Integrated Land and Water Management for Ecosystem Restoration and Climate Change

Adaptation in Hindu Kush Himalaya

Prakash C. Tiwari Professor of Geography

Kumaon UniversityNainital, Uttarakhand, India Email:pctiwari@yahoo.com

Mountain Are Critical For Global Sustainability Mountains share 24% global land surface are home for 12% people Nearly 70% population receives freshwater supply from mountain headwaters The largest trans-boundary river systems of the planet have their origin in high mountains Mountains have still the largest proportion of world’s forests which not only constitute

global biodiversity hot spots and the pool of genetic resources However, mountains have long been marginalized from the view point of sustainable

development of their resources and inhabitants Currently, mountain ecosystems as well as mountain communities are particularly

threatened by the ongoing processes of environmental global change Nearly 90% mountain population live in developing or transition countries which

constitute some of the poorest and marginalized people of the world Hindu Kush Himalaya constitutes headwater of South Asia, but it has access to less than

5% global fresh-water resources Himalaya is the most densely populated mountain which is inhibited by humans above an

elevation of 5000 m Hindu Kush Himalaya would play very crucial role not only in attaining water, food,

livelihood and health security and climate change adaptation, but also in alleviating poverty and even in ensuring peace in South Asia

Population Growth

Rapid Urbanization

Tourism Growth

Infrastructure Development

EconomicGlobalization

Resource Exploitation

Land Use Change

Climate Change

Deforestation

Loss of Biodiversity

Groundwater Disruptions

Soil Loss

Snow & Glacial melt

Rainfall Variability

Reduced Water Availability

Flash Floods, Floods & Droughts

Accelerated Erosion

Debris & Mud Flow

Riverbeds Siltation

Landslides

Infrastructure Development

Employment

GLOF

Market Access

Water, Food. Livelihood &

Health Insecurity

Increased Out-migration

DRIVERS ECSYSTEM IMPACTS

VULNERABILITYTO MULTIPLE

NATURAL RISK

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

IMPLICATIONS

Global Change and Mountain Ecosystems

High Altitude

Steep Slopes

Geo-tectonically Alive

Young Mountains

Climate Change

Densely Populated

Severely Limited Arable Land

Limited Livelihood Options

Subsistence Economy

Underdeveloped

Remoteness

Poor Accessibility

Political Marginalization

Increased Out-migration

Natural Vulnerability

Anthropogenic Vulnerability

Hindu Kush Himalaya Represents one of the Most Vulnerable Mountain Ecosystems of the Planet

LEGEND

N

Forest – D. ForestForest – Lantana Forest – Plantation Forest – Fallow LandForest – Settlement Forest – Others

Cultural Features – Oak ForestCultural Features – Pine Forest Cultural Features – D. ForestCultural Features – Plantation LakesNo Change area

o

Km 2 1 0 1 2 Km

LAKE REGION DISTICT NAINITALLand Use Changes (1981– 2012)

BhowaliNainital

Jeolikote

Bhimtal

1 2 30

1 4 0 0

1 6 0 0

1 8 0 0

S p rin g s S p rin g s

S im to la (1 8 7 7 m )

S h a ll G a dF alse em G ad

P erc h e d A q u ife rs

U n d e rg ro u n d W a te r

Hei

ght i

n m

eter

1 2 30

1 4 0 0

1 6 0 0

1 8 0 0 M ic asc h is t

D ry A q u ife rs

S h ea re d Q u artz ites

U n d erg ro u n d W a te r in S h ea rd Q u a rtz ite s

D ry S h a ll G ad D ry F a lseem G a d

Hei

ght i

n m

eter

Ground Water Status in Kosi Headwater (Rawat 2012)

1981

2012

km

km

Temporary Water Table

Permanent Water Table

Water Reserve

Temporary Water Table

Permanent Water Table

Water Reserve

Spring Dried Spring Dried

Annual Rainfall Decreased: 11% Number of Rainy-days Declined: 15%

Hydrological Responses of Himalayan Watersheds: Maximum Flood Rate

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

1 2 3 4 5Oak Forest Pine Forests Barren Land Cultivated Land Urban Systems

m3/

Sq

km/s

econ

d)

1.670

0.422

0.836

0.260

0.048

In Comparison to Oak Forest flood rate is nearly 35 times higher in urban land use

Hydrological Responses of Himalayan Watersheds:Overland Land Flow Per Cent of Total Rainfall

Oak Forest: 3.50% Pine Forest: 5.60%

Cultivated Land: 15.00%

Urban Systems: 65.00%

Barren Land: 25.00%

PrecipitationGround

Interactions Geology, Soils, Slope, Aspect,

DrainageRun-off

Land Use Pattern

Water Discharge(Springs & Streams)

Water Availability

Water Demand (Agriculture,

Domestic, Industry etc.)

