Odisha village tackles cyclones by planting mangroves

Odisha village tackles cyclones by growing mangrove forests

Badakot village in Kendrapara district could have been destroyed due to cyclone Fani that hit Odisha in April 2019. However, it was the mangrove plantation in the village that saved them. The 10-hectare mangrove forest that has come up on the common grazing land of the village located on the periphery of the Bhitarkanika National Park, is now home to 27 mangrove tree species and was developed as a result of a twelve year effort made by the villagers.

Repeated destruction due to cyclones left the people, who largely depended on the sea for livelihood, struggling to make ends meet. An environmentalist, Bijay Kumar Kabi, from Pattamundai town in Kendrapara, who visited the village in 2006 gave the villagers the idea of planting mangroves and explained the importance of mangroves for dealing with mangroves in the area. The villagers then decided to plant mangroves on their common grazing lands. 

Elders in the village were consulted to get information on the hisptory of plntation in the area which could aid in selecting suitable mangrove species and different kinds of seeds were planted on small plots with help from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). A few seedlings were also obtained from the Bhitarkanika forest. The villagers started by creating demonstration plots and gathered data on their growth, pest attacks and survivability. The residents also studied tidal flow and water availability to create water channels for the mangroves that need a mix of freshwater and salt water. 

Now, apart from protection from cyclones and floods, Badakot’s mangrove forest also provides firewood and grass to the residents, and is becoming a home to birds and fish (DownToEarth).

India's Tiger conservation policy helps mitigate climate change while saving tigers

A new study has found that India’s tiger conservation policy has not only helped in preserving and increasing tiger populations, but it has also played a role in climate change mitigation by avoiding forest loss.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in 2005 to protect and save the endangered tiger populations in India and key protected areas were designated as tiger reserves to protect and monitor tigers. By the end of 2022, there are around 53 tiger reserves across India, which are required to prepare a conservation plan regulating the extraction of forest products, reducing deforestation drivers and encouraging alternative livelihoods for communities that live within tiger conservation landscapes.

A study was conducted to monitor the forest loss in reserved as against reserved forest areas. For this, researchers modelled forest loss and the associated carbon emissions reductions in 45 tiger reserves that were under enhanced protection from 2007 to 2020 compared with 117 untreated protected areas.

The study found that between 2007 and 2020, enhanced protection within tiger reserves led to a net avoided forest loss of over 5,802 hectares that was equivalent to approximately 1.08 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (MtCO2e). This counted to about $93 million in ecosystem services from the avoided social cost of emissions (Mongabay, India). 

Tap water connections solve water woes and empower women in Madhya Pradesh

Two decades ago, women from Garhmau village in Madhya Pradesh,spent a large part of the day walking 2-5 km to fetch water for their household’s needs. Women had no time to manage their household duties, their health  declined as they had to cover long distances on foot with heavy water containers. Some women were also gravely injured. 

In 2015, Madhya Pradesh introduced the Mohkhed Water Supply Scheme to provide household water connections in the tehsil, which was brought under the aegis of the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission, 2019 that aims to ensure drinking water supply through taps in all households by 2024.

The women in the tehsil took charge to ensure proper implementation of the scheme. Mamta Sudama Doble of Mau village, stood as a sarpanch candidate for the village panchayat in 2012, on the promise of addressing water issues, but lost. She contested again in 2022, when the government had started supplying water to households, with the responsibility of maintaining the functioning and efficiency of the system. 

Further, the women nominated one or two members from each of the self-help groups already present in the tehsil to join the water and sanitation committee, as mandated by the Jal Jeevan Mission. Women received training and kits from the government to test the quality of water supplied. 

Currently, there are some 8,500 water connections across 32-33 villages in the tehsil that meet the water needs of 50,000 residents. The initiative has not only eased women’s water woes, but also empowered them in the process (DownToEarth). 

Bengal farmers grow bananas by using solar powered pumps

Banana farming is picking up in West Bengal’s Birbhum district where heavy losses due to erratic rainfall have affected paddy cultivation badly. Farmers are now using solar-powered pumps to extract groundwater and distribute it through the drip irrigation system to grow bananas. The state government is encouraging farmers to embrace solar technology for cultivation and irrigation, offering financial support. 

Over 62 farmers are cultivating bananas across 200 bighas of farmland, and this innovative approach is bringing hope and improved profitability to the region. The farmers in Labhpur block received support from the district agriculture office and Tomorrow’s Foundation, a Kolkata-based non-profit organisation. Through the state government’s Bangla Krishi Sech Yojana (BKSY), they were given micro-irrigation setups and solar panels.

Drip irrigation can help by minimising water loss due to evaporation and ensures that each plant receives the ideal amount of hydration. In Birbhum, a single solar power setup caters to 15 bighas of farmland, with 13 such panels already in operation. With availability of plenty of sunshine, estimates suggest that West Bengal alone could generate around 20,000MW of power through solar energy (Village Square).

Community based natural farming increases yields and boosts farmers incomes in Andhra Pradesh

A comparative study on prevalent farming practices in Andhra Pradesh conducted over two years in three districts of the state found that Andhra Pradesh’s Community-Based Natural Farming (APCNF) achieved remarkable results as compared to other dominant farming systems in the region. On average, farmers practicing natural farming harvested four crops, with a 11 percent higher yield of prime crops such as paddy rice, maize, millet, finger millets and red gram. They saw a 49 percent net increase in their income.

The researchers used the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food Systems (TEEBAgriFood), a framework that evaluates ecosystem services, biodiversity and human health to promote sustainable practices. The study looked at yields in 13 districts using crop-cutting experiments and surveyed 562 farming households in three districts with diverse agroecological conditions from 2020 to 2022 and compared farming practices in three villages.  

The study found that CNF farmers did better in production as well as economic, social, and health impacts. For example, CNF farmers grew an average of 4.51 crops compared to 2.16 in low-input tribal farming, 4.88 compared to 2.40 in rainfed farming and 2.92 compared to 1.84 in high-input farming. The adoption of CNF led to higher crop diversity, with an average of 4 crops compared to 2.1 on the counterfactual farms.

Additionally, it was found that CNF farmers experienced a 44 percent reduction in input costs (such as fertilisers and pesticides) compared to counterfactual farms across three regions. They also saw an average yield increase ranging from 7.8 percent to 25.9 percent (Mongabay, India) 

This is a roundup of important news updates from July 16 - July 31, 2023.