NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION IN DEVELOPMENTAL PLANNING :  
A CASE STUDY

  Dr. (Mrs.) Rekha Thakre  


Assistant Director, Geo Environment Management Division  
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur 440 020

Introduction

Time and again, it is stressed that the available natural resources are not harnessed to its optimum for the national development in India (Swaminathan, 2002).  Energy is of prime importance for the national growth. Of all the energy sources, hydel energy ranks next to solar energy in environmental friendly  option. Himachal Pradesh is the state which has large potential for the production of hydel energy which  till today stands untapped. 

The river Sutlej has the hydel power potential of 9226.7 MW. The proposed Karcham Wangtoo Hydro-electric Power Project with installed capacity of 1000 MW, is a run-of- the river project located on the river Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh on NH-22 at a distance of 200 km. from Shimla, the state capital.

The proposed Karcham dam across the river Sutlej will be located near village Karcham at latitude 31⁰ 50' N and longitude 78⁰ 17' E in the greater Himalayan belt in Kinnaur district. One of the essential requirements  for the hydro-electric power generation is  perpetual and steady availability of water resources.

In view of  utilizing the water resources of Sutlej river in a long term and sustainable manner, a Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan is delineated with multiple objectives viz. erosion control, soil conservation, silvi-pasture development as well as socio-economic development of the area.

The  life of a dam  is directly affected by the rate of siltation which is  a major threat to utility of dam. The siltation is primarily dependent on the physical and biological condition of the catchment area of the project. The more productive  the catchment area, the lesser  will be the quantity  of the silt flowing into the reservoir. The productivity  of the catchment area is indicated by the land use pattern and extent of vegetative cover and  forests play a vital role in conserving water resources.

The main objectives of the study  are : 

1. Achievement in ecological rehabilitation of the project area leading to sustainable economical development

2. Conservation of soil in water shed of Sutlej river  to ensure the longevity of the reservoir

3. Provision of employment to the local people by engaging them in project activity such as  afforestation and soil conservation works

Natural Resources

The catchment area of river Sutlej from its origin to Karcham is 48,755 sq. km. which predominantly comprises  38,760 sq. km. snow bound area. Out of the total catchment area,  36,900 sq. km. falls in Tibetan  territory and remaining  in India. The river Sutlej originates from the Mansarovar lake in Tibetan Plateau at EL 4570 m  MSL. The river passes through the Tibetan province of Nari Khorsam situated between Zanksar and Ladakh mountain ranges. The river Sutlej has a channel  915 m in depth running through the plateau which receives water from glaciers . The river Sutlej enters in Indian territory  near Shipkila after traversing a distance of 320 km in Tibetan Plateau.

The water of the river Sutlej and its main tributaries finds its origin predominantly from the glaciers and snow melt in the region. The catchment area in Tibet is dry and subjected to considerable erosion which contributes suspended solids significantly,  resulting in high sediments in river water. The river Spiti, a major tributary,  joins the river Sutlej upstream at village Namgia about  14 km upstream of Pooh and   contributes 25% of the sediments  to the river Sutlej.

The confluence point is called as Khab, which is designated as a  starting point of the present study for Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan (Fig 1). Rainfall in this region  is scarce and is characterized by sparse vegetation. The elevation  of the catchment area drained by the river Spiti ranges from 3048 to 4570 m  msl,  characterized by the hills with steep slopes  and deep gorges.

Land Use and Land Cover : Sutlej- Baspa Catchment Area

The entire catchment area has been studied quantitatively using Remote Sensing techniques as well as actual field surveys carried out during March-June 2001. The detailed ground truth viz. geographical information regarding the whole area from  Maling -Nako in Hangrang Tehsil  to Karcham Wangtoo of Kinnaur district has been collected during the field survey.  The designated area for catchment  treatment plan is from Sutlej -Spiti confluence at Khab, Namgia village to dam site at Karcham village.

The catchment area being inaccessible due to hilly terrain and unstable geology, the scope is very limited to study the area exclusively by ground survey/field visits.  In view of above, instead of using traditional approach of field survey alone,  Remote Sensing technique has been applied effectively and efficiently for delineation of landuse pattern through Geographical Information System (GIS) technique of data integration.

Materials and methods: The study area falls in the Survey of India (SOI) degree sheet No. 53 I, having boundary  of Latitude 31° - 32°  N and Longitude 78° - 79°  E. The satellite data of   IRS-1D of Path  96 and  Row  48  acquired  by Sensor LISS III on   Oct. 3, 2000 was utilized for the study. Attempts were also made to obtain secondary data related to soil, geology and forestry from various other sources. The study area was visited twice for ground truth/survey. 

Sutlej Catchment  Area: The drainage network of the study area was digitized and the major drains along with the area were identified  so as to get the information related to catchment area of each Khad such as  the landuse/landcover pattern, soil and slope areas under different categories.

The study  area  measures  405374 sq. km. of which agriculture accounts for 1.43 %, dense forest  6.63 % and  degraded forest 0.37 % while 6 % is under snow and  water. The remaining 85 %  of the land is either unsuitable or not used for productive purposes, the reason being rough, harsh, inaccessible terrain alongwith  unsuitable climatic conditions.  The whole catchment area is highly undulating and only 9.04 sq. km. area  is gently sloping,  suitable for agriculture purpose. The rest of the area falls under strongly sloping to very steep categories

Floral  Charactristics of Catchment Area

The vegetation of  catchment has variety of plants  due to variation in climate and topography . Broadly the main vegetation types are included as per  the classification of Champion and Seth (1968). The forest types are presented  in Table 1. The forest in the catchment area fall in the  Pooh range, Moorang Range, and Kalpa Range of Nichar Forest Division.