Land Use Planning

Integrated Resource Management

Adaptive Water Management: Demand Prioritization, Rainfall

Variability, Extreme Events

Critical Headwater/Watersheds

Implementation, Monitoring & Assessment

Knowledge Generation Validation &

Synthesis

Multi-stakeholders Governance

Groundwater

Water Availability Utilization & Access

Location-Altitudinal Transact

Social Structure

Economic Viability

Technical Feasibility

Water Quality

Traditional Water Management System & People’s Priorities

Income Generation

Food, Livelihood & Heath

Gender Sensitization

Social Equity

Conceptualization, Decision &

Planning

Water Conservation Measures

Integrated Land and Water Management Approach

Institutionalizationand

Sustainability

Water Price

Geographic Information System for Wasteland Development

Satellite Data

Field Survey, Mapping

PRA

SOI & other Maps

Socio-econo-

mic Surveys

Land Use

Forests

Geology

Soils

Geomorphology

Water Resources

Contours

Resource Utilization Pattern, Productivity,

Flow Structures, Consumption, Requirements,

Resource-Ownership, Drying Water Sources,

People’s Developmental

Options, People’s Environmental

Perceptions

Indigenous knowledge, Traditional Resource Management System

Water Discharge

Field Moni- toring

Users’ Needs

Users’ Need

Assess-ment

Conversion into

GIS Mode by Geo-referencing

Digitization Rasterizations,

Polygonization & Creation of

Spatial Database

Thematic & GIS

Conversion & Creation of Non-spatial Database

Slope, Aspect

Relief

Geology

Soils

Land Use

Springs, Streams

Agriculture

Forests

Wastelands

Resource Productivity

Resource Flow

Water Discharge

Drying Water Sources

Resource Demand

Wasteland Ownership

People’s Options

Users’ Needs

DATA SOURCE

OUTPUTS GIS OPERATONS DATA INPUT

Manage-ment

Options for Different

Categories of

Wasteland

Prioriti-zation

of Villages for

Conservation of Land

& Water Resources

Land Capability

Classification

Compre- hensive Waste-

land Action

Plan for Sample Villages

Inte-grated Waste-

land Develop

ment Plan

FINAL OUTPUTS

OVERLAY OPERATIONS

Natural Resources Information

System

Land Use Planning

Natural Resources Information System for Integrated Land and Water Management

Management Options for

DifferentLand Use Categories

Headwater Prioritization

& Management

Inte-grated Land & Water

Manage-ment

Adaptation Programme, Disaster Risk

ReductionAdaptive Resource Manage-

ment

Climatic Data

Terrain Characteristics

Disaster Mapping

Water Availability

Resource Ownership

Precipitation

Temperature

Extreme Event History

Disaster Vulnerability

Land Use

Natural Resources

Livelihood & Food Systems

LAKE REGION DISTRICT NAINITALNATURAL RISK VULNERABILITY

% C

ultiv

ated

Lan

d &

Sett

lem

ents

Very LowLowModerately LowModerateHighVery High

NRDMS Centre,Nainital

LAKE REGION DISTRICT NAINITAL

ADAPTIVE LANDUSE

Forest (62%)

Agriculture (20%)

Horticulture (7%)

Water Conservation (4%)

Settlements (5%)

Water-bodies (2%) Forest (62%)Cultivated Land (20%)

Horticulture (7%)

Settlements (5%) Water-bodies (2%)Water Conservation (4%)

MICRO-WATERSHED LEVELINTEGRATED LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

N

LEGEND:Reserved Forest

Cultivated Land

Horticulture & Tea Farming

Vegetable Farming

Water Conservation Sites

Community Forests

SAIL AND BUNGA

N

500 m 0 500 m

LEGEND:

Fig. 4

Spring Sanctuaries

Fodder & Horticulture Development

Energy Development & Medicinal Plants

Horticulture & Tea Farming

Agriculture

Catchment Treatment, Check Dams, Ponds

VILLAGE LEVEL INTEGRATED LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Thanks You!