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MAINSTREAMING CONSERVATION
ACTION IN DISTRICT PUBLIC
POLICY
4th July 2013
Kotagiri
CONTEXT
Coonoor Town – Second largest hill station in the
Nilgiris
Altitude - 1850m
Economy – Tea and Tourism
Coonoor Basin –
Area – 110 sq. km.
6 Gram Panchayats, 155 Habitations, 100,000 people
Predominantly Badaga community, some tribal and
other communities
Cordite Factory, Needle Factory
Historic land use change to tea from forests
CONTEXT
THE PROJECT AREA
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
Understanding of hydrological services provided
by natural ecosystems in the Nilgiris
Model for integration of hydrological services of
natural ecosystems into district government
planning and policy developed, as a basis for
wider replication.
Observable changes in government policies and
funding flows in the Nilgiris district, with regard
to safeguards and financial flows for the
conservation of natural ecosystems.
COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
Downstream impacts of land-use patterns and
environmental management in upstream
ecosystems of the Coonoor River – Modeling.
Proactive measures to protect water resources
through conservation of natural ecosystems
adopted by local municipalities and other
relevant line departments in the Nilgiris district
administration.
Raised public awareness about the hydrological
service values of natural ecosystems among the
general public in Nilgiris district.
OUTCOMES
Mathematical model developed as a tool for
advocacy
Sample Scenarios run with the model for
demonstrating effect of policy changes
Model presented to District Administration and
other institutions
Cumulative impact of different sectors on the
water resources demonstrated and need for
coordinated action realised
Request from District Administration to develop
action plan in selected areas within the basin for
implementation of the recommendations
LANDUSE PATTERN OF STUDY AREA
Area in sq km
Tea, 55.35,
51%
Tree cover,
32.36, 30%
Builtup,
11.01, 10%
Farming,
8.17, 7%
Grasslands,
1.88, 2% Others, 0.33,
0%
Area calculated based on visual interpretation of
Google Earth Imagery (January 2012)
4
3
2
1
5
67
Subregions in Coonoor
LAND USE OF SUB REGIONS
sq km
Region Builtup Farming Grasslands TeaTree cover Others Total Dominant Villages
region 1 2.64 0.10 0.22 2.28 3.30 0.00 8.54
Trees, Builtup/Te
a Coonoor
Town
region 2 2.49 1.26 1.14 9.70 3.62 0.11 18.32 Tea, TreesBerhatti,
Jakathala
region 3 1.81 0.53 0.13 4.98 2.57 0.01 10.03 Tea, TreesAravankadu, Hubathalai
region 4 1.00 4.03 0.11 8.89 1.51 0.05 15.61 FarmingSandur,
Sogathorai
region 5 0.26 1.93 0.07 5.17 0.29 0.08 7.81Tea,
FarmingKollimalai,
Katteri
region 6 1.55 0.29 0.11 18.34 1.76 0.03 22.08 TeaSelas,
Hulikal
region 7 1.26 0.02 0.10 5.99 19.19 0.04 26.60 Tree cover Barliar
Total 11.01 8.17 1.88 55.35 32.26 0.32 108.99 Tea, Trees
Derived from visual interpretation of Google Earth Imagery (Jan ‘12)
Shola forests
Eucalyptus ,
Acacia,
plantations
Springs
Groundwater
Streams
Tea farms,
Vegetable farms
Settlements
(Rural, Urban),
Institutions,
Industries
External
water
Mapping interactions between stocks of water flows
Beginning of a “River basin” thinking for Conoor river and nearby areas
rainfall
aquifer
catchment
users
Water
supply
Converting interactions into
a “Model”
SOURCES OF DATA FOR PARAMETERS
1. Soil and Water conservation in southern hill regions of India,
Proceedings of Working group Meeting of Soil Conservationists from
Southern Hill regions, Edited by V V Dhruvanarayana et al, 1982
2. A status report of forest hydrology in India, NIH, 1992
3. Response to charge questions on Nitrate dilution model, summary
report of NJDEP science advisory board, Weis et al, 2011
4. The water needed to have Dutch tea, Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2003,
UNESCO-IHE
5. Tea in Tamil Nadu: A commodity study in Nilgiris and Coimbatore
districts, NABARD, Chennai, 2006
6. Conversion of city corporate plan to Business plan for Coonoor
mucinipality, 2007, Tamil Nadu urban infrastructural financial services
ltd
7. The impact of AKRSP(I)’s work in Meghal river basin, Junagadh,
Gujarat: A socio-technical analysis, 2012, Verma and Krishnan
PARAMETERS IN THE MODEL
Parameter Description Source of data
a_pars Aquifer parameters 1,2
ac_connect Aquifer catchment Local surveys
ad_connect Aquifer streams Local surveys
barea Builtup area GIS analysis
farea Forest area GIS analysis
lprops Landuse properties for water balance 1,2
nitrate Nitrate 3
pop Population Local surveys
rain_pattern Rainfall pattern Assimilated from local data sources
tarea Tea area GIS analysis
Touprop Tourism proportion for each catchment 6
Tourism Tourism across time footfall 6
varea Farming area GIS analysis
Vegdeltas1,2,3, vegstime Depth of water for irrigation for a crop –
vegetables
Local surveys,4,2
Domestic and urban water
use norms
40 & 100 LPD DDWS, GoI
Nitrate safety levels 40 ppm & 300 ppm BIS standards
Questions
Deficits
What is the total water deficit in the
Coonoor region?
Nitrates
What are Nitrate levels in the streams?
Two Levels
Region as a whole
Subregion level
FINDINGS
Baseline (Population inc. 1.5% p.a., tourism inc.
5% p.a.)
Water deficit appears about 9 years from now
Water Deficit is more in catchment sub-regions 4 and
5 due to more farming
Nitrates are always close to four times the
permissible limit for human consumption
WATER DEFICIT IN THE COONOOR REGION
Cu m per day
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
OVERALL NITRATE
Units in parts per million
Units in parts per million
Region 1
Region 4
Region
5
Region 6
Region 7
Region
2
Region 3
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
SAMPLE POLICY SCENARIOS
If we replace 2% area under tea into builtup area, then
Deficit in regions 4 and 5 increase for several more years
Aquifer storage decreases
If we go organic in agriculture by 25%
Bulk nitrate is same, peaks reduce by not much
SAMPLE POLICY SCENARIOS…
If we reduce waste from domestic and industrial
sectors by 50%, then
Stream nitrate reduces significantly
If 25% area under tree cover has shola forests
There is decrease in deficit
Base flow increases
INFERENCES
Overall there is no water deficit in the basin in terms of quantity, but the ground reality is that there is massive water shortage in the town and villages.
Regions 4 & 5 which are farming dominated, are facing water deficits
The same two regions are also facing nitrate fluctuations.
The key to the issues related to the water resources is land use.
Waste management – domestic and tourism sectors – potential to make a significant difference.
POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS
• Land use changes (Shola species)
• Water efficiency – in agriculture (e.g. drip and
sprinklers), in domestic and tourism (e.g. low
flush toilets), rain water harvesting
• Pollutants – decreasing fertilizers/pesticides
(Tea/Veg), Waste Management/Sanitation
• Payment for Ecosystem Services to promote
water conservation and manage use.
NEXT STEPS
District Collector and line departments are
interested in following this up with action on the
ground
Identify an area within the basin (maybe regions
4/5) and prepare an action plan based on the
model inferences
Design the pilot for Payment for Ecosystem
Services in the area
Work out implementation plan with the district
administration
REVIEW AND FEEDBACK
THANK YOU