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Estimation of Environmental Flow Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Conservation of Fish Biodiversity

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Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Resource Management in Asia

Abstract

The cumulative and detailed knowledge about the present and past ecological systems is “traditional ecological knowledge” (TEK). TEK in water is to be provided for by guaranteeing environmental flow sufficiency. Environmental flow in terms of fish habitat is the minimum flow required to breed fish species and their corresponding environmental condition. The Pandoh Hydropower project in the Mandi District was constructed in 1977 by obstructing the flow of the Beas River. This in turn causes the natural free-flowing flow to get altered, leading to a poor fish ecosystem. To mitigate the impact, the maintenance of environmental flow has been proposed. The percentage of the environmental flow to be maintained is still debatable. The research work focuses on evaluating the impact of a hydropower project on the aquatic ecosystem. The environmental flow has been suggested as the mitigation measure. The hydraulic-habitat approach has been used to calculate the required environmental flow for a healthy aquatic ecosystem. The keystone species for this study purpose is rainbow trout. The environmental flow required for the rainbow trout will be taken environmental flow for a healthy ecosystem. The percentage of the environmental flow which is maintained isn’t sufficient as per the results. Hence based on the Traditional Ecological Knowledge, the percentage of the environmental flow is proposed as 20–25% of the average lean season flow to enhance the aquatic biodiversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, School of Earth Sciences, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Diphu, Assam, 782462, India

    C. Prakasam

  2. Ecofirst Services Limited, Tata Consulting Engineering Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560001, India

    R. Saravanan

Authors
  1. C. Prakasam
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  2. R. Saravanan
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Correspondence to C. Prakasam .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Suresh Chand Rai

  2. Department of Geography, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Prabuddh Kumar Mishra

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Prakasam, C., Saravanan, R. (2022). Estimation of Environmental Flow Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Conservation of Fish Biodiversity. In: Rai, S.C., Mishra, P.K. (eds) Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Resource Management in Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16840-6_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16840-6_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16839-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16840-6

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