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Rainfall patterns have changed; the seasonality of rain has been altered. As a result, ANURAG ANAND
AN EYE OPENING EXPERIENCE: FROM BEING
agriculture suffers as communities here practice rain-fed agriculture and heavy rains VISUALLY IMPAIRED TO BECOMING
at one end or no rains at the other end play havoc with crop cycles. EMPOWERED
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2/7/2018 Building Village Level Eco-Entrepreneurs for Social Change: Coca-Cola India
There are multiple reasons for this dire water crisis in the mountains. For me,
however, one of the major causes of the water crisis in the Himalayas today are the
forests we have. In Uttarakhand, where I work, nearly 80 per cent of the forest land
has mono-cultured pine forests (Pinus Roxburghii). Pine trees are invasive by nature
and make the soil very dry and acidic, resulting in no undergrowth. As a result the
soil is very loose and erodes quickly. Pine forests have a shallow root system and
thus when it rains heavily there is copious amounts of surface run off. In contrast
native broad-leaved forests, like oak, have deep root systems and absorb rainwater
in their roots in turn repleting the underground water sources. Oak forests also have
dense undergrowth, preserve the biodiversity and enhance soil quality through
preserving moisture.
We’ve lost our native forests and if we bring them back- it will be nature’s way to
restore the balance in these beautiful mountains- ecological and social. It is also the
most sustainable way to create economic opportunities.
At Alaap, we are trying to bring back native forests, by creating them. We have so far
created 400 square metres of native forests. In the mountain, the mortality rate for
plantations of saplings can be as high as 90 per cent. We did our first pilot of native
forests in August using the Japanese scientist Dr. Miyawaki’s method. This method
has proven successful in many different climatic conditions and is completely
different from the conventional method of growing trees. This method can restrict
the mortality to 2-10 per cent.
Now we are designing two programmes so that we can help bring about the change.
The Village Leadership Development Programme seeks to build community forestry
leaders at the village level. This will help in legal awareness, raising awareness about
water conservation methods, creating native forests and other skills.
We think the germ of a big idea begins with a simple thought. We may already be
running behind time.
(Sheeba Sen is Founder and Executive Head at Alaap. Alaap is a social change
organisation working in forest conservation and community development in the
Central Himalayas. She is based in village Satkhol, Uttarakhand. Views expressed
on this article are personal.)
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