Baseline Studies of the Tons River Upper Catchment for Conservation of River Yamuna
with Reference to Potential for Improvement of River Flow
The Ministry of of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, has undertaken the above noted project involving the National Institute of Ecology (NIE), New Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun. The studies will be monitored regularly by a Committee chaired by the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests. The studies by the NIE will cover biological, hydrological, and ecological aspects of both the terrestrial and aquatic systems in the study area that lies in the Himalaya at an altitude of 2000 to 4000 m. The IIRS will map the forest and land degradation in the area on 1:25000 scale using remote sensing and GIS.
The NIE has been asked to implement and coordinate these studies with the IIRS, Dept of Forests and other concerned departments and institutions of the Government of Uttaranchal, and then to prepare a Detailed Project Report for the rehabilitation of the upper watershed of river Tons. The entire project will be centrally funded, implemented by the State Government and monitored by the NIE over the next 4 years.
The project is the FIRST of its kind in India whereby the catchment scale rehabilitation will be attempted in order to improve river hydrological regime and water quality.
Protected Area Management for Hawf (Republic of Yemen)
The World Bank funded Project under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of the Ministry of Environment and Water, Republic of Yemen was executed by the Consulting Engineering Services (India) Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, jointly with the National Institute of Ecology and Ghayth Aquatech Ltd, Sanaa (Yemen) during July 2003 to September 2004.
The Project involved a detailed survey of biodiversity of a 90 sq. km area of dry deciduous monsoonal forest in the eastern part of Yemen bordering the Sultanate of Oman, socio-economic analysis of the local communities, and the preparation of a Protected Area Management Plan that included a Biodiversity Conservation and Management Plan and a Community-Based Natural Resources Management Plan, besides organising several workshops and training programs for various stakeholders.
A summary of the Project Report will be posted here soon.
Identification and Prioritization of Lakes for Conservation and Restoration under the National Lake Conservation Plan
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, invited the NIE in August 2003 to conduct a rapid survey of Indian lakes and submit a Report identifying lakes in the country, in order of priority, for conservation and restoration under the National lake Conservation Plan (NLCP). The Report was submitted within a record period of two months. It developed a Lake Conservation Index based on a number of criteria and subcriteria for prioritizing the lakes. The report identified tentatively, based on very limited published information, about 65 lakes out of a list of more than 1800 waterbodies in the country.
It is heartening that the MOEF has accepted the Report in principle. It has also circulated the list to all the State Governments asking their Chief Secretaries to prepare similar inventories and prioritised lists of lakes for support under the NLCP. The Ministry also circulated a proforma prepared by the NIE for collecting basic information about each lake in order to develop and refine the Lake Conservation Index further.
A summary of the Report will be posted here soon.
Background Document for the Proposed River Regulation Zone
A National Workshop on "Conservation of Rivers and Floodplains in India" organised by the Ministry of Environment & Forests in New Delhi, during 23-24 November 2001, urged the MOEF
"to take necessary steps towards issuing a notification under the Environment Protection Act, to protect river floodplains, and areas surrounding all inland water bodies, from uncontrolled anthropogenic activities (tentatively called as River Regulation Zone notification)".
A Committee set up by the MOEF to examine various issues, has asked the National Institute of Ecology to prepare this Background Document.. The Document, to be prepared within four months, will form the basis for further discussion within the MOEF and later at an inter-Ministerial meeting. The National Institute of Ecology is proud to be associated with this national activity.
We thank the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the recognition..
It is expected that the National Institute of Ecology will also be associated with the implementation of another resolution concerning "the conservation and restoration of floodplains, and protection of upper watersheds of rivers". Plans are being prepared to undertake Pilot-scale Demonstration Projects in the upper watersheds of several rivers, especially River Yamuna.
Integrated Management of Water Resources of Lake Nainital and its Watershed:
An Environmental Economics Approach
The abovenamed 18-month project is funded by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, through the Environmental Economics Research Committee (EERC), under the World Bank-aided Environment Management Capacity Building Project (EMCaB). The project originally submitted by the NIE, was being executed by the Kumaon University, Nainital (Uttaranchal), in collaboration with the NIE.
Prof. S.P. Singh (Nainital), former Joint Secretary, NIE, was the Principal Investigator, and Dr Brij Gopal (Delhi), Secretary General, NIE) was the Co-PI.
Dr Malavika Chauhan was associated as the Research Scientist. Dr Vinish Kathuria (IEG, Delhi) was the economist associated with the project.
Prof. Kanchan Chopra (IEG, Delhi) and Prof. D.K. Marothia, Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur) are associated as Consultants.
