Conservation of Umiam Lake and its Catchment using Remote sensing and GIS inputs

25º

30’N

25º4

0’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E

25º

30’N

25º4

0’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E

91º 52’E 91º 54’E

25º4

0’N

25º

38’N

25º

38’N

25º4

0’N

91º 52’E 91º 54’E

MeghalayaNorth East Region

Umiam catchment Umiam reservoir and its surrounding

STUDY AREA

U2U3

U4

U5

U7

U1

U10

U9

U8

U6

U13

U12U11

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 50’E 91º 55’E

25º4

0’N

25º4

0’N

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E 91º 50’E

Water body

U1 - U13 Sub-watersheds

SCALEmeter

N

SUB-WATERSHED MAP OF UMIAM CATCHMENT

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 50’E 91º 55’E

25º4

0’N

25º4

0’N

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E 91º 50’E

N

Pine dense forest

Pine medium denseforest

Pine low dense forest

Mixed dense forest

Mixed medium dense forest

Mixed low dense forest

Settlement

Water body

Abandoned jhum

Grass/Scrub

Gravel stony waste

Agriculture/ current jhum

meter

Scale

LANDUSE / LAND COVER MAP OF UMIAM CATCHMENT

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E

91º 45’E

91º 50’E

91º 55’E

91º 50’E

91º 55’E

25º4

0’N

25º4

0’N

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E 91º 50’E

3-5%

5-10%

10-15 %

15-25 %

0-3%

25-33 %

33-50 %

>50 %

Water body

Built up area

meter

Scale

N

DIGITAL SLOPE MAP OF UMIAM CATCHMENT

APPROACHES IN FORMULATING A CONSERVATION PLAN

Referring to the area available at different slopes and land uses a Conservation Plan was formulated for optimum utilization of soil and water resources to sustain productivity of agricultural and forest lands in the following approaches:

1) To control soil loss by means by insitu moisture conservation and runoff management programs such as vegetative

hedges, various check dams, contour trenching, contour bunding etc.

2) To adopt scientific methods of crop production to try and achieve self-sufficiency of food items within the area.

3) To improve degraded lands by covering underAgro-forestry, Horticulture (including indigenous temperate fruit species), cash crop plantations (Tea etc.) and creating protective aforestation etc.

Area of sub-watersheds in ha for different Slopes & Landuse

BROAD BASED LAND USE AND TREATMENT PLAN FOR UMIAM CATCHMENT

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 50’E 91º 55’E

25º4

0’N

25º4

0’N

25º

35’N

25º

30’N

91º 45’E 91º 55’E 91º 50’E

N

N

LEGEND

Very low

Low

Medium.

High.

Very high

Water body

meter

Scale

PRIORITY SUB-WATERSHEDS OF UMIAM CATCHMENT

Land use class (Area in ha)

Forest (evergreen/semievergreen, dense/open) 19410.77 17057.75 -2353.03

Open scrub 3265.86 4683.35 1417.48

Built-up 3126.53 3496.22 369.69

2005 2008

MAJOR PROBLEMS

•Shifting cultivation in the form of ‘Bun’, is one of the major problems plaguing the area, inducing severe erosion and reducing the life span of the reservoir

•Improper management of Urban waste results in the accelerated siltation of the reservoir

•Regular forest fires destroy all cover and intensify the soil erosion and siltation problems

Barren forest floor after a forest fireFire ravaged young pines

Uncontrolled quarrying leading to siltation. Urban waste being washed into the reservoir

Problems of Umiam Catchment Area

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