| CUTS CHD E-NEWSLETTER No.1/2003
CUTS-Centre for Human Development, Chittorgarh,
Rajasthan.
The UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme supports
“Land and Water Management Leading Towards Biodiversity and Conservation”.
Welcome to the E-News.
Contents
Editorial
UNDP-GEF Project
About the Project
Project Update
Events:
World Water Day and Project Launch Meeting
National Water
Resource Day
Biodiversity Day
Snippets:
Saman Dona
The Nature Adherent
Ram Dhun
Vegetative Fencing
Community Caters
Care, Compassion and Cooperation:
Thirst Quenched
Development of Community Grazing Land
Concerted and Cogent Effort
Consciousness Evolved
News Brief:
Protecting the Rivers from Pollution
War for Water
Editorial
The drought conditions in Rajasthan for the past few years have been
a source of concern to the people at large, both within the state and
outside. It has hit the State on a regular basis for the last three years.
As a result of this, the livelihoods of the poor rural population have been
adversely affected. One of the reasons for the frequency of the drought is
mismanagement and exploitation of natural resources by the community. When
natural resources are degraded, it is the poor who bear the brunt of its
ill effects. Water scarcity for the poor leads to deplorable living
conditions, utter misery and sometimes, even death.
Land based activities have been
the sole source of sustenance for the rural populace. The drought has
created a menace for both humans and cattle with respect to food, fodder
and drinking water.
With the passage of time, the community also lost track of its
traditional water conservation and water harvesting methods. But the
disaster caused by the drought has compelled the community to once again
delve into the ancestral books of their forefathers for revival of
traditional rainwater harvesting.
CUTS
Centre for Human Development (CHD) in Chittorgarh has been working with the
marginalised sections of the rural community since the past twelve years
for natural resource management. It has also gained the trust and
commitment of the people in its area of operation. The Centre has addressed
the issue of water scarcity by involving the local populace to generate means
for conserving water through restoration and regeneration of natural
resources. The efforts of the Centre are ongoing for the development of the
community it is working with.
Please
feel free to convey us your valuable feedback, suggestions and insight.
UNDP-GEF
Project
About the Project:
The United Nations Development Project (UNDP) for Biodiversity Conservation
and Natural Resource Management aims to conserve the natural resources by
the management of land and water.
Project
Update:
Events:
World Water Day and Project Launch Meeting:
‘World Water Day’ was celebrated
on 22nd March 2003 at the Pemadiya Kheda village of Chittorgarh district.
The UNDP project was also launched on the same day. Over 150 villagers from
Pemadiya Kheda and its three neighbouring villages participated in this
event. Its objective was to bring together the villagers to develop a sense
of ownership in them for the project so that they can bestow their
wholehearted support for furtherance of its activities.
(For more, please visit: www.cuts-international.org/chd.htm)
National Water Resource
Day
The ‘National Water Resource
Day’ was celebrated on 5th April 2003. The villagers along with the members
of Environment Action Committees (EACs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), and bal
panchayats (groups of children in the age group of 0-18) participated in
the event. The participants discussed the importance of forest conservation
and rainwater harvesting.
(For more information, please write to: chd@cuts.org;
cutschd@sancharnet.in)
Biodiversity Day
‘Biodiversity Day’ was
celebrated on 22nd May 2003 in the Pemadiya Kheda for endeavouring an in
depth understanding of ‘biodiversity’ within the community and relevant
stakeholders, whose support could be further solicited. The entire
population of the village bequeathed its fervent participated. The EAC
members pledged to protect the natural resources. As a part of the
celebration, competitions were organised. Women participated in the Rangoli
(illustration in powder colours) competition while the children in drawing
competition; theme of both being Environment. Ms. Nilima Khaitan of Seva
Mandir graced the occasion as chief guest.
(For details, please visit: www.cuts-international.org/chd.htm
or write to: chd@cuts.org)
Snippets:
Saman Dona: Pemadiya Khera has a couple of ponds, namely chhoti nadi and badi
nadi. The latter by virtue of being positioned at the foothills of the
Aravalli hills had become heavily silted. Both the ponds had dried up on
account of drought. The women of this village donated their labour
willingly and dug one pot/tagari of earth from the silted badi nadi
everyday and put it on the earthen walls/paal of the pond. With the onset
of monsoon, the pond collected substantial amount of rainwater.
