MAINSTREAMING CONSERVATION

ACTION IN DISTRICT PUBLIC

POLICY

4th July 2013

Kotagiri

CONTEXT

Coonoor Town – Second largest hill station in the

Nilgiris

Altitude - 1850m

Economy – Tea and Tourism

Coonoor Basin –

Area – 110 sq. km.

6 Gram Panchayats, 155 Habitations, 100,000 people

Predominantly Badaga community, some tribal and

other communities

Cordite Factory, Needle Factory

Historic land use change to tea from forests

CONTEXT

THE PROJECT AREA

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

Understanding of hydrological services provided

by natural ecosystems in the Nilgiris

Model for integration of hydrological services of

natural ecosystems into district government

planning and policy developed, as a basis for

wider replication.

Observable changes in government policies and

funding flows in the Nilgiris district, with regard

to safeguards and financial flows for the

conservation of natural ecosystems.

COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT

Downstream impacts of land-use patterns and

environmental management in upstream

ecosystems of the Coonoor River – Modeling.

Proactive measures to protect water resources

through conservation of natural ecosystems

adopted by local municipalities and other

relevant line departments in the Nilgiris district

administration.

Raised public awareness about the hydrological

service values of natural ecosystems among the

general public in Nilgiris district.

OUTCOMES

Mathematical model developed as a tool for

advocacy

Sample Scenarios run with the model for

demonstrating effect of policy changes

Model presented to District Administration and

other institutions

Cumulative impact of different sectors on the

water resources demonstrated and need for

coordinated action realised

Request from District Administration to develop

action plan in selected areas within the basin for

implementation of the recommendations

LANDUSE PATTERN OF STUDY AREA

Area in sq km

Tea, 55.35,

51%

Tree cover,

32.36, 30%

Builtup,

11.01, 10%

Farming,

8.17, 7%

Grasslands,

1.88, 2% Others, 0.33,

0%

Area calculated based on visual interpretation of

Google Earth Imagery (January 2012)

4

3

2

1

5

67

Subregions in Coonoor

LAND USE OF SUB REGIONS

sq km

Region Builtup Farming Grasslands TeaTree cover Others Total Dominant Villages

region 1 2.64 0.10 0.22 2.28 3.30 0.00 8.54

Trees, Builtup/Te

a Coonoor

Town

region 2 2.49 1.26 1.14 9.70 3.62 0.11 18.32 Tea, TreesBerhatti,

Jakathala

region 3 1.81 0.53 0.13 4.98 2.57 0.01 10.03 Tea, TreesAravankadu, Hubathalai

region 4 1.00 4.03 0.11 8.89 1.51 0.05 15.61 FarmingSandur,

Sogathorai

region 5 0.26 1.93 0.07 5.17 0.29 0.08 7.81Tea,

FarmingKollimalai,

Katteri

region 6 1.55 0.29 0.11 18.34 1.76 0.03 22.08 TeaSelas,

Hulikal

region 7 1.26 0.02 0.10 5.99 19.19 0.04 26.60 Tree cover Barliar

Total 11.01 8.17 1.88 55.35 32.26 0.32 108.99 Tea, Trees

Derived from visual interpretation of Google Earth Imagery (Jan ‘12)

Shola forests

Eucalyptus ,

Acacia,

plantations

Springs

Groundwater

Streams

Tea farms,

Vegetable farms

Settlements

(Rural, Urban),

Institutions,

Industries

External

water

Mapping interactions between stocks of water flows

Beginning of a “River basin” thinking for Conoor river and nearby areas

rainfall

aquifer

catchment

users

Water

supply

Converting interactions into

a “Model”

SOURCES OF DATA FOR PARAMETERS

1. Soil and Water conservation in southern hill regions of India,

Proceedings of Working group Meeting of Soil Conservationists from

Southern Hill regions, Edited by V V Dhruvanarayana et al, 1982

2. A status report of forest hydrology in India, NIH, 1992

3. Response to charge questions on Nitrate dilution model, summary

report of NJDEP science advisory board, Weis et al, 2011

4. The water needed to have Dutch tea, Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2003,

UNESCO-IHE

5. Tea in Tamil Nadu: A commodity study in Nilgiris and Coimbatore

districts, NABARD, Chennai, 2006

6. Conversion of city corporate plan to Business plan for Coonoor

mucinipality, 2007, Tamil Nadu urban infrastructural financial services

ltd

7. The impact of AKRSP(I)’s work in Meghal river basin, Junagadh,

Gujarat: A socio-technical analysis, 2012, Verma and Krishnan

PARAMETERS IN THE MODEL

Parameter Description Source of data

a_pars Aquifer parameters 1,2

ac_connect Aquifer catchment Local surveys

ad_connect Aquifer streams Local surveys

barea Builtup area GIS analysis

farea Forest area GIS analysis

lprops Landuse properties for water balance 1,2

nitrate Nitrate 3

pop Population Local surveys

rain_pattern Rainfall pattern Assimilated from local data sources

tarea Tea area GIS analysis

Touprop Tourism proportion for each catchment 6

Tourism Tourism across time footfall 6

varea Farming area GIS analysis

Vegdeltas1,2,3, vegstime Depth of water for irrigation for a crop –

vegetables

Local surveys,4,2

Domestic and urban water

use norms

40 & 100 LPD DDWS, GoI

Nitrate safety levels 40 ppm & 300 ppm BIS standards

Questions

Deficits

What is the total water deficit in the

Coonoor region?

Nitrates

What are Nitrate levels in the streams?

Two Levels

Region as a whole

Subregion level

FINDINGS

Baseline (Population inc. 1.5% p.a., tourism inc.

5% p.a.)

Water deficit appears about 9 years from now

Water Deficit is more in catchment sub-regions 4 and

5 due to more farming

Nitrates are always close to four times the

permissible limit for human consumption

WATER DEFICIT IN THE COONOOR REGION

Cu m per day

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

OVERALL NITRATE

Units in parts per million

Units in parts per million

Region 1

Region 4

Region

5

Region 6

Region 7

Region

2

Region 3

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

SAMPLE POLICY SCENARIOS

If we replace 2% area under tea into builtup area, then

Deficit in regions 4 and 5 increase for several more years

Aquifer storage decreases

If we go organic in agriculture by 25%

Bulk nitrate is same, peaks reduce by not much

SAMPLE POLICY SCENARIOS…

If we reduce waste from domestic and industrial

sectors by 50%, then

Stream nitrate reduces significantly

If 25% area under tree cover has shola forests

There is decrease in deficit

Base flow increases

INFERENCES

Overall there is no water deficit in the basin in terms of quantity, but the ground reality is that there is massive water shortage in the town and villages.

Regions 4 & 5 which are farming dominated, are facing water deficits

The same two regions are also facing nitrate fluctuations.

The key to the issues related to the water resources is land use.

Waste management – domestic and tourism sectors – potential to make a significant difference.

POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS

• Land use changes (Shola species)

• Water efficiency – in agriculture (e.g. drip and

sprinklers), in domestic and tourism (e.g. low

flush toilets), rain water harvesting

• Pollutants – decreasing fertilizers/pesticides

(Tea/Veg), Waste Management/Sanitation

• Payment for Ecosystem Services to promote

water conservation and manage use.

NEXT STEPS

District Collector and line departments are

interested in following this up with action on the

ground

Identify an area within the basin (maybe regions

4/5) and prepare an action plan based on the

model inferences

Design the pilot for Payment for Ecosystem

Services in the area

Work out implementation plan with the district

administration

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

THANK YOU