By Dr Arvind Kumar
Given the beginning of Super Year for Nature and Biodiversity and our parallel commitments to realise sustainable development goals and ecosystem restoration, the theme for this year’s World Environment Day is ‘It’s time for nature’. It is a reminder that Nature as our ally must not be forgotten in providing for societies’ needs such as ecosystem services and protection from disasters as well as climate change.
With the inception of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration in March 2019, our trajectories towards nature have paced fast towards finding answers for sustainable development. This is a significant decade and as a matter of fact, we don’t lose sight of investing in nature. Nature-based solutions can help us with all sustainable development goals since the last decade for realisation has just begun.
Ecosystem restoration is much significant because roughly $44 trillion of economic value generation which represents more than half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. In short, we are all dependent on natural resources for our basic life needs and livelihoods, whether through agriculture, water, forestry or other nature-based activities.
Meghalaya is rich in important minerals such as coal, limestone, large forest cover, soil biodiversity, rich flora and fauna and is blessed with abundant water bodies. However, anthropogenic events and geogenic practices due to unsustainable agricultural practices or non-scientific mining has affected soil and water quality, making it acidic resulting in environmental degradation.
Practices like deforestation and traditional jhum cultivation drastically affected hydrological parameters, viz. rainfall interception, infiltration, soil moisture, water yield, soil loss and floods. At the same time, swamps, marshes and other wetlands are increasingly being reclaimed for urban and agricultural expansion.
Currently, parts of Meghalaya have been receiving extremely heavy rains post super cyclone Amphan. When there is higher precipitation in fewer days, it is likely to cause soil erosion, run-off and other aspects which will impose challenges for agriculture and natural resource management.
On the contrasting side, a recent report by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Observed Rainfall Variability and Changes, has found that Meghalaya has witnessed significant decreasing trends in annual rainfall in the last 30 years.
With reference to 2018 draft report on land degradation prepared by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s National Remote Sensing Centre, witness the highest increase in land degradation in the last 10 years, six are in the North East with Meghalaya seeing 28 per cent of land is degraded.
In fact, the North East, which is one of the 17 biodiversity hotspots of the world, has lost 765 sq km of forest cover during 2017-19. In a region that is predominantly dependant on agriculture, with 70 per cent of the population engaged in farming, such loss of arable land and at an increased rate could spell doom for people’s livelihood. According to Indian State of Forest report 2019, the forest cover in Mizoram has decreased by 180 sq km while that in Meghalaya has decreased by 27 sq km despite having a forest cover of 76.32 per cent of its geographical area.
India Water Foundation has been a knowledge partner of Meghalaya Basin Development Authority since 2012 for the implementation of Integrated Basin Development Livelihood Programme.
Sharing key inputs, a coherent and coordinated approach keeping water as socio-economic connector along with participatory community approach was adopted to promote holistic management of natural resource. The flagship programme was successful in doubling state’s economy, expanding alternative livelihoods, entrepreneur options to hunter, tribal, indigenous communities, reduction of poverty levels, gender mainstream and improvement in socio-economic-environmental indices. Given this environmental theme, how can Meghalaya optimise this innovative prospect? Will ecological restoration help enhance the prospects of Meghalaya further?
Ecosystem restoration is the ‘process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed’ as per Society for Ecological Restoration. It has the purpose of recognising the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, to fight the climate heating crisis, enhance food security, provide clean water and protect biodiversity.
Indeed, restoration measures will need to be judged against the moving vagaries of climate change. Community-based conservation practices should be the norm and livelihood programmes must be linked to natural resource management and encourage community participation to protect these natural resources. Climate resilient practices like intense afforestation, rewilding and economic farming is adopted to promote carbon sequestration with soils acted as natural carbon sinks, sustainable green cover.
Mission Organic is laid for farmers to shift towards use of bio-fertilisers, efficient soil and water conservation techniques, shifting from jhum cultivation to sustainable climate smart agriculture practices. In addition to providing an economic and cultural backdrop for the lives of people, the vast forests in Meghalaya deliver an array of essential local and global environmental services, including water storage and filtration, soil stabilisation and carbon sequestration, food and energy security.
In Meghalaya, sacred groves are proving to be a shining example of traditional forest management. These traditional cultural practices serve as water catchments and aid ecological services. Truly, combating degradation of our natural resources and investing in nature-based solutions along with scientific interventions will go a step forward to realise promoting sustainable development and nature protection.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission, the Government of Meghalaya has proposed 100 per cent tap connections to all households by December 2022. Out of 5.89 lakh total rural households, the state is planning to provide 1.80 lakh tap connections in 2020-21.
To make water accessible, water must be considered as socio-economic connector. Restoration of man-made wetlands and climate change coping strategies like community water jalkunds, multi-purpose reservoirs, spring-sheds revival will augment the availability of water, especially during the lean season. Conserving natural resources within villages by sustainable water management, livelihood improvement and partnership strengthening will contribute to water conservation, environment sustainability and uplift of socio-economic conditions of people.
Moreover, Guidelines for implementing Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017, by MoEF&CC, Government of India, have been approved this year. Wetland management approach, taking an understanding from the rules and guidelines if envisaged, in the state can provide wide range of ecosystem services like groundwater recharge, water purification, flood and erosion control, landscape aesthetics and of course, livelihood opportunities.
Maintaining biodiversity means healthy eco-systems, resilient livelihoods and water-food-energy security. Sustainable forest management in Meghalaya must include effective and participatory land use mapping and planning, restoration of timber and natural vegetation, afforestation drives along degraded and barren lands, water and soil conservation techniques, etc. Forest-based activities like agro or social forestry can contribute to restore soil fertility, regenerating plants in the forests, non-farm income by trading the products. Integrated farming practices through a combination of food and cash crops, animal rearing, aquaculture, organic farming will enhance agricultural productivity and help farmers earn better remunerative prices.
Community friendly policies need to be developed by the government that would ensure a favourable environment for community participation towards judicious use of resources. Extensive programmes must be to develop region-specific skills, technology and education must be launched. Also, such policies and plans must be corroborated with institutional strengthening that can help facilitate implementation of policies, aid capacity development for communities and institutions concerned and leverage scientific techniques for data monitoring and evaluation.
Ecosystem restoration needs stewardship and partnerships. The faster we establish these partnerships, the faster we will invest in nature resource management measures with meaningful ecosystem restoration outcomes, and advance towards achieving Meghalaya’s sustainable prosperity and aid India to achieve the UN declaration target as well. Let’s invest in Nature.
(The author is the president of India Water Foundation)