will be useful in building collaborative
arrangements across political and administrative barriers and boundaries to govern at the
scale of sustainability challenge to achieve
way toward the SDG 06.
Keywords
Water resource management Á Garhwal
himalaya Á Ecological restoration Á
Sustainable Development Goals
12.1 Introduction
Water resource, mainly the water for drinking and
sanitation purposes (Sustainable Development
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation), to the people
is a prime concern. Mountains are fragile
ecosystems which are globally important as water
tower of the earth, reservoirs of rich biodiversity,
and popular destinations for recreation, tourism,
and cultural heritage. Mountains provide direct
life support base for human kind (Roy and Singh
2002). The unique geo-climatic condition of
Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand makes it one of
the most vulnerable regions in India. Garhwal
Himalaya, Uttarakhand is highly vulnerable to
many man-made and natural disasters such as
cloud burst, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF),
flash flood, landslide, soil erosion, and avalanches. In this situation, the normal patterns of
life and livelihood are disrupted and extraordinary
emergency interventions are required to save and
preserve human lives, properties, and environment (Prasad and Pandey 2017). Water and forests are constantly interacting to produce healthy
and productive ecosystems (Alford 1992).
This study examines and suggests the
methodology framework to determine the management of forest plantation for water conservation in Garhwal Himalaya. The spatial and
temporal variability of human-induced hydrological changes in a river basin could affect
quality and quantity of water (Negi et al. 2017).
The growth of population has an increasing
pressure on renewable and non-renewable
resources to meet the basic needs of food,
water, and raw materials. The resultant environmental degradation and serious ecological
imbalances are posing threat to the survival of
mankind. Water is the vital natural resource for
all life on earth surface. The economics importance of water in a country where agriculture is
the mainstay can hardly be exaggerated. Indian
history is full of example of indigenous water
harvesting systems showing enormous variation
in their design, structure, and size. Owing to the
seasonal nature of rains, numerous types of water
harvesting practices are developed to meet the
water-related needs round the years (Plate 12.1).
Through crude by present-day standards, these
were nonetheless complex and required enormous
skill to construct. Many of these structures continue to meet the needs of the people even today.
State management of irrigation was not unknown
in the past, but community management was
widespread. It was the people’s participation in
the management of these resources that made it a
success (Rautela 2000). The land around each
Indian village had been transformed over the
centuries into a complex ecosystem of croplands,
grazing lands, forest and trees lands, thus constituting an interactive, multi-components biological
system that responded not only to the region’s
sharp seasonal rhythms but also reduced risk by
keeping the social and economic impact of rainfall
variations down to a minimum (Gupta and Katiyar
1982). When no options were available people
learnt to rely on rainwater for survival. For irrigations purposes they would build rain-fed tank to
provide irrigation water for a downstream channel
areas (Plate 12.2).
Agriculture in the mountainous regions needed
carefully fine-turned systems of water supply,
distribution, and management. And so, did the
towns and cities of the region that could not
develop or survive without good water management. Wherever there were streams, people
developed techniques to divert its water, with the
help of simple engineering structures, into artificial
channels that would feed the agricultural fields. In
areas of good ground water regime, people harvested water with the help of specially designed
structures (naulas), local variations of which are
encountered throughout the terrain (Pandey 2017).
158
A. S. Prasad et al.
arrangements across political and administrative barriers and boundaries to govern at the
scale of sustainability challenge to achieve
way toward the SDG 06.
Keywords
Water resource management Á Garhwal
himalaya Á Ecological restoration Á
Sustainable Development Goals
12.1 Introduction
Water resource, mainly the water for drinking and
sanitation purposes (Sustainable Development
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation), to the people
is a prime concern. Mountains are fragile
ecosystems which are globally important as water
tower of the earth, reservoirs of rich biodiversity,
and popular destinations for recreation, tourism,
and cultural heritage. Mountains provide direct
life support base for human kind (Roy and Singh
2002). The unique geo-climatic condition of
Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand makes it one of
the most vulnerable regions in India. Garhwal
Himalaya, Uttarakhand is highly vulnerable to
many man-made and natural disasters such as
cloud burst, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF),
flash flood, landslide, soil erosion, and avalanches. In this situation, the normal patterns of
life and livelihood are disrupted and extraordinary
emergency interventions are required to save and
preserve human lives, properties, and environment (Prasad and Pandey 2017). Water and forests are constantly interacting to produce healthy
and productive ecosystems (Alford 1992).
This study examines and suggests the
methodology framework to determine the management of forest plantation for water conservation in Garhwal Himalaya. The spatial and
temporal variability of human-induced hydrological changes in a river basin could affect
quality and quantity of water (Negi et al. 2017).
The growth of population has an increasing
pressure on renewable and non-renewable
resources to meet the basic needs of food,
water, and raw materials. The resultant environmental degradation and serious ecological
imbalances are posing threat to the survival of
mankind. Water is the vital natural resource for
all life on earth surface. The economics importance of water in a country where agriculture is
the mainstay can hardly be exaggerated. Indian
history is full of example of indigenous water
harvesting systems showing enormous variation
in their design, structure, and size. Owing to the
seasonal nature of rains, numerous types of water
harvesting practices are developed to meet the
water-related needs round the years (Plate 12.1).
Through crude by present-day standards, these
were nonetheless complex and required enormous
skill to construct. Many of these structures continue to meet the needs of the people even today.
State management of irrigation was not unknown
in the past, but community management was
widespread. It was the people’s participation in
the management of these resources that made it a
success (Rautela 2000). The land around each
Indian village had been transformed over the
centuries into a complex ecosystem of croplands,
grazing lands, forest and trees lands, thus constituting an interactive, multi-components biological
system that responded not only to the region’s
sharp seasonal rhythms but also reduced risk by
keeping the social and economic impact of rainfall
variations down to a minimum (Gupta and Katiyar
1982). When no options were available people
learnt to rely on rainwater for survival. For irrigations purposes they would build rain-fed tank to
provide irrigation water for a downstream channel
areas (Plate 12.2).
Agriculture in the mountainous regions needed
carefully fine-turned systems of water supply,
distribution, and management. And so, did the
towns and cities of the region that could not
develop or survive without good water management. Wherever there were streams, people
developed techniques to divert its water, with the
help of simple engineering structures, into artificial
channels that would feed the agricultural fields. In
areas of good ground water regime, people harvested water with the help of specially designed
structures (naulas), local variations of which are
encountered throughout the terrain (Pandey 2017).
158
A. S. Prasad et al.