Dr. Arvind Kumar*
Accelerating extreme events largely due to destabilised climate systems are something India will have to deal with head on – even if it chooses to park the issue of whether or not to raise its carbon reduction targets for now. The spectre of climate change is here to stay and even worsen, say climate scientists as searing winds blow across swathes of north India, including New Delhi where temperatures had crossed 49 degrees Celsius, and flash floods ravage parts of the northeast. According to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its India section, it has warned the country of floods and droughts, among other environmental calamities, and urged policymakers to rectify past mistakes such as neglecting flood alert systems and ignoring hydrology while planning towns and cities.
Image source- The financial express
Floods have been a part of the natural system of the earth from the earliest times, along with earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, hurricanes and tsunamis. However, since the introduction of agriculture and urbanisation, human activity has been directly contributing towards floods. Man-made structures such as dams and barrages, hydropower projects, unsustainable mining, deforestation, catchment degradation and encroachments in the riverbeds and climate change have also contributed to the cause and nature of floods. North Eastern states of the country are reeling under the ravages of floods especially Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal which are deluged and are battling with a humongous crisis.
Encroachments and pollution of wetlands in the cities and its environs presents a severe environmental threat and may lead the city down a path of disaster with huge consequences if nothing is done to halt the encroachments on the wetlands. These floods in are a live example that not just the climate crisis, but unplanned urbanization, unsustainable landscape planning, absence or degradation of existing wetlands etc. was also responsible for the flooding. Dams hold back or divert almost all the water in almost all the rivers of the basin now. Flood control is one of the stated reasons for building dams. But in recent years, dam managers have been forced to open the gates every monsoon to save the structures – and that leads to a more ruinous flood pulse than would have occurred otherwise. Add to the dams the ad hoc building of embankments in an effort to control floods. For decades now, Assam has suffered because embankments keep getting damaged or washed away altogether whenever a large flood occurs.
Not just floods but the cyclones that ravage states displacing tens of thousands of families and leaving many in need of basic and essential supplies is because of various reasons and the destruction and degradation of mangroves is one of them, making them more disaster prone, especially if the wrath of nature is provoked. Evidence shows that mangroves can serve as the first line of defense against flooding and erosion in many tropical and subtropical regions and help by reducing waves and storm surges. Similarly in plains we know that massive clearance of the wetlands makes citizens more vulnerable. Thousands of people die while hundreds of millions of properties are destroyed.
The water conservation mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district in all States as part of the celebrations of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. At least 50,000 water bodies are expected to be rejuvenated across the country during the nationwide programme that would culminate on August 15, 2023. Amrit Sarovars will play an important role in increasing the availability of water, both on surface and under-ground. To minimize the risk of flooding and to protect assets and properties downstream, these amrit sarovars have to be manipulated for flood mitigation and control. The future of managing floods is perhaps in the lessons from the past. If we, do it right, we can have long-term, more nature-friendly solutions. If not, we will be back to square one, discussing the same issues next year and the next without a solution in sight.
*President, India Water Foundation