Subsequently, the water level in the wells around the pond rose.
The Nature Adherent: Pemadiya
Khera had been blessed by Nahar Singh Ranawat, who treated the flora and
fauna as “Nature God”. He passed away in 1985 and is respected and
remembered till date. During his lifetime, he had motivated the villagers
along with the headman/thakur to institute a system of protecting the woods
and wildlife in their area. If the villagers traced any incidence of trees
being felled by outsiders, they opposed this horrendous act collectively.
Since long “biodiversity” has been cherished by the community greatly.
Ram Dhun: The catastrophic drought for the past three years has shook the masses
vehemently. The rural people have started concentrating on means to ensure
regular rainfall. The villagers collect money from every household each
year to light a lamp of ghee/oil in the village temple. The idol of Lord
Rama is taken around the village followed by a procession of singing and
dancing crowd. In the evening, a community feast is organised in front of
the temple. It is believed that this ceremony would increase rainfall every
year.
Vegetative Fencing: The
villagers have fenced the plantation area with cacti for protecting the
saplings from grazing animals. This reflects on the sense of ownership and
participation of the community.
Community Caters Care, Compassion and Cooperation:
Thirst Quenched: Bhanwar Lal
Choudhury, a rich farmer of Pemadiya Khera has been deeply moved by the
drought. Since the ponds of the village had dried up, there was no
drinking water available for the cattle. Bhanwar Lal supplied water from
his private tube-well to the badi nadi (pond) for the cattle to to drink.
Ratan
Lal Dhakad, the secretary of EAC constructed a pyau (water tank) this year.
He supplies water to this tank from his personal tube-well.
Development of Community Grazing Land: The village charagah/community grazing land has
been shrinking in size due to various reasons like encroachment, soil
erosion etc. The villagers were very hesitant to allow plantation in the
remaining charagah. The EAC and SHG members convinced the villagers that
the plantation would prevent further depletion and encroachment of the land
available. Finally it was mutually agreed to give a certain area of land
for plantation work and leave the rest for cattle to graze.
Concerted and Cogent
Effort: Pemadiya Khera was drought-hit but surprisingly no ‘drought relief
work’ had reached the village. The ‘world water day’ celebrated in the
village created an opportunity for the villagers to voice their problems
and demands to the local M.P., Mr. Kriplani, who had participated on this
occasion. Assured by his cooperation, the EAC members subsequently
approached the local MLA, Zila Pramukh, Pradhan and Block Development
Officer. In due course, their major needs were sanctioned as drought relief
work, i.e. deepening of chhoti nadi, construction of drinking water tank,
establishment of hand pump, supply of drinking water through hand pump and
repair/construction of village road.
Consciousness Evolved:
Rewaris belong to the western part of Rajasthan.
They migrate to greener areas along with their livestock due to acute
shortage of fodder in their regions. Villagers of Pemadiya Khera protested
when the cattle of Rewaris tried to enter the plantation area. The
villagers repaired the damaged fencing. The EAC members asked the Rewaris
not to repeat such acts.
News Brief:
Protecting the Rivers
from Pollution: The
government has taken onus of cleaning the major rivers by the year 2007.
The list of polluted rivers and lakes is expanding with time, while the money
for cleaning them is exhausting. The National River Conservation Authority
is finding it difficult to keep at par with the ever-increasing problem of
river pollution. If track records of various states are traced, only
a few states can be pointed out that have shown some results. Not
surprising, AP, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Tamil
Nadu and West Bengal have shown expenses less than half the sanctioned cost
of schemes. (Times
of India, 2003.06.17)
War for Water: Experts say that the big wars of the 21st century are most likely to
be fought over controlling precious water resources rather than black gold.
On the occasion of the fifth “Technology Day” at the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre, they said that the changing climatic patterns and depleting water
tables are increasingly causing concern over the availability of this
invaluable life-sustaining resource on our planet. (The
Hindu, 2003.05.13).
|
