SAVE, a NGO, is committed to the cause of a better natural environment in the Himalayan and Tarai region

Ever since the enactment of the Wild Life Protection Act in 1972, thousands of opinions and theories have received publicity, all of which in some form or the other, are related to wild life and its conservation. Yet, besides the laws, regulations and penalties, poaching, illegal felling of trees and polluting the environment, primarily the air and water pollution in the Himalayan and Tarai region has become a common feature resulting in depletion of wild life, forests and natural water resources like lakes, rivers, etc.

SAVE, the ‘Society of Appeal For Vanishing Environments’ is a voluntary association of young mountain residents that came up in July 1975, a completely voluntary organisation devoted to the cause of a better social and natural environment of the rural population and preservation of the Himalayas themselves headed by Fredrick Smetacek Jr., who is the the Chief Coordinator of this unique organization situated in the Lesser-Himalayas at an altitude of approx. 4,300 feet with adjoining heights reaching up to 6,300 feet, in Bhimtal near the popular hill station, Nainital in the the Kumaon hills surrounded by forests, lakes and villages providing an excellent research and experimental ground for environmental studies. Majority of the active volunteers and coordinators of SAVE are agriculturists or horticulturists by occupation, and as such are residents of the rural areas in the Himalayas, working for a better environment preserving the natural treasures and wildlife of this region.

Over the last couple of decades, alarmingly adverse developments have occurred which threaten the existence of the Lake Region (Nainital to Naukuchiatal, including Sattal, Nal Damyanti Tal and Bhimtal and Kumaon Himalaya). The region has been ecologically fragile and the health and economic security of the human population that depend on it. These developments are typical of those, which have overtaken the hill region as a whole in recent past:

• Extensive deforestation around the lake areas.
• Haphazard road making.
• Rapid colonisation and uncontrolled urbanization of the catchments and forest areas of the lake region. There has been an unplanned and uncontrolled influx of settlers in the Bhimtal lake region, specifically from outside the region, and rapid development of housing facilities without reference to the capacity of the natural resource base to support such settlements.
• An uncontrolled expansion of the conventional tourist trade in Nainital and Bhimtal lake areas without any reference to the ecological characteristics of the region.
• Illegal location of hotels and houses within the prohibited limits of the lake shores.
• Complete lack of planning for garbage disposal and arbitrary dumping of garbage in and around the lake by authorities, citizens and tourists.
• Dumping of trash into the lakes by tourists and shop owners located illegally on the shores of the lake.
• Illegal pumping of water directly from the lake for private use by hoteliers and individuals.
• Lack of parking sites for government buses, tourist buses and other vehicles, which stop on the lake shores. Fuel leaks and poisonous gases finally enter into the lakes causing fish mortality and pollution.
• Lack of public sanitation facilities due to which the lake shore is used as open toilets and also for bathing and washing by poor communities and migrant labourers.
• Unplanned industrial development in the Bhimtal region. Between 1986 and 2001, 64 industrial units were permitted to be set up by acquiring 107.85 acres of agricultural land in the heart of Bhimtal.
• The lack of repair and maintenance of the dams (which are in a state of impending collapse with serious consequences), surrounding roads, drainage system and islands due to which excessive pollution, siltation and leakage of water takes place on a continuous basis. This is mainly due to lack of coordination between different agencies responsible for these functions.
• Illegal sales of ecologically sensitive forest land to private builders for construction of a township and resort in Bhimtal.

• There has been a drastic decrease in the evergreen trees and shrubs typical of the lake region, i.e. the bank forest belt.
• A gradual decrease in the characteristic bird life that is usually found around the lakes of these Tarai and Himalayan belt.
• A sudden drop in the average rainfall, a considerable increase in the average summer temperature and the absence of winter snow and hail over a long period.
• The rapid drying up of the perennial springs and a noticeable decrease in the overall groundwater level resulting in the depletion of the flora and fauna in the half-filled lakes of the Bhimtal and Sattal.
• The total absence of larger mammals associated with this region and a rapid increase in the harmful mosquitoes and insect life primarily due to the water and air pollution.
• An alarming increase of infections on the leaves of fruit trees like plums and peaches because of the pollution.

The Lake Region of Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal and Sattal is unique for its biodiversity. It boasts of over 500 species of resident and migratory birds, 20 species of mammals, over 525 species of butterflies and over 11,000 species of moths, beetles, bugs and other insects. Identically, the flora covers a wide and diverse range of plants ranging from orchids, rare climbing plants, ferns, fungi, medicinal herbs and shrubs. It is a unique eco-system in the Himalayan region and has to be preserved with a holistic approach for posterity.

