Flood

Inundation of landIndia Monsoon climateRainfall concentrated to limited months Large network of riversPossibilities of flood and drought

Flood

Heavy rainfallcloud burst La-Nina

Flood: Natural Reasons

Bad drainage (terai)Basin topography (PN-HN)Narrow river valley (Brahmaputra)Siltation of river bed (Kosi)Landslide in the course of river

Flood: Natural ReasonsGlobal warming melting of glaciersDeforestation siltation- lower channel capacityConstruction of dams and canalsPoor settlement management Flood: Anthropogenic Reasons

Ganga-Yamuna systemBrahmaputra ManasMahanadiWeinganga (Godavari)Bhima (Krishna)

Flood-prone areasIPCC 4th and 5th report:Increase in events of heavy rainfall in Himalayan regionDeforestation, haphazard construction, dams in upper reaches of riversSand mining, habitation near river valleyProblems of floods

Administrative strategies:Flood management program (11th Plan)Flood control commission to control flood in 23 riversInformation exchange from Nepal and China about volume of water in rivers in their origin

Solutions for flood

Forestation on the banks of riversBetter settlement managementWatershed management and rainwater harvesting than construction of dams and canalsSolutions for floodRainfall less or equal to 75 cm or less than 60 cm = Drought

Drought

Areas having more than 25% of variability of normal rainfall drought-pronePlateau regionWestern RJ, KutchhLadakh

Drought-prone areas

Drought is not only about water scarcity much more complex in IndiaDrought is related development Drought = agrarian poverty = high IMR, high MMR, low literacyProblem of Drought

Drought can affect only if the farmers are not prepared.Economic status of farmersIrrigation facilityAlternative livelihoodProblems of Drought

To fight against Drought

Where agriculture is totally depended on rainfallAreas without irrigationDry season = land fallowingIf rain fails = agricultural povertyLow productivity, subsistence farming, high poverty55% of net sown area of the country

Rainfed-Areas

Rain-shadow regions of western Ghats - Telangana, Rayalseema, Vidarbha

Drought-prone areas2) Malawa, Bundelkhand, Mewar, 3) Eastern India- High rainfall but misuse or under use of water resources administrative lapses underdevelopment of irrigation network

Drought-prone areas

4) North-east IndiaWettest part of India but no availability of water storage facility Water shortage in dry season Drought-prone areas

Rainfed areas produce 50% of Indias grain production 90% of pulse/millets productionMost of the cash crops, industrial crops exclusively from these areasImportant for food securityHome of 66% of livestock population of IndiaMax potential for livestock expansion

Importance of Rainfed areas

Most of their farmers grow cash-crops (cotton, ground nut, tobacco) if crop fails reduce their purchasing power hunger- malnutritionLow Human DevelopmentProblems of Rainfed areas

Arid, semi-arid regionsLand fallowing, soil-erosionPenninsular region -Difficult to construct canals + low ground water level

Problems of Rainfed areasRainfed areas more than 40% of Indias BPL population (most of them are landless labourers)If farmers of rainfed areas are strengthen much of the poverty in India will be reduced

Problems of rainfed areas

Land abandoning soil erosionReduction in production food securityLow productivityPoverty (most of the small and marginal farmers live in drought-prone areas)

Implications of droughtExpansion of irrigation facilityUse ground water in water-crisis situationrainwater harvestingCheck-damsWatershed- management

Solution to droughtRainwater Harvesting

Small check-damsSmall drought-preventing techniquesSustainable way to use water resourceUnderstanding the natural resource in its entiretyIntegrated or system approachHuman intervention should be limited to natural limits

Watershed managementWatershed = geo-hydrological unit that drains at a common pointA main river and its catchment area

Meaning of Watershed

River, streams, soil, surrounding forest, riverine ecosystem, wild lifeSurrounding agriculture field, villagesHuman beings (active participation)Components of WatershedConstruction of small earthen check-dams Network of small dams instead of large concrete damsNo blockage of riverStorage and sustainable use of water

Watershed Management

Afforestation on river banksIncrease in ground water levelIncrease in water level in riverSoil conservationEntire area can be greener

Watershed ManagementWatershed Management program in 19732009-2010Drought-prone area Program + Desert development program + integrated watershed development program = Integrated watershed Management ProgramInstitutional and capacity building assistance from centerWatershed development in India

Successful Watershed Management experiments:Aravari project in RJ under Rajendra singh of Tarun Bharat SanghRale gaon siddhi (MH) under Anna HazareWatershed development in India

management can work only under cooperative atmosphere of entire areaCommunity participationStrong panchayati raj systemDecentralized systemPeoples participation

Local population to participate in watershed managementBetter soil and water availability better productionBetter incomeEnvironment and ecology balance each otherInvolvement of local populationIncrease in water availabilityMultiple crop in a year increase incomeIncrease farm income more access to modern inputsIncrease in agriculture productivityIncrease fodder availability = more yield of milkBenefits of watershed managementTo fight against Drought

Alternate income to farmers from:Animal husbandry (dairying, meat, poultry, animal products, bee keeping, seri culture)Agro-forestryFood-processing industries, handicraft, tourism

Solution to DroughtFor Availability of alternative employment in rural areasConnectivity, transportation network, 24x7 electricity requiredFacility of crop-insurance, formal banking to cushion against economic crisis

Solution to Droughts

To fight against Drought

Development of agro-infrastructure check-dams, tanks, rain-water harvesting systems, wells/tube wells, cold storagesUse of Soil conservation techniquesAgro-practice in Drought-prone areas

Choice of cropsNo = Water intensive crops like, rice, cotton, sugarcaneYes = Less water intensive crops millets (Jawar, Bajra, Ragi)

Agro-practice in Drought-prone areasOptimum use of water in irrigationDrip irrigationsprinklersAgro-practice in Drought-prone areas

India limited irrigation potential there will be some areas out of irrigation network Risk diversification:Agro-silviPastoral systemAgro-practice in drought prone areas

Drought-resistance varietyConservation of soil moisture mulchingPre-monsoon ploughing and soil dressingDeep drilling of seed and fertilizers crop-rotationAgro-practice in drought prone areasProvide them:SubsidiesCrop-insurancePDS / Direct cash transferGuaranteed employmentDevelopment of rural assets

Drought-prone area development planFloodFlood-prone areasProblems solutionDroughtDrought-prone + Rainfed areasSolution to drought situation