Water Availability, Poverty and Socio-Economic Crisis in the Floodplains of Barak Valley
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Water Availability, Poverty and Socio-Economic Crisis in the Floodplains of Barak Valley, Assam, North East India
Abhik Gupta
Dept. of Ecology & Environmental Science
Assam University, Silchar, India
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Abstract
The Barak Valley is located in the southern part of Assam, North East India, and comprises of three districts, viz., Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj. Lying between 24 0 8’ – 25 0 8’ N latitude and 92 0 15’ – 930 15’ E longitude, it covers a geographical area of 6922 km2. Wetlands occupy a total area of 13747.5 ha, of which seasonally inundated floodplains occupy 10016 ha (72.9 %). Most floodplains in Barak Valley comprise low-lying areas that get inundated during the monsoon months of June-September, with numerous small hillocks strewn within them. These hillocks are occupied by villages that are largely inhabited by the Kaivarta people who are traditionally fishers and cultivators. They earn their livelihood through fishing in monsoon, and by growing Boro paddy (summer rice) that is sown in January and harvested in late April-May, after the water recedes from the floodplain. A unique feature of the floodplains is that when they are inundated during monsoon, they are treated as common property fishing grounds by the community, while after the water recedes, private property rights are re-established in the agricultural plots. The situation is rather paradoxical, as in spite of having an annual rainfall of 2500-3000 mm, the floodplains experience water scarcity during the dry months of December-March, as irrigation facilities are non-existent. Again, heavy pre-monsoon rains in April-May often lead to flooding that destroys the crop. Thus the people are caught in a vicious cycle of either too much or too little water. The burgeoning population pressure has also resulted in overexploitation and depletion of fish stock, and a general decrease in the size of landholdings, landlessness also being rampant. Consequently, the traditional livelihood means of fishing-agriculture can no longer sustain the majority of the households. The per capita earnings are very low, with associated problems like lack of education in children, poor healthcare facilities, lack of transport and other infrastructure, cultural erosion, and an all-pervading sense of stress and pessimism among the people. Thus the ‘green revolution’, spread of education and industrialization has had little impact on this community that once had a reasonably flourishing, albeit largely non-monetized, economy. The condition of their women, who traditionally assisted the men in fishing and agriculture by weaving and repairing nets, husking paddy and by performing other similar chores have also become deplorable. Confronted by the degradation of the rural resource base and in the absence of any alternative economic package, many families are migrating to the nearby cities to work as unskilled labours. In the domestic sector, the villagers do not have access to sufficient water of good quality for drinking and other household uses. Most sources are highly contaminated with pathogenic organisms and incidences of diarrhea and other water-borne diseases are very common. A large section of the people cannot afford to adopt simple remedial measures like boiling the water before drinking because fuelwood is both scarce and costly because of the denudation of the once-abundant swamp and foothill forests. While answers to these rather complex problems may not be readily available, sustainable water management appears to be pivotal to improve the socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants of this ecologically and economically important landscape.
Introduction
Floodplains of tropical rivers are of immense ecological and economic importance. The river-floodplain interaction is mainly governed by the seasonal pulsing of floodwater from the river onto the floodplain and its subsequent recession back into the river (Welcomme, 1979; Junk et al., 1989; Dudgeon et al., 1994). The seasonal entry into and recession of river water from the floodplain comprises the key mechanism that makes it a very important landscape in any area. Many species of fishes synchronize their breeding activity with the flood season and migrate into the inundated floodplain to feed and spawn, and return to the river in the dry season. These fishes also show intense feeding activity during flood season that declines drastically in the dry period (Dudgeon, 1992; Borgström, 1994). Consequently, the floodplains support rich capture fisheries that sustain the livelihood of scores of fisher families. Furthermore, the deposition of nutrient-rich alluvium renders fertility to the floodplain soil, which is used for agriculture when the floodwater recedes after monsoon. Besides, the floodplains also contribute towards water storage and supply and serve as retarding basins for excess floodwater. However, unsustainable anthropogenic activities leading to overexploitation of resources, accompanied by the absence of comprehensive water and soil management measures have pushed many riverine floodplains in developing countries including India to the brink of ecological and economic bankruptcy. Seasonally inundated floodplains comprise a very prominent landscape element in the North East Indian state of Assam, especially in the Barak Valley region in its southern part. Besides harbouring capture fisheries that sustain the livelihood of thousands of fishers and traders, they are also used for agriculture in the dry period, especially for growing summer rice. In spite of their overriding importance in terms of water supply and storage, mitigation of floods, fishery, agriculture and tourism, the floodplain ecosystems of Assam are threatened with reclamation, environmental degradation, overexploitation and pollution (Bhuyan, 1987). Studies conducted by the Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad (Garg et al, 1998), reveal that seasonally inundated floodplains comprise 23.15 per cent of the total area under wetlands in the state of Assam. However, while these areas have plenty of water during monsoon, they also suffer from water scarcity during the dry season, thereby affecting their agricultural potential. This paper, therefore, attempts to analyze the problem of water availability in the floodplains of Barak Valley in the Southern part of Assam, assess its impact on the human communities that live and obtain their livelihood from these ecosystems, and suggest ameliorative measures to improve the situation.
