Rejuvenation of Springs in the Himalayan Region

Kulkarni, Himanshu; Desai, Jayesh; Siddique, M. Imran

doi:10.1002/9781119564522.ch6

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This is due to the catchment features with carbonate band in which there are numbers of sinkholes which support for higher ground recharge. This result is also supported by Kulkarni et al (2021) who claimed that the translation of rainfall into spring discharge is basically influenced by spatial variation in topography, geology and land use characteristics of a catchment.…”

Section: Rainfall and Discharge Responsesupporting

confidence: 68%

Identifying potential recharge areas of mountain springs through hydrogeological mapping

Thapa,

Subedi,

Desai

et al. 2023

Banko

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Springs are the primary source of water for the people inhabiting in the hills and mountain regions of Nepal. Climate variability, climate change, land use change and management factors together with various human activities including haphazard infrastructure development like urbanization and road construction over the recharge area are responsible for drying up of springs in the hills and mountains, especially in the mid-hill region of Nepal. This study attempts to identify the potential recharge zones of the springs within the four catchments viz. Banlekh and Shikharpur of Baitadi and Doti districts, respectively in far-western Nepal, and the Khaste and Begnas of Kaski district in western Nepal through hydrogeological mapping. Hydrogeological Conceptual Model was adopted while identifying the potential recharge areas. We measured the orientation of the rock outcrops, their types, and discontinuities found around the possible recharge areas. We prepared a conceptual hydro-geological layout of the spring-sheds based on the collected data, and delineated the potential recharge areas. We found the potential recharge zone of the Banlekh Springs at hill slopes and bedding plane within the catchment. However, the recharge zone of the Shikharpur Springs was found on the top and beyond the catchment due to the presence of a number of sinkholes. Moreover, the recharge zone of the Thulopadhero Spring was found to be controlled by the orientation of the rocks and fractures found in the unconsolidated sediments within the catchment and beyond the ridge of the escarpment. The rock orientation within the Falekund-Saunepani-Lapsibot Catchment suggests that the potential recharge zone of the springs consists of unconsolidated sediments. The identified potential recharge areas, the observed rainfall, and the discharge data on springs indicated that the recharge areas were more influenced by the local geology.

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Section: Rainfall and Discharge Responsesupporting

confidence: 68%

Identifying potential recharge areas of mountain springs through hydrogeological mapping

Thapa,

Subedi,

Desai

et al. 2023

Banko

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It will also enable addressing the current disproportionate focus of conservation efforts (including lack of considerations on freshwater connectivity). For instance, the current conservation focus is largely biased towards particular geographies, ecosystem types and/or species such as: 1) conservation of large, iconic rivers (predominantly river Ganga through the Namami Gange programme (other such programmes were also initiated such as Namami Narmade, Namami Chandrabhaga , however, without significant progress); 2) springs rejuvenation in the Himalayas (Kulkarni et al, 2021) and Eastern Ghats (MoTA, 2024); 3) protection of wetlands through the Ramsar convention and 4) conservation of certain flagship megafauna species such as river dolphin, gharial, and golden mahseer (De & Dwivedi, 2024). While these efforts are crucial and are important contributions to freshwater conservation, there is a need to diversify and upscale these efforts across representative FWEs/biodiversity, which can be facilitated via a conservation vision.…”

Section: A Call To Prioritize Freshwater Conservation Action Planning...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems in India: A call to action

Arora,

Balachander,

Agrawal

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

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India boasts of a vast freshwater resource network (rivers, wetlands, and groundwater), which has unique ecological, social and economic values associated with it. Despite their importance for both people and biodiversity, its freshwater ecosystems (FWEs) are heavily impacted through multiple factors such as pollution, overexploitation, habitat loss/modification and climate change. India is also among the hotspots of water resource overuse that has caused a serious decline in freshwater availability. Given that healthy FWEs lie at the centre for supporting the country's ecology, health, economy, livelihoods and ultimately achieving multiple policy goals, it is crucial that holistic and focused efforts are made to protect, conserve, and restore all types of FWEs. We call for an urgent and a greater focus on implementing conservation actions for FWEs in India and suggest the following strategy to enhance focus on their conservation: (1) establishing a shared freshwater conservation vision at a national scale, (2) developing and including national freshwater conservation goals within global efforts, (3) conducting simultaneous conservation action planning at regional scales and (4) bridge planning to implementation gap by strengthening key enabling conditions: i) mainstream FWE conservation within key existing governance instruments, ii) secure sustainable conservation funding, iii) improve data access and knowledge translation; iv) create national awareness around importance of FWEs; v) facilitate collaboration among key actors.

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“…However, most of these rivers and streams in headwater catchments are not accessible to farmers because they generally flow at the bottom of gorges and ravines, while settlements and farmlands are on upper slopes and hilltops (ADB 2016). Thereby, mountain springs and streams are traditionally primary source water for millions of people in rural communities of the Himalayas for their drinking, domestic and agricultural needs (Kulkarni et al 2021). As such, mountain springs and streams play a pivotal role in socioeconomic development and ensuring food security in the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogeochemical assessment of streamwater quality for its suitability for irrigation: the case of Manthong village, Kanglung (Bhutan)

et al. 2022

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Mountain streams/springs are the primary irrigation water resource in Bhutan Himalaya, besides supporting drinking and other domestic needs. Successful crop production implies an adequate supply of high-quality irrigation water, among other factors. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the suitability of spring-fed streamwater for irrigation use and evaluate hydrogeochemical processes that regulate streamwater chemistry at the Manthong village in Kanglung, Bhutan. The water samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, EC, turbidity, TDS and major ions. Piper and Durov diagrams indicated that most samples are of the intermediate type and simple dissolution or linear mixing is the primary hydrochemical process regulating streamwater chemistry. All the measured physicochemical parameters were within the acceptable thresholds of the FAO guidelines recommended for agriculture use. Analytical results of the streamwater water quality indices, including EC, %Na%, RSBC, SAR, KR and PI, revealed its suitability for irrigation use except for MH. The IWQI results confirmed that the WS-1 has no restriction as irrigation water; however, WS-2 falls under the high restriction category. The findings of this study will serve as the baseline data and guide irrigation water management and sustainable irrigation development in the region.

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Rejuvenation of Springs in the Himalayan Region

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Identifying potential recharge areas of mountain springs through hydrogeological mapping

Identifying potential recharge areas of mountain springs through hydrogeological mapping

Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems in India: A call to action

Hydrogeochemical assessment of streamwater quality for its suitability for irrigation: the case of Manthong village, Kanglung (Bhutan)

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