G L Khajuria
In forestry parlance, a watershed cannotates an area, though small or large in its existence and is well identified ecosystem and can further be defined as such like areas in the broader outlook, which is having a common drainage system, and such like areas are very poor and with vegetative cover those which are particularly in the high canopy to the I6i level ground flora strata.
In a sense when we broadly nomenclaturise all such areas, there are three major watersheds in India alone viz, a). Himalayan range with its Karakoram branch in the north b). vindyan and satpura ranges in central India and sahyadri or western Ghats on the west coast And in general, with the ever-escalating environmental degradation and ruthless biotic pressure, preferably, over the forests, many areas have become barren most profoundly result being that our mountainous tops and other up-lands have now taken the shape of what we call as “wasteland”. The environmental scenario, therefore, depicts vast, varied ramifications of watersheds, though of course, differing variably in their magnitude degrees, some forming maga or sub-micro watersheds. But one thing definitely stands that all such areas are warranting “rapid action treatments” by way of designing potential and the most workable strategies to arrive at developing such areas at all levels by the interactive response emanating from all the departments et. al. forests, flood control, agriculture. horticulture R&B and all the other line departments to rehabilitate all such areas to safeguard from further degradation throughout every nook and corner of country.
A watershed as well is the hydrologic system having cohesive linkage between inputs like those of rains / snowfall as well as the outputs viz, the water conglomerated with sediments, that out-flow in shape of Nallahs, streams and rivers etc, and the duo, the inputs and outputs are fundamentally being controlled by way of water percolation vis-a- vis its run-off, apart from water evaporation. All these factors in unison are wholly solely are dependent upon the remnant vegetative cover and the land use practice in vogue. ‘The central soil and water conservation Research & Training institute” (CSWCRT). Dehradun and its ramified branches spreaded over throughout the country are pioneering agencies rendering yeoman’s service through their research, demonstration and training programme.
So, to make the integrated watershed development success-oriented, it becomes pertinent in an effort to bring in togetherness experience of multidisciplinary departments face-to-face with development which is diminishing quality of environments improving resources and adding to people predicaments and as well to mitigate ever- mounting the worst kinds of malaise of man-made misdeeds.
Men of mountains have registered serious concern in what is happening in some of the most unique yet-most fragile, high mountains and as such it warrants rapid action treatment to provide green cover to the barren watersheds This coupled with raising of minor-to major engineering works, gully plugging, check damming and allied operation to avert fast water run-off accruing from unprecedented and torrential rains which take along with it enormous sediments beyond all dimensions.
And ‘in treating developing all such watersheds, it becomes pertinent to gather basic datas, surveying the local human / live stock population falling under all these areas. It further needs to ensure and ascertain RF regime (legal status etc, Revenue, Forest or private owned), the location away from human denizens or in close proximity, credibility gap (inability through forestry is sighted away, fear loss of ownership), the afforestation works coupled with the choice o species most suited to site, preferably aromatically and medicinal plants; apart from survival and the best soil binding species.
The second part inviting importance to “Integrated Watershed Management” is to ascertain estimated output capacity of land resources which include amongst others, to use the unused land crop improvement, regeneration potential, measures to shelter aforestation areas from human, cattle and disease /insects manifestations otherwise it will ebb away the entire exercise. In addition, there are three major potent factors to the “Integrated Watershed Management” fruitful and success oriented, first the possibility and probability to rehabilitate watersheds for sustained yield and rise in the productivity of land, second potent consideration inviting development (Ecosystem development) and lastly to test the CF model for planning implementation of” Integrated Watershed Management” for the landless poorer. Insofar as goes people’s participation, it is beyond all ambiguities that the most pertinent part where the associated multihued communities are made to be motivated to function and to contribute as a predetermined task it warrants to be born in the mind that all adults who get their livelihood within the watershed itself are referred to as watershed community, apart from the fact that people living and in watershed areas have variable parameters of knowledge, literacy, attitude, capabilities above, all perceptions. In a sense, they cannot address to the problems and prospects of “Integrated watershed Management”. It is, defacto, more so due to heterogeneity which becomes important to have people’s participation cum organizational off shooting thereby community decision and later their implementation to make the integrated watershed development more success oriented. People’s participation, therefore, ‘in the process will involve interaction of people in the execution and further management of watersheds. Though, it is no more a denying the fact that “Integrated watershed Management” basically begins with the management of land, soil, water in such a manner that leads to the development and other allied resources and further leads to over all other sustainable development of the watershed community to become self recent / supportive. And insofar as goes its implementation part, land use modification and adjustment is very vital and essential. But ironically, this faces resistance from the community due to the ever mounting traditions and culture imbibed by them over the years. They rather look to such changes which have attempted to deprive from them of success to various resources to which they had full and free use earlier. And to cap it all the Integrated watershed Management impulses academic spectrum and urge to develop a blue print then to watch its implementation, which is be shelved. The detailed inflow of aims and objectives ‘in this context from all related / sister agencies warrants consolidated support with maps, photographs and all other relevant data’s in making ‘Integrated watersheds Management” a mega success.