These changes are a pointer to the danger of the lakes turning into swamps, with disastrous consequences on the temperate fruit orchards that constitute the major occupation in this region and with adverse repercussions on agriculture and the tourist industry. If unchecked, the adverse consequences will extend northwards, into the Upper Himalaya; lessen the incidence of snow, which in turn will have a disastrous effect on glaciers that provide the water supply — both surface and ground water — for the entire Gangetic Plain.

The Jone Estate region in the catchment area of the Sattal lake group, Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal and, therefore, the primary source of the Gaula river basin which drains the entire Bhabhar region and the Kalsa river catchment, providing drinking and irrigation water to several lakhs of people in the lake region and downstream to Kathgodam, Haldwani and Lalkuan, etc.

In the hot months, the Kalsa, Gaula and the Baliya streams reduce to mere trickles and it is only the Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal water bodies that provide drinking and irrigation water downstream.

The watersheds and catchment areas of all these lakes needs to be meticulously investi-gated and a time-bound programme to effectively control and augment the surface and run-off waters during periodical rains must be implemented. The wetlands and swamps have also to be revived as they provide a steady underground flow to all the lakes and in particular the Bhimtal Lake.

The ‘Gajar’ below Nal Damyanti Tal Lake is a case in point. Similarly, a wet land called Kuatal, north-west of the Bhimtal lake, which once was a principal feeder to the Bhimtal lake through surface and underground channels, needs to be urgently revived.

Below the embankment/watergate at Sattal there is a small lake formally known as Khurdariya Tal. For various geophysical reasons the water leaks out of this lake in its eastern extremity, so it is now called Sukha Tal. There is no doubt that with appropriate engineering methods this lake can be revived as a perennial water body.

Similarly, the Malwatal is a washed out lake on the Kalsa river. The lake was 4480ft. long in the center and 1883ft. wide at the broadest and had an area of 121.76 acres with a maximum depth of 128ft. Around 1922, due to heavy rain this lake breached its embankment and flowed away. It is possible that after a thorough technical study this lake could be restored and thereby provide an important source of drinking and irrigation water to the Haldwani region. Apart from this it could also become a major location for eco-tourism and angling.

It must be appreciated that with water springs and nullahs rapidly drying up in the entire region, the consolidation and management of these water bodies is of vital importance. For that purpose, the water sheds and catchment areas need to be developed in a holistic way keeping in mind present and future consumption needs and recreational avenues. Fisheries, already an important activity must be augmented to provide angling and sports fishing, the latter being a very important activity in the modern tourist agenda, serious efforts must be taken in this direction.

In 1883 – 84, the Bhimtal dam was built and concomitantly a Dak Bungalow for the irrigation department. Today, the Bhimtal Dam is in a shambles. It has outlived its life span of 100 years and currently out of the two sluice gates, only one is functional. With the nonchalant attitude towards safety measures, the dam may soon collapse.

A survey conducted in the Bhimtal-Sattal-Naukuchiatal area to compare the number and quantity of various species of trees and shrubs and other associated growth, though based only on superficial and incomplete estimates are quite alarming. For instance, a number of Banj associated evergreen fruit trees have declined by over 50 percent. Banj supports an incredible range of secondary and undergrowth plants ranging from ferns, mosses and lichens, wild rashberries, wild cherry, wild pears and tuberous climbers. Almost every shrub and tree provides sustenance to all the larger mammals like bears, sambhars, serow and ghoral, while the fruiting trees provide shelter for birds, smaller mammals like flying squirrels, palm civets and monkeys and insects.

Serious water shortages in the Ranibagh/Kathgodam/Haldwani areas have already occurred. Studies by the irrigation department, Kumaon University and others have proved constantly that the ground water levels have fallen very sharply in the Haldwani region and many springs and streams (all tributaries to the Gola river) have dried up or been reduced to mere trickles. There have been increasing public demonstrations in the entire lake region from village to city level protesting against lack of clean drinking water.

The EEIU Uttaranchal Society of Appeal for Vanishing Environments (SAVE) has been trying to highlight the ecological degradation that has taken place in the Lake Region. The findings by the society clearly point to unchecked deforestation, pollution and urbanization as the main culprits — in the absence of a long-term Master Plan — and shoddy implementation of existing laws and strictures, and, not least, indifference on the part of the local people.

It is the society’s belief that a time-bound programme by the National Lakes Conservation Programme (NLCP), with the active participation of women’s groups, Panchayati Raj Institutions, regional organisations and knowledgeable local residents is absolutely necessary to achieve a measure of success and sustainability in this Herculean task. A number of unemployed youth may be co-opted in this effort for ecological restoration and sustainable resource management.

It must not be forgotten that there is only one Lake Region in the entire Indian Himalaya. That may be lost forever, unless the Government and citizens act with unflagging dedication and unity of purpose.