Abstract
The nature of terrain imposes severe limitations on the scale of productive activities as well as on the efficiency of infrastructural facilities in the Indian Himalaya. As a result, biomass based subsistence agriculture constitutes the main source of rural livelihood. During the recent past, rural resource development practices have changed in response to population increase and the resultant increased demand on natural resources as well as increasing socio-economic and political marginalization. This has brought about rapid environmental changes which have reduced the groundwater recharge in the region. About 36% of springs have dried, heads of perennial streams have dried and water discharge in springs and streams has decreased considerably resulting into severe crisis of water for drinking as well as irrigation during the past 20 years. In addition to assessing the impact of recent environmental changes on water resources, this paper attempts to develop a community and user oriented framework for the sustainable development of water resources with a case illustration of Kosi headwater in Kumaon Lesser Himalaya, India.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashish M (1983) Agricultural economy of Kumaon Hills: a threat to ecological disaster. In: Singh OP (ed) The Himalaya: nature, man and culture. Rajesh, New Delhi, pp 233–245
Bandyopadhyay J, Perveen S (2002) The interlinking of Indian Rivers: questions on the scientific, economic and environmental dimensions of the proposal. National Seminar on Interlinking Indian Rivers: bane or boon? Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta
Bhandari N, Nijampurkar S (1988) Himalayan Glaciers: our neglected Water Banks. In: Chadha SK (ed) Himalayas: ecology and environment. Mittal, New Delhi, pp 76–92
Bisht BS, Tiwari PC (1996) Land use planning for sustainable resource development in Kumaon Lesser Himalaya: a study of Gomti Watershed. Int J Sustain Dev Ecol 3:23–34
FAO (2005) Forest and water. FAO, Rome, Forestry Paper No 155
Government of India (2005) Norms for providing potable drinking water in Rural Areas. Report of Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Chapter 1, New Delhi
Haigh M (2002) Headwater control: integrating land and livelihoods. In: International conference on sustainable development of headwater resources, United Nations International University, Nairobi, Kenya
Haigh MJ, Rawat JS (1990) Hydrological impact of deforestation in the central Himalaya, Hydrology of Mountainous. In: Proceedings of the Strbské Pleso workshop, Czechoslovakia, June 1988, IAHS Publ No 190, pp 419–433
ICIMOD (2007) Melting Himalayas: regional challenges and local impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems and livelihoods, Technical Paper, pp 11–24
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaption and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg2.htm
Ives JD (1989) Deforestation in the Himalaya: the cause of increased flooding in Bangladesh and Northern India. Land Use Policy 6:187–193
Jianchu X, Sharma R, Fang J, Xu Y (2008) Critical linkages between land-use transition and human health in the Himalayan region. Environ Int 34(2):239–247
Khanka LS, Jalal DS (1984) Morphological analysis of Lake Naini Tal in Kumaon Himalaya. Geogr Rev India 46:64–69
Maithani BP (1986) Towards sustainable hill area development. Himalaya: Man, Nature and Culture 16:4–7
Mukhophadayay SC (2006) Glaciers and water source appraisal of Himalaya with special reference to Central Himalaya, Uttaranchal. In: Rawat MSS (ed) Resource appraisal, technology application, and environmental challenges in Central Himalaya, vol 1. Transmedia, Srinagar Uttarakhand, pp 106–119
Palni LMS, Maikhuri RK, Rao KS (1998) Conservation of the Himalayan Agro-ecosystem: issues and priorities. In: Ecological co-operation for biodiversity conservation in the Himalaya. United Nations Development Programme, New York, pp 253–290
Pathak PC, Pandey AK, Singh JS (1983) Partitioning of rainfall by certain forest stands in Kumaun Himalaya. Tropical Plant Science Research 1:123–126
Planning Commission of India (2001) Report of special task force on hill development. Planning Commission of India, New Delhi
Rai SC, Sharma E (1995) Land-use change and resource degradation in Sikkim Himalaya: a case study from Mamlay watershed. In: Singh RB, Haigh MJ (eds) Sustainable reconstruction of highland and headwater regions. Oxford, New Delhi, pp 265–278
Rai SC, Sharma E (1998) Comparative assessment of runoff characteristics under different land use patterns within a Himalayan watershed. Hydrol Process 12:2235–2248
Rawat JS (1987) Morphometry and morphology of Nainital, Kumaon Lesser Himalaya. J Geol Soc India 30:493–498