Floodplains of Barak Valley, South Assam, India
Barak Valley derives its name from River Barak that along with its tributaries drains its 6922 sq. km area lying between 24 0 8’ – 25 0 8’ N latitude and 92 0 15’ – 930 15’ E longitude south of the Borail range of mountains in the state of Assam, North East India. The valley comprises the three districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj, and is bounded by the North Cachar Hills district of Assam and the state of Meghalaya to the north, the state of Manipur and Mizoram to the east and south, respectively, and the state of Tripura and the Sylhet district of Bangladesh to the west (Fig. 1).
Table 1 shows the area under different types of wetlands in the Barak Valley districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj. The total wetland area is 13737.5 ha, which in turn, represents about 14 % of the total natural wetland area in the state of Assam. It may also be seen that seasonally inundated floodplains are the most important type of wetlands in this area. Together they are known to comprise 42.75 % of the total area under floodplain wetlands in the State of Assam, although Barak Valley comprises a mere 8.8 % of the total geographic area of Assam (Garg et al, 1998). Thus these floodplain ecosystems play a significant role in the economy of these three districts in terms of their overriding importance as repositories of fish, as habitats for resident and migratory birds, for storing excess flood water, and for supplying irrigation water to nearby fields in the dry season. Chatla in Cachar, and Shonbeel in Karimganj district are the two major floodplain wetlands of Barak Valley. While Chatla has an area of around 10 km2, Shonbeel is the largest floodplain wetland in Assam, having an area of 15 km2 (Choudhury, 2000). Besides these two, the other important floodplains include the Jabda and Lucca Haors in Cachar, Bakri Haor in Hailakandi, and Anair Haor in Karimganj district. The floodplains are locally called Haors or Beels.
Topography, Ecology and Society in the Barak Valley Floodplains
Topography: The two major floodplains, viz., Chatla and Shonbeel are in the catchments of Ghagra and Singla rivers, respectively. These rivers are tributaries of R. Barak. The topography comprises extensive low-lying areas with numerous small hillocks strewn in between. The human habitations are confined to these hillocks.
Vegetation: The floodplains originally had rich vegetation with Barringtonia acutangula as the dominant species. This tree can withstand prolonged water logging and is a common swamp forest species in this region. Large scale removal of this species was initiated in the 1960-70s and now a few patches remain. The other common trees include Lagerstroemia flosreginae and Vitex spp. Reeds such as Erianthus raveneae and Phragmites karka are also found.
Human Communities: One of the major ethnic groups in the Barak Valley floodplains, especially Chatla and Shonbeel, are the Kaivartas, a fisher-cultivator community. The property regime in the floodplains is also unique: when it is covered with water in the monsoon, it is treated as a ‘Common Property Regime’ (CPR) with community fishing rights. However, after the water recedes, the land reverts to a ‘Private Property Regime’ (PPR) with restoration of individual property rights. The other floodplains are inhabited by a plethora of Hindu and Muslim communities who also earn their livelihood through fishing and agriculture.
Flood Pulse, Water Availability and Floodplain Economy
Barak Valley experiences a subtropical monsoonic climate with an annual rainfall ranging between c 2500-3300 mm. About 80-85 % of this rainfall occurs during the months of April/May-September/October. December and January are normally the driest months. Pre-monsoon rains often accompanied by thunder and hail occur in April-May, and the monsoon arrives in early June and continues till September, although heavy rains may also occur in October. The seasonal pattern of rainfall and its variations from year to year govern the flood pulse and determine the extent and duration of inundation of the floodplains by the overflowing river waters. These in turn have profound effects on both capture fishery and agriculture in the floodplains. Heavy pre-monsoon rains may cause early floods in April-May when excess river water inundates the floodplains and destroys the ripening summer rice that is harvested in April. For example, between 1996 and 2005, heavy pre-monsoon rains in 1996, 2000 and 2004 inflicted severe damage on the crops, thereby causing economic distress to the farmers. Severe hailstorms during this season can also have adverse effects. If the monsoon arrives on time in early June and the rainfall is more or less evenly distributed over July-September, successive flood pulses inundate the floodplains, resulting in the entry of a large number of potamodromous (fishes that migrate from the river to the floodplains) species of fishes, and the consequent boom in fish capture and trade. In contrast, less than average rainfall during July-September, such as that in 2003 and 2005, resulted in reduced fish catch and brought in economic depression. Adequate rains in September-early October is also vital for agriculture, as in the absence of rain, the ground becomes too hard and dry, hampering the sowing of rice seeds in November and the planting of saplings in January. Thus inundation of the floodplain till early or mid October is necessary for both fishery and agriculture. Inundation also renders the soil fertile because of enhanced silt deposition and decomposition of plant biomass. Table 2 reveals that soils that remain inundated for a longer time have significantly higher water holding capacity, organic carbon content and clay-silt percentage compared to those remaining inundated for a shorter period of time. Farmers growing summer rice do not use any synthetic fertilizers. They depend on the natural fertility of the soil which gets replenished annually by alluvial deposits brought in by the floodwater. It may be mentioned here that the consumption of NPK in Assam as a whole is very low (6.9 kg/ha) compared to the national average (67.1 kg/ha), and it is still lower in Barak Valley.
