| Sanction Date: | 21-02-2019 | |||
| Project Category | SG | |||
| Year | 2018-19 | |||
| Project Duration | 3 Years + 4 Months project extension + 3 Months project extension | |||
| BTA : | Livelihood Options & Employment Generation | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
We propose to take up this project within three clusters of 3 villages in Uttarakhand in Kumaun region viz. Dole, Gazar and Supi in Ramgarh Block of Dhari Tehsil in Nainital district each across Uttarakhand within the altitudinal limits of 1500-2400 m in the oak-pine ecosystem. The specific villages (total of 10) will be chosen through needs-based assessments and stakeholder workshops. |
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| Organization/ Implementation Agency: |
Centre for Ecology, Development and Research 201/1 Vasant Vihar, Dehradun Uttarakhand-248006 |
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| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
1. |
CHIRAG | |||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. Vishal Singh Centre for Ecology, Development and Research 201/1 Vasant Vihar, Dehradun Uttarakhand-248006 |
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| Project Brief Description: | In the mid-Hills of the Uttarakhand Himalayas, agriculture, animal husbandry and NTFP commerce are all strongly linked to forests and water security and approximately 78% of the population practice hill agriculture. Most of the agriculturists depend heavily on forests for a large range of goods (both for subsistence and for cash) and the degree of dependency may increase with poverty level, due to lack of access to modern amenities. Moreover, the depletion of glaciers, increasing frequency of natural disasters, unsustainable use and degradation of watersheds are reducing water availability, changing seasonal flow patterns and increasing conflicts over dwindling natural resources. These adverse changes will be felt disproportionately by poor mountain communities, who currently have little capacity to cope with and adapt to these changes. The role of the monsoon as the lifeline of regional agriculture may also be changing which will additionally affect biodiversity, agriculture, and hazard frequency. The fragility and inaccessibility of the Uttarakhand Himalaya, with scattered settlements and poor infrastructure, imply that these mountain areas will suffer most. Besides warming, the Uttarakhand Himalayas are also experiencing dramatic change that is triggered by rapid economic growth, manifested in land use change, increased tourism and market linkages, changing employment patterns and increased commercial dependence on forests. Thus globalisation and increased mobility have exacerbated the marginality of the mountain valleys in some ways, though they have created new opportunities outside the region. However, our experience shows that marginalised sections of society in the hills are unable to take advantages of new opportunities while losing access to natural resources due to such depletion. More prosperous communities are more able to easily switch to market-based activities such as horticulture and tourism. Women, traditionally involved more in forest-based and household activities, are also bearing the brunt of resource depletion, as they have to work harder to obtain the same resources and maintain agricultural productivity. Under such circumstances, the close-knit linkages amongst forest biodiversity and hydrological balance need to be studied so that (1) the problem of resource depletion can be tackled holistically and in an integrated manner; and (2) vulnerable ecosystem-dependent communities can be imparted greater resilience to climate change. There have been several projects conducted in the past on the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region. However most of these are limited in their scope to one of either biophysical or socioeconomic factors. So far there has been little effort to connect across different critical sectors to develop adaptation strategies for the forest-dependent communities in the state of Uttarakhand, taking into account either traditional practices and or modern scientific knowledge. It has now become necessary to develop climate resilience in hill communities, which will also have benefits for regional ecological security as well as social stability in the hills. There are available significant opportunities for effective community-based action in the hills due to the history of people-managed forestry through the Van Panchayat system, and water conservation as well as a cultural ethos of forest protection. | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: | The project will benefit the local communities especially the Scheduled caste members of the villages and decision makers as a whole, in addition to specific targeted households |
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| Activity Chart (For 3 years) | Click Here | |||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs. 45,69,600 (Rupees: Forty five lakh sixty nine thousand six hundred only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
| Inventorization and status assessments of springs in the selected area. | Inventory of spring database in selected 3 villages with geo tagging in standard format. | No. of New Database/ Datasets generated on the identified spring dynamics (No.); |
| Assessment of environmental and anthropogenic impacts on springs discharge | A Village Water Security Plan (VWSP) within clusters of 3 villages (SC dominated villages) for 2900 individuals in Nainital district, Uttarakhand. | No. of spring rejuvenation(No.) |
| Developing 10 para-hydrogeologists in 10 villages. | No. of Capacity Building (No. of Rural Youth, No. of SC/ST/Women, and Total No. of Beneficiaries); | |
| Demarcation of critical water zones and rejuvenation through forestry, soil and water conservation methods | Policy/ strategic framework/ drafts and Legislative Mechanisms (No.) in context of Water Security Action Plan; | |
| Developing climate adaptive water management solutions based on socio- economic and biophysical factors | Revival of 10 ha of forest in catchment area. | |
| Developing para-hydrogeologists for spring management and conservation | Policy recommendation on Springshed conservation for future. | |
| S.No. | Name (Sanctioned) | Qualification | Designation (Sanctioned) | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 01 JPF | @ 16,000/- + HRA | ||
| 2. | 01 Field Assistant | @ Rs.11,000/- | ||
| 3. | 01 Technical Assistant | @ Rs.9,000/- |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | GPS-2 nos, Laptop-01 nos, Automatic Weather station-1 nos, Hammer-2 nos, Compass- 3 nos, V Notch- 6 nos, Water testing kits- 20 nos, Camera- 1 nos and Minor equipments for trenching, fencing, soil work and plantation | 3,15,000/- |