Rawat JS (1988) Water resources and burning hydrological problems of Kumaon. In: Valdiya KS (ed) Kumaon land and people. Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital, pp 201–212
Rawat JS (2009) Saving Himalayan Rivers: developing spring sanctuaries in headwater regions. In: Shah BL (ed) Natural resource conservation in Uttarakhand. Ankit Prakshan, Haldwani, pp 41–69
Sharma E, Bhuchar S, Xing M, Kothyari BP (2007) Land use change and its impact on hydro-ecological linkages in Himalayan watersheds. Trop Ecol 48(2):151–161
Singh JS, Pandey U, Tiwari AK (1984) Man and forests: a Central Himalayan case study. Ambio 13:80–87
Tiwari AP (1972) Recent changes in the position of the snout of the Pindari Glacier, Kumaon Himalaya, Almora District, UP India. In: Proceedings of the symposium on role of snow and ice in hydrology. UNESCO-WHO-IAHS, Canada, pp 1144–1149
Tiwari PC (1995) Natural resources and sustainable development in Himalaya. Shree Almora Book Depot, Almora
Tiwari PC (2000) Land use changes in Himalaya and their impact on the plains ecosystem: need for sustainable land use. Land Use Policy 17:101–111
Tiwari PC (2002) Second annual progress report of the research project on Natural Resources Information System for Wasteland Development in Kosi Headwater. Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi
Tiwari PC (2007) Urbanization and environmental changes in Himalaya: a study of the Lake Region of District Nainital in Kumaon Himalaya, India, International Working Paper Series ISSN 1935-9160, Urbanization & Global Environmental Change (UGEC), International Human Dimension Programme (IHDP), Working Paper 07-05, pp 1–19
Tiwari PC (2008) Management of common pool wasteland for rural livelihood improvement in the Himalayas, sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asian Research. In: Proceedings of 10th international sustainable development conference, December 2007, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan, pp 75–101
Tiwari PC (2010) Land use changes and conservation of water resources in Himalayan Headwaters. In: Proceedings of the 2nd German-Indian conference on research for sustainability: energy & land use, pp 170–74
Tiwari PC, Joshi B (2005) Environmental changes and status of water resources in Kumaon Himalaya. In: Libor J, Haigh M, Prasad H (eds) Sustainable management of headwater resources: research from Africa and Asia. United Nations University, Tokyo, pp 109–123
Tiwari PC, Joshi B (2007) Rehabilitation and management of wasteland in the Himalayan headwaters: an experimental study of Kosi Headwater in Kumaon Lesser Himalayas in India. Int J World Assoc Soil Water Conserv J2:39–62
Tiwari PC, Joshi B (2009) Resource utilization pattern and rural livelihood in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve buffer zone villages, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India, Ecomont. Int J Protected Areas 1(1):25–32
Tiwari AP, Jangpangi BS (1962) The retreat of the snout of the Pindari Glaciers. In: Proceedings of the symposium of Obergurage. International Association of Hydrological Sciences, pp 245–248
Tiwari PC, Joshi B (1997) Wildlife in the Himalayan Foothills: conservation and management. Indus, New Delhi
Valdiya KS (1985) Accelerated erosion and landslide prone areas in the Central Himalayan Region. In: Singh JS (ed) Environmental regeneration in Himalaya. Central Himalayan Environment Association, Nainital, pp 12–38
Valdiya KS, Bartarya SK (1991) Hydrological studies of springs in the catchment of Gaula River, Kumaon Lesser Himalaya, India. Mt Res Dev 11:17–25
Verma PK, Kothyari BP (2005) Assessment of rainfall, runoff and sediment losses of the Bheta Gad watershed, India. In: White R, Bhuchar SK (eds) Resource constraints and management options in mountain watersheds of the Himalayas. ICIMOD, Kathmandu, pp 155–166
Viriroli D, Weingartner R (2003) Mountains: sources of the world’s freshwater. Newletter (32), ICIMOD, Kathmandu
Wasson RJ, Juyal N, Jaiswal M, McCulloch M, Sarin MM, Jain P, Srivastava P, Singhvi AK (2008) The mountain-lowland debate: deforestation and sediment transport in the upper Ganga catchment. J Environ Manag 88(1):53–61
Whittaker W (1989) The ecology and economy of Himalayan agriculture and labour migration: a case study of Garhwal District. In: Pandey DC, Tiwari PC (eds) Dimensions of development planning. Criterion, New Delhi, pp 431–445
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tiwari, P.C., Joshi, B. Environmental Changes and Sustainable Development of Water Resources in the Himalayan Headwaters of India. Water Resour Manage 26, 883–907 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9825-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9825-y