what are the major aspects of a sound watershed development setup?
Answers
Water management means properly organizing the hydrosphere in order to prevent major water crisis in future.
Important aspects of water management include:
(i) Hydrosphere
(ii) Hydrological cycle
(iii) Exchange of water
(iv) Transportation of water and irrigation.
Water shed is an area bounded by the divide line of water flow. It may be drainage basin or stream. The management of rainfall and resultant runoff is based on a natural unit called water shed. The Himalayas are one of the most critical water sheds in the world. Our water regimes in the mountain ranges are threatened resulting in the depletion of water resources.
The damage of reservoirs and irrigation systems and misuse of Himalayan slopes are mounting as are the costs for control measures during the flood season every year. The hydroelectric power potential can be harnessed from Himalayan water sheds only when proper control measures are taken.
These include soil and land use survey, soil conservation in catchments of River valley projects and flood prone rivers, afforestation, social forestry programmes, drought prone area development programme, desert development and control of shifting cultivation.
The watersheds are very often found to be degraded due to uncontrolled, unplanned and unscientific land use activities. Organizing, deforestation, mining, construction activities, industrialization, shifting cultivation, natural and artificial fires, soil erosion and ignorance of local people have been responsible for degradation of various watersheds.
Water loss can also be prevented by certain good agricultural practices. They are:
(i) Growing luxuriant vegetation on slopes and adopting no ploughing cultivation during rains.
(ii) Spreading and retaining crop residues on the fields.
(iii) Provision of contour ditches shall prevent water loss.
(iv) Construction of small check dams across rivulets.
(v) Maintaining of wetlands like marshes and bogs as such.