. But that will come with more maturity and understanding the thought process.
Before that I would like to highlight various water bodies involved in water storage and water supply and they are as follows :
1. Fresh water streams.
2. Rivers. ( rivulets and large rivers.)
3. Ponds and lakes.
4. Water reservoirs.
5. Wells and bore wells.
Each of the above mentioned sources have its own water catchment and water shed area with its own Ecosystem.
Imagine how a water streams comes out of mountain crevices where no one can imagine that water might exist but it exists.That’s the god gift,we possess from nature. As said in series1 we are disturbing and spoiling all those to a point of no return.
That was pessimism further we should move with optimism that it will happen though looks difficult at present.
1. Fresh water streams :
These are simplest to be protected and recharged but most difficult too.
Difficult in the sense, the way these originate is purely based on what has been done and gifted by nature with perfect favorable conditions like no human interference near by, thus vegetation suiting to this ecosystem with natural bio diversity fully preserved, sufficient moisture exists to sustain/perennial water flow throughout the year, maintains the pristine beauty of the ecosystem with micro climatic temperatures well with in limits so that its survival remains intact with its natural biological cycle well preserved. But in true sense are we able to protect such places ? Response lies its very difficult to find such streams any where, specially at the places where human interferences have entered might be less but impacted a bit to the place. Slight disturbance of the place means disturbances in its flows and biological cycle converting perennial flow to a seasonal one.
With global climate change, effect these streams adversely too, like less rainfall in that area will lead to less recharge of its water storage, during rains impacting it to dry up. Such streams where human interference is least are the last to get impacted but these drying up are the signs of the irreversible changes thus we must try to protect and conserve these first.
These streams are the flow of water of million drops from these to rivulets and rivers. If these dry up rivers are bound to dry up. These are very small but very vital components of any river water catchment or watershed area.
2. Rivers : (Rivulets and larger rivers):
Most focused but least results.
Rivers whether its Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Krishna, Godawari, Brahmaputra or Satluj etc. or any river has its origin. Which originates, in case of glacier impacted river like Ganges and Yamuna has their output a huge one since beginning and serene thus they are able to sustain during summers also, with little impact on flow but if we don’t do any thing to combat climate change glaciers may melt and may result in extinction and any such river like Ganges may become a river of past. Indo-Gangetic plain its productiveness and relevance along with the population dependent on it may vanish forever.
Secondly other rivers like Narmada having its origin in Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh with very small flow seeing very wide Narmada at Jabalpur or at Onkareshwar, one can not imagine Narmada having so small origin.
How this small origin or a rivulet like river has got converted into a large river? Many small tributaries joined in between making a matured large river till it reaches Sardar Sarovar in Gujarat.
So river / riparian ecosystem is one of the most complicated fresh water ecosystem to be managed and understood.
All these have happened with nature with natural flow underground or over ground and resulted into a water flow network but slowly all these are losing and vanishing. 12 months water flow reducing to 11 months or less and the region dependent on it face water crisis at the time of extreme and critical need.
Various schemes and projects have been implemented with a view to clean rivers and thus to preserve their ecosystem. Since many years these are being implemented and executed but no results with positive impacts have been heard from any where.
Still Uttarakhand catastrophe continue to recur. Kashmir too experiences similar fate every year with heavy floods, massive land slides and heavy human loss with loss of precious vegetation and animals and cattle happen. National Disaster Management (NDM) become active only at this time to protect human lives and rescue them.
Where are we missing on these actions?
There are many reasons.
(With first and fore most assumption is that all the efforts so far were genuine and were in right direction. I don’t want to get involved into the efficiencies of the implementing agencies).
But still we are missing.
Implementing agencies at the lower most level should first understand river ecosystem very well.
I’ll start and end in this series with Mountain – river ecosystem first and how these are linked with its vegetation, forests and forestry crops.
Green vegetation is surely dependent on water or moisture, where its roots are laid. But if soils are lose and exposed without any root structure supporting, it is bound to vanish with excess rain, initially these will lead to slow surface run off later leading whole land to flow down to river with massive flow of vegetation and mud forever.
All these have resulted due to unscientific and uncontrolled development happened on the mountains flouting all the norms or rules laid out to protect these precious green cover protecting the slope, surface, river catchment, river watershed and riparian ecosystem of the river.
So a massive green cover beginning from local grass,to shrubs and to native tree species to be protected, revived and replanted so as to reach to its condition which nature itself accepts and march forward.
It requires local level awareness building with financial support from the Govt and NGOs with the actual knowledge of the local forest species to be protected and conserved with their importance for ecosystem and the population dependent on it.
Today we know how river Ganges sacred water behave against various diseases and its longevity wrt its shelf life. What all roots, leaves, trunks, bark and minerals are coming across the Ganges water which provide this impact to water not known so far. With these losses during the mismanagement of river Ganges nobody knows what will happen to quality of Ganges water there after.
Thus beginning has to happen from origin with a multiple micro-plans protecting and conserving its riparian system and the vegetation and green cover well protected. Initially it may happen we may have to provide strong civil structures to check surface run offs and land slides but these slowly have to support the vegetation and the local demanding landscaping protecting the river ecosystem.
The vegetation and the forests along side the rivers, called the riparian forests, act as buffers to reduce the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the river. The riparian zone represents a transition between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and is influenced by both longitudinal gradients of variation like climate and elevation as well transverse gradients like flooding, groundwater availability and protecting the land surface from denudation.
Thus river conservation cannot be viewed in isolation, as the riparian zone functions as a critical link between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It serves as an ecological corridor both between habitats and across elevation zones, and also as refuge to protect species against extreme temperature. This renders them as hotspots for adaptation to climate change in the near future.
For me riparian ecosystem for a river starts from its origin and its origin ecosystem supporting its moisture, vegetation with it’s fauna habiting the area becomes of utmost importance. Later similar treatment for its tributaries and their dependent ecosystem to be protected and conserved in most scientific manner.
In nutshell in layman’s terminology all the things to be practiced and implemented which lead to enhanced moisture availability with protection and conservation of soil.
In upcoming series no 4…. protection and conservation of other water bodies will be dealt and how forestry will be supporting these in improving their efficiency to support humanity in terms of water conservation,……..!!!