12
Water Resource Management
Through Ecological Restoration
in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand,
India
Abhay Shankar Prasad, Anju Singh,
S. K. Bandooni, and V. S. Negi
Abstract
Water is considered as the most vital natural
resource of Garhwal Himalaya and is also an
important asset to the state population. The
state is richly endowed with hilly terrain
having an enormous volume of water from the
catchment areas of Garhwal Himalaya that
consists of Alaknanda river, Bhagirathi,
Yamuna, Tons, and Nayar. Among them,
Alaknanda river basin is the biggest one,
which occupies around one-third area of
whole Garhwal region. This paper presents a
methodological approach through ecological
restoration for the water resource management, integration of extreme events, climatic
vulnerability, land use/land use cover changes,
and natural resource for sustainable development planning. Climate change and anthropogenic activities are continuously disturbing
the natural system of the Garhwal Himalaya
and its impact on sustainable development and
water potential. Himalayan geosystem is
highly vulnerable and susceptible to various
kinds of geo-hydrological vulnerability and its
impact on socio-economic capacity. The study
areas which are a part of fragile Garhwal
ecosystem are isolated with its difficult topography and need immediate consideration for
water resource management. Better legislative
frameworks are necessary to protect water
resources and prevent water pollution. The
study has been based on the primary and
secondary data. Primary data has been collected from field observation, interview techniques, informal interviews, interaction, and
discussion with local people. The main technique of primary data collection was done
through questionnaire and participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) approaches. This parameter is
important in building resilience capacity and
ensuring sustainable development pathways
and provides water resource management.
This research paper has suggested a policy
to improve the transfer of scientific knowledge, and to increase mutual understanding,
partnership, and cooperation for better policy
outputs in Sustainable Development Goal 06
(Clean water and Sanitation), Sustainable
Development Goal 13 (Climate Action), and
SDG 15 (Life on Land). These approaches
A. S. Prasad (&)
Department of Geography, Dyal Singh College,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
e-mail: abhaydsegeo@gmail.com;
abhaysprasad.geog@dsc.du.ac.in
A. Singh
Department of Geography, Aditi Mahavidyalaya,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
S. K. Bandooni Á V. S. Negi
Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat Singh E.
College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
B. W. Pandey and S. Anand (eds.), Water Science and Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57488-8_12
157
Water Resource Management
Through Ecological Restoration
in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand,
India
Abhay Shankar Prasad, Anju Singh,
S. K. Bandooni, and V. S. Negi
Abstract
Water is considered as the most vital natural
resource of Garhwal Himalaya and is also an
important asset to the state population. The
state is richly endowed with hilly terrain
having an enormous volume of water from the
catchment areas of Garhwal Himalaya that
consists of Alaknanda river, Bhagirathi,
Yamuna, Tons, and Nayar. Among them,
Alaknanda river basin is the biggest one,
which occupies around one-third area of
whole Garhwal region. This paper presents a
methodological approach through ecological
restoration for the water resource management, integration of extreme events, climatic
vulnerability, land use/land use cover changes,
and natural resource for sustainable development planning. Climate change and anthropogenic activities are continuously disturbing
the natural system of the Garhwal Himalaya
and its impact on sustainable development and
water potential. Himalayan geosystem is
highly vulnerable and susceptible to various
kinds of geo-hydrological vulnerability and its
impact on socio-economic capacity. The study
areas which are a part of fragile Garhwal
ecosystem are isolated with its difficult topography and need immediate consideration for
water resource management. Better legislative
frameworks are necessary to protect water
resources and prevent water pollution. The
study has been based on the primary and
secondary data. Primary data has been collected from field observation, interview techniques, informal interviews, interaction, and
discussion with local people. The main technique of primary data collection was done
through questionnaire and participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) approaches. This parameter is
important in building resilience capacity and
ensuring sustainable development pathways
and provides water resource management.
This research paper has suggested a policy
to improve the transfer of scientific knowledge, and to increase mutual understanding,
partnership, and cooperation for better policy
outputs in Sustainable Development Goal 06
(Clean water and Sanitation), Sustainable
Development Goal 13 (Climate Action), and
SDG 15 (Life on Land). These approaches
A. S. Prasad (&)
Department of Geography, Dyal Singh College,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
e-mail: abhaydsegeo@gmail.com;
abhaysprasad.geog@dsc.du.ac.in
A. Singh
Department of Geography, Aditi Mahavidyalaya,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
S. K. Bandooni Á V. S. Negi
Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat Singh E.
College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
B. W. Pandey and S. Anand (eds.), Water Science and Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57488-8_12
157