Accepted Papers - 3.pdf - UNESCO

having the height greater than 50m would have the
submergence impacts on the upstream habitation
those days. Displacement of human settlements is
indeed a painful necessity and must be handled with
compassion, fairness and even generosity to ensure
better quality of life than left behind by PAPs.
Most of such PAPs reside in areas of extreme
environmental fragility and largely deprived of
nutritional food, potable water, health facilities and
productive employment. Employment benefits of
river valley projects have been widely experienced.
Typically, 60 percent of the capital costs of a major
irrigation projects payment to construction workers.
Further sizeable recurring onfarm employment
benefits are generated because labour use in irrigated
farming is more than in unirrigated farming. Irrigation
development in a tract stems out migration of job
seekers from that tract to distant centers. Availability
of water from Sardar Sarovar Project will benefit
about 1.91 lakh of people residing in 124 villages in
arid and drought-prone border areas of Jalore and
Barmer Districts of Rajasthan, which have been
suffering grave hardship and on account of scarcity
of water, besides checking the advancement of Thar
Desert. Voluntary migration in India has been highest
from these areas due to scarcted water. National
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy has already
been notified. Judgements of Supreme Court and
Shanglu Committees Report have amply proved that
liberal provisions and comprehensive plans for
implementation are being implemented in recent
water resources project (Sardar Sarovar, Tehri,
Almatti, Narmada Sagar Dam) ensuring better
conditions of PAPs after rehabilitation.
MYTHS AND REALITIES ABOUT
RELATIONS OF FOREST AND
HYDROLOGIC ELEMENTS
There are many beliefs about the role of land
use and its relation to hydrology, which need to
be examined in the light of scientific evidence.
Simplistic views, have created a mindset which
not only links degradation with less forest but
rehabilitation and conservation with more forest;
particularly because they imply the inevitable link
between the absence of forests and ‘degradation’
of water resources. This is also true in relation to
forestry, agro forestry and hydrology, claims by
enthusiastic agro foresters and foresters are
often not supportable. When scrutinized, many
of the mother statements relating to forestry and
the environment are seen to be either exaggerated
493
or untenable. It is highly relevant to know what
can be attached to these statements for the proper
management of water resources and land use.
The overwhelming hydrological evidence
supports that forests are not generators of rainfall.
In fact, afforestation has a limited impact in terms
of changing hydrological conditions. Tributaries
of the Brahmaputra come from more forested
areas than the southern ones and yet create more
floods. Afforestation will help the local economy
but will not contain large floods in the Himalayan
regions. Floods have been taking place in the
Himalayan plains since time immemorial. The
perceptions that deforestation in the Himalayan
hill is a primary cause of devastating seasonal
floods is totally wrong. It is believed that forests
mitigate drought by storing water and releasing
it over time through more even stream flows. We
should also account for the loss due to evapotranspiration
by the forest. The net water balance
will vary in accordance with conditions and
circumstances.
Adverse effects of forests on water quality are
more likely to be related to bad management
practices than the presence of the forests
themselves. There is little scientific evidence to show
that enhanced productivity can be achieved in agro
forestry systems. Enhanced productivity from agro
forestry systems must be largely regarded as a myth.
Many such misconceptions are routinely reinforced
by the media and is all pervasive; it has become
enshrined in some of our most influential
environmental policy documents.
Numerous scientific studies made
worldwide and research by Centre for Science
and Environment (CSE) & National Institute
of Hydrology (NIH) in India are in contrast of
seven ‘mother statements’ in relation to
forests, productivity and hydrology. It is widely
believed that deforestation causes floods by
reducing infiltration and augmenting run-off. The
following findings of India’s environment – a
Citizen’s Report, 1991 on “Floods, Flood Plans
and Environmental Myths”, prepared by the
Centre for Science and Environment, are eye
opening while considering the widely prevalent
beliefs about relationship of forests with
hydrological elements :-
“Floods are nor new to the Indo-Gangetic
plains. During the 3500 years of recorded human
settlement in the Ganga basin alone, there have been
many floods of gigantic proportions. Run off and silt