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Springs are the main source of water for millions of people and their livestock in the 10 States and 4 hill districts of the Indian Himalaya Region (IHR)
. Both rural and urban communities depend on springs for their livestok and for the drinking, domestic, and agricultural water needs. There is increasing evidence that springs are drying up or their discharge is reducing throughout the IHR, and indeed, throughout the entire Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region stretching from Afghanistan all the way to Myanmar. Erratic rainfall, seismic activity and ecological degradation associated with land use change for infrastructural development are impacting mountain aquifer systems. It is reported that half of the more than three million perennial springs in IHR States have either already dried up or become seasonal, resulting in acute water shortages across thousands of Himalayan villages. There are also concerns about the quality of spring water. There is dearth of scientific studies that estimate contribution of springs to base flow of large Himalayan rivers. It is evident that springs contribute a large share of base flow, and possibly more than glaciers, ice and snow
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This handbook takes on the earlier attempts of RM&DD, and modifies it to suit the generic requirement of all ICIMOD RMCs
. ICIMOD and ACWADAM, following a consultative process with major partners came up with detailed steps, which were then vetted at a workshop held in Gangtok, Sikkim, India in November 2015. This protocol is useful and practical, because: - It incorporates both ‘hydrogeology’ and ‘socio-economic and governance’ issues to come up with a comprehensive understanding of springs and springsheds
- It combines aspects of research and knowledge generation (Steps 1 to 4) and implementation (steps 5 and 6). For those, who are interested only in knowledge generation can adopt the first four steps, but for implementation, all six steps are needed.
- It is a relatively easy to do, step by step approach that can be adopted by a diverse range of stakeholders – field implementers, grass root workers and NGOs and researchers.
This manual provides a step by step approach, which taken together with a 2 week long practical classroom and field based training, will equip field level officials to implement spring revival programmes in their respective areas. This manual provide conceptual clarity around issues of spring management and revival.
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Mountain springs emanating naturally from unconfined aquifers are the primary source of water for rural households in the Himalayan region
. Due to the impacts of climate change on precipitation patterns such as rise in rainfall intensity, reduction in its temporal spread, and a marked decline in winter rain, coupled with other anthropogenic causes, the problem of dying springs is being increasingly felt across this region. This study was taken up in the Sikkim Himalaya, which has received limited attention despite being a part of the Eastern Himalaya global biodiversity hot spot. The objective of this study was to understand the basic characteristics of the springs and to demonstrate methods for reviving them. We found the rural landscape dotted by a network of microsprings occurring largely in farmers' fields, with an average dependency of 27 (±30) households per spring. The spring discharge generally showed an annual periodic rhythm suggesting a strong response to rainfall. The mean discharge of the springs was found to peak at 51 L/min during the postmonsoon months (September–November) and then diminish to 8 L/min during spring (March–May). The lean period (March–May) discharge is perceived to have declined by nearly 50% in drought-prone areas and by 35% in other areas over the last decade. The springshed development approach to revive 5 springs using rainwater harvesting and geohydrology techniques showed encouraging results, with the lean period discharge increasing substantially from 4.4 to 14.4 L/min in 2010–2011. The major challenges faced in springshed development were the following: identifying recharge areas accurately, developing local capacity, incentivizing rainwater harvesting in farmers' fields, and sourcing public financing. We recommend further action research studies to revive springs to advance the outcomes of this pilot study and mainstreaming of springshed development in watershed development, rural water supply, and climate change adaptation programs, especially in the Himalayan region
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