Planting trees to curb erosion in Assam

Ravaging floods affecting lakhs of people along the floodplains of the River Brahmaputra, Barak and their tributaries in Assam is an annual phenomenon. The problem has grown bigger with increase in population and drastic changes in Monsoon rainfall patterns. Growing magnitude of erosion in flood-prone districts has made disaster management even more challenging for the state. People displaced by flood can return home after the water level recedes and rebuild their life with support from government and various non-government support agencies. Families displaced by erosion, on the other hand, become landless and the burden of their rehabilitation grows for the government. Tree plantation along riverbanks can reduce erosion vulnerability and check loss of agricultural and homestead land but awareness on it among the affected people is quite low. Farm families reduced to landless families are compelled to migrate out of their villages in search of secure livelihoods. This results in increase in population in cities like Guwahati and towns in the state beyond their carrying capacity. According to official data, the state loses on an average 8000 hectares of land annually due to erosion caused by the River Brahmaputra and its tributaries. This indicates the mounting pressure of migrating people in Guwahati and various towns. Resource allocations for undertaking various development projects such as construction of roads, drains, supply of electricity, drinking water supply in the capital city falls short with new batches of erosion-affected families moving to the city to work as daily wagers and gradually become new settlers on the hills, wetlands, railway and other government lands, majority of them illegally encroaching upon such lands. This, in turn, aggravates the problem of soil erosion in city hills making the hilly areas more susceptible to landslides and filling the storm drainage network with loose earth and debri rolling down the slope from denuded patches. The erosion problem in Assam cannot be seen in isolation from soil erosion in upper reaches of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh and its tributaries flowing from Bhutan hills. Cutting of trees for development projects such as construction of roads, dams, illegal tree felling for timber lead to increase in soil erosion which increases the sediment load in water discharge of the rivers and sediment deposition. Cascading impact results in widening of the river and scourging leading to erosion of the bank line. The floodplain areas being fertile attract more families to settle on these areas for better agricultural crop, but erosion has made these areas unsustainable for farming and rendered the livelihoods dependent on agriculture and allied activities insecure. Providing compensation to affected families for rehabilitation on safer lands is not a sustainable solution without assured livelihood avenues. Dearth of availability of land also poses bigger challenge for resettlement of erosion-hit families with adequate cultivable land. More emphasis, therefore, should be laid on checking erosion by undertaking stronger anti-erosion measures. Piecemeal efforts in undertaking anti-erosion in select areas has proven to be not effective as sediment load continues to increase every year.Checking soil erosion along the entire stretch of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries right from its source to its confluence down below requires comprehensive planning with participation of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Anti-erosion structures are engineered solution requiring expertise of river engineers and adequate resource allocation for applying the solutions. Participation of the community in riverbank protection is crucial in anti-erosion measures. Trees protecting the riverbank are felled by settlers on floodplain to clear the land to maximise farm production without realising the grave consequences of their action. Increasing productivity of the crops grown by farmers through introduction of high yielding and flood-resistant varieties can help prevent cutting of trees along the bank line. Besides, focus on augmenting household income through livestock rearing, food processing, weaving etc. can reduce pressure on farmland along the flood plain. Parallel to these initiatives, building awareness among the families settled along the floodplain on the importance of trees in checking erosion must be prioritized in disaster management. Mere campaign to build awareness is not going to change much. Linking tree planation drive and incentivising the care for survival of trees can be linked to deriving benefits under various social welfare schemes, particularly for settlers along flood plain, can be expected to produce fruitful results. Impact of such plantation drive need not remain limited to a pilot project area as effectiveness of tree plantation in checking riverbank erosion is scientifically established. In view the of aggravation of the erosion problem in the state, synchronous tree plantation drive along the banks of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries must become a strong social movement. Internationally famed Jadav Payeng, popularly known as “Forest Man of India” who hand raised an entire forest on a sandbar of the Brahmaputra can be made the Brand Ambassador of such a plantation drive.