  Table :  1
Forests Type in Catchment Area  

·         Source : Forest Department, Nichar,

The field survey of the Sutlej catchment area, however, indicates that the sparse but thick vegetation  patches are located near the villages viz. Recong-Peo, Pangi, Thopan, Kharo, Ribba, Akpa, Murang, Thangi, Spilo, Kanam, Pooh, Dubli, Sunnam, Ruskalan, Giabung, and Ropa. 

Medicinal Plant Status :A large number of medicinal plants are found scattered all over Kinnaur district and many of them are endemic to the region.

Fauna:   The wild animals found in  the study area are listed in  Table 2. It is observed that some of the animals are included in the list of endangered species of the world. The development of the forest in the area will help protection as well as expanding the habitat for these endangered animals.

Biodiversity Conservation 

Biodiversity conservation is essential not only for ecological and environmental rejuvenation but also for a sustainable economic development. These forests control the water budget in the lands around them and influence the climate to a considerable extents. Apart from their ecological functions, they serve as valuable gene pools. Man- made extinction of species and loss of habitat are the order of the day. However, in this catchment area treatment of Sutlej, efforts should be made to develop strategies for the protection of ecosystems, species and genes, taking into consideration human population processes and developmental needs of tomorrow. The  network of in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies is to be supplemented using holistic or adaptable conservation of Biodiversity strategies in the wildlife areas, managed forest, plantations and agricultural systems. CAT study area represents one of the endemic clutters out of 25 identified in India:  - Lahul - Himanchal Pradesh: Himalaya. (Nayar,  1997).

Ethnobotanical Conservation Matrix- It is documented that the accomplishments of native people in understanding the plant properties so extensively must be simply the result of long and intimate association with their floras experimentation and their letter dependence on flora for living. Catchment Area under this study is such a hot spot which have pockets of tribal population alongwith areas of endemic centers. Plant diversity centers may form the mosaic  of conservation area matrix. A proper appreciation of Biodiversity and a meticulous cataloguing of it are the essential first steps in any effort for its conservation, weather in-situ or ex-situ.

Problem analysis

The study area designated for the catchment  area treatment is experiencing all the classic vagaries of the nature on  large scale. The terrain and geology of the area is very susceptible to high incidence of land slides / slips / glaciers and water erosion. In catchment, a major portion of precipitation is in the form of snow or low intensity storms. Bulk of soil erosion takes place due to scouring action of water running off the surface during melting of snow.

Table : 2  
List of Wild Animals in the Study Area  
(As per the records)

*  Included in Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
Source : Forest Department, Himachal Pradesh

run off waters first form localized channels which in turn  form bigger gullies leading to serious soil erosion problem. The major factors responsible for erosion are:

1. Natural- ecological

2. Climatological calamities such as heavy snow melting causes glaciers and avalanches which in turn gives rise to road side erosion by way of slips and slides.  

Strategy to be adopted  for Treatment  and Cost Estimate

The project has been designed to develop the area in an integrated manner by improving vegetation cover over the degraded and blank areas. It also involves  treatment of the flood prone nallahs, stabilization of  the  river banks and road side slopes by providing suitable bio-engineering structures and various soil conservation measures. The project will have the following components:

1. Afforestation  

2. Development of nurseries  for afforestation 

3. Treatment of alpine pastures

4. Treatment of culturable waste land

5. Soil conservation measures:

·         Landslide / slip stabilization

·         Nallah stabilization

·         River bank stabilization

·         Roads stabilization

 Criteria for cost estimation

·         Land area under snow, water, dense vegetation cover and under current agricultural practices is not considered for treatment purposes

·         The land with 15-35% slopes is selected for afforestation purpose while the land with 35 to 50 % slopes is designated for pasture development

·         Land with > 50 % slopes is considered as  land slide prone and hence treated under land slide treatment category

·         Soil capability classification, and prevailing land use pattern are also  the criteria for selection of  treatment activity

·         Cost of the treatment  is as per the prevailing rates in the study area provided by Forest department 

·         Degraded forest maintenance : As the forest cover is very sparse in the area, the total land area  under degraded forest rejuvenation is 112 ha only (0.25%)

·         New plantation -Afforestation :The area  for afforestation is designated to be 4616 ha

·         Land for agriculture development is 395 ha

·         Check walls along the Sutlej river wherever possible and required

·         Slope stabilization wherever possible and required

·         For the supply of saplings of good quality and required quantity, 3 nurseries are proposed at Kalpa, Moorang and Pooh Forest range areas

·         Road stabilization is necessary  as this is the only mode of  communication

Acknowledgement

Author is grateful to Dr. R. N. Singh, Director, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur (NEERI) to present the paper at the national conference on Women Scientists & Technologists for  National Development, New Delhi, March 8-9, 2002.

References:

*        Swaminathan M. S. 2002

"Presidential Address", International Conference on Plants and Environmental Pollution

(ICPEP-2), Lucknow Feb. 4-9, 2002

*        Nayar, M. P. 1997

 "Hot spots" of Plant Diversity in India.