From October onwards, water recedes from the floodplains and the land is exposed barring a few depressions where some water is retained till about January. These depressions are often called beels, although this term may be rather loosely used to denote the whole floodplain as well. The cultivable land is now prepared for agriculture- mostly for growing summer or boro rice. Private property rights are now reestablished in the floodplain. However, the major constraint for agriculture is the scarcity of water. In the absence of any irrigation facilities, the farmers face great difficulty in procuring water. Only those farmers who own plots located in the lowest elevations in the floodplain have easy access to water-filled depressions or small natural water channels that they can impound to obtain water. Farmers having plots in the middle and upper layers of the floodplain suffer from acute water scarcity. Pumping up water from distant sources is both costly and cumbersome and can be afforded by few. Thus a paradoxical situation exists where the lower plots have better access to water but are exposed to a greater risk of inundation by pre-monsoon floods in April that would destroy the crop. In contrast, the middle and upper plots are relatively safe from pre-monsoon floods, but are constrained by the scarcity of water in winter. The situation has worsened over the years as deforestation in the catchments of the feeder streams and rivers, especially in the hills, has led to soil erosion and deposition of silt in the watercourses that drain the floodplains. The floodplain lakes that used to retain water in the dry season have also become progressively shallower due to silt deposition and/or due to reclamation for agriculture. Water scarcity has reached such a state that many floodplain farmers, especially those having land in the middle and upper zones, are converting their land into ‘semi-natural’ fisheries. Fishes enter these impoundments along with floodwater and are trapped inside. They are then allowed to grow through the monsoon. The fishes mostly thrive on natural food in the systems, although some farmers provide some supplementary feeds, and may also release some additional carp fries or fingerlings. These fishes are harvested in the post-monsoon and winter. Thus the farmers are desperately trying to earn their livelihood by opting for fisheries in place of agriculture. Some farmers in the middle and upper elevations have started growing winter rice, locally called shail or shali, which grows through the monsoon and is harvested in December. However, they are also totally dependent on good monsoon rains, failing which the plants suffer from water stress during October-November. To cope with this problem, some farmers apply a thin layer of urea in November to enhance maturation of the paddy and try to save the crop.
Impact of Water Scarcity on Floodplain Economy
Pauperization of Fisher-Cultivators: The absence of effective and sustainable water resource management in the floodplains of Barak Valley has led to the pauperization of the fisher-cultivators in this area. On the one hand, over-fishing has depleted the natural stock and prevented its regeneration, leading to serious decline in fish density and the size of fishes in the catch. To counter this, the fishers have gone on reducing the mesh size of the nets to capture small fishes. This in turn has further depleted the fish stock. On the other hand, agriculture has also suffered due to water scarcity. The impoverished condition of the floodplain farmers is reflected in the low per capita income in Chatla and Shonbeel floodplains (Table 3). Many farmers including their female family members have started migrating to the nearby cities to find work in construction sites, as rickshaw pullers and as other petty labour. Those who can afford have opted for small trade. It is indeed deplorable that the womenfolk who being proficient in weaving, made fish nets, produced dried fish, and husked rice in a fairly prosperous and largely non-monetized economy, are now compelled to work as manual labours. The occupational pattern in Chatla floodplain is depicted in Table 4. It may be seen that a large section of the people are still dependent on fishing and farming, although a considerable proportion have gone for wage labour in the dry season instead of farming. However, in the monsoon, they still engage in fishing in the common property fishing area as it is not only a means for livelihood, but integrated into their culture. The situation has been exacerbated by the decrease in landholding size, which is much lower than the Barak Valley average (Table 5). The productivity of summer rice is also somewhat low, ranging from c 700-1150 kg/ha against a Barak Valley figure of 1180-1970 kg during 1991-2000. Pauper