Move beyond Dal, Think of Wular Move beyond Dal, Think of Wular

While we are stuck with teaching our kids that caring for environment means cleaning Dal and Boulevard, real concerns having direct bearing on our existence continue to fall prey to our ignorance and indi erence. If Kashmir has to choose water bodies for prioritized conservation, they have to be Wular and Jhelum.

I have been repeatedly asserting in these columns the need for Jammu and Kashmir to make a paradigm shift in environmental conservation efforts. While we are stuck with teaching our kids that caring for environment means cleaning Dal and Boulevard, real concerns having direct bearing on our existence continue to fall prey to our ignorance and indifference.

It is nobody’s argument that we should not be doing what we are doing to conserve Dal Lake, but prudence demands we move ahead and lay greater stress on issues and problems that are related to our survival. Although it is not a matter of making choices, but if Kashmir has to choose water bodies for prioritized conservation, they have to be Wular and Jhelum.

A tourist destination that our State is, can’t be staring at floods perennially; and we have been doing that for the past one year. Here comes the importance of Wullar, the main pivot in the hydrography of entire Kashmir which used to act as absorption basin for floodwaters, not to that extent now. The role of Wular Lake to regulate flows has been reduced due to reclamation and siltation. The area of lake was reduced from 217 sq. km to about 150 sq km, including 58 sq. km of associated marshes, during 1911 to 2007. Revenue records however indicate the lake area as 130 sq kms including the surrounding marshes. The 45% reduction in the lake area has been mainly due to conversion for agriculture ( 28%) and plantation ( 17%). The associated marshes were reduced by 70% due to conversions for agriculture and settlements.

The lake presently builds up storage during winter months when the flows are in the lean phase and the high flows during summer are untapped.

This situation has led to increased floods and droughts in the valley. This phenomenon also adversely affects the efficiency of hydropower projects located downstream.

Some detailed research conducted by different government and non- governmental agencies indicate that the lake has lost one fifth of the water holding capacity over last three decades due to siltation from degraded catchments and wetland conversions for agriculture and willow plantations.

Direct discharge of solid and untreated liquid wastes all along River Jhelum mainly from Srinagar city and other towns in the upstream area have added to the problem.

Wular Lake forms a part of River Jhelum basin which is a sub basin of Indus River. The Jhelum basin extends to 12,777 sq km of which six watersheds with an area of 1,144 sq km drain directly into the lake forming its direct catchments. The entire Jhelum Basin including the direct catchments is highly degraded and contributes to heavy load of silt into Wular leading to its shrinkage and reduced depth. All the channels, streams and other water bodies directly or indirectly draining into River Jhelum across Kashmir deposit heavy load of pollution in Wular Lake.

Recognizing its importance in the hydrography of Kashmir, in 1990 the lake was designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, which is an inter- governmental treaty providing the framework for international cooperation for conservation of wetland habitats. Although this tag initially proved of little help, but then things started moving with the new millennium. A Comprehensive Management Action Plan ( CMAP) of the lake was prepared by Wetlands International for the J& K Government and Union Ministry of Environment & Forests approved Rs 340 crore for the conservation project.

However, the money is coming in piece meals.

The CMAP envisages overall conservation for the restoration of the lake which if implemented in full can rectify the water regime of Jehlum and consequently spare the Valley of floods and droughts to a large extent. The plan includes Mapping and Ground Truthing, Boundary Demarcation, Catchment Conservation, Treatment of Degraded Forests, Enhancing Water Holding Capacity, Communication and Public Awareness as some key components.

It also seeks to restore hydrological functions of Wular Lake through 54% enhancement of present water holding capacity and restoration of hydrological connectivity to the surrounding marshes. For Catchment Conservation and Erosion Control, treatment of 7436 ha of critically degraded direct catchment a r e a through aforestation in 3718 ha and a i d e d regeneration planned.

Given the limited availability of funds, the Wular Conservation with, for implementation of CMAP during area of the lake has been authenticated as 130 sq kms after demarcation by WUCMA in 2011- 12. DPRs of 24 micro- watersheds identified by Wetlands International have been prepared and some engineering works have been taken up under Catchment Area Treatment ( CAT) and Reclamation components.

Although the establishment of a dedicated authority for the restoration of Wular was proposed by Wetlands International, given the enormity of work and the persistent flood threat the State is faced with, the government needs to move beyond the Dal Lake- specific Lakes and Waterways Development Authority and establish an umbrella body for conservation of all water bodies in the State.

That will mark a shift from token environmentalism in J& K to realism.