Kill our lakes and we kill ourselves

Energy CES Envis IISc

That our lakes and tanks are dying, thanks to uncontrolled urbanisation, is well known. It is imperative that we make amends by reviving and nurturing them, besides adopting rainwater harvesting, to prevent desertification of Bangalore. 

The beautiful and the beastly: Gulmohar blossoms bent over Sankey tank and Belandur lake filled with froth. — Photos: K. Gopinathan and T.L. Prabhakar 

HOW LONG would it take for Bangalore to turn into a desert? Not very long, if the deterioration of lakes and wetlands goes at the current pace. There have been several conferences and symposiums on saving the environment and maintaining the balance in nature. 

However, what remains unanswered is, which comes first - saving what is left or restoring what is dead? 

Statistics related to the environment point to the worst, thanks to tremendous pressure on it due to unbridled urbanisation and an exploding population. 

            In 1960, Bangalore had 262 manmade tanks and lakes, thanks to the environmental sensitivity and vision of our forefathers. Water scarcity was unheard of, though our City was not located near a major river. And then, the City became a metro, land became prime property. One of the first casualties was the wide water bodies that were first degraded and then killed. Buildings came up on what were once pristine waters sustaining life. 

            Today Bangalore has just 81 lakes and tanks, most of them in a pathetic condition, either choked by weeds or reduced to little more than dilute sewage. In such a bleak scenario, the only positive aspect is a rising awareness of the need to save precious water bodies. Although many have welcomed the State Government's decision to set up a Lake Development Authority, some think the proposal is just an eyewash. However, if the administration is indeed keen on restoring the wetland balance in the City, it is worthwhile for the citizens and the Government to seriously consider what such maintenance and restoration of water bodies would entail. 

            According to recommendations made by researchers in the Indian Institute of Science, a formal restoration exercise would mean more than just removing plastic garbage and hyacinth from lakes. This Herculean task would require cooperated effort by Government and private agencies to effectively implement wetland restoration activities, and sustain their utilisation and conservation. In addition, it would entail the constitution of a national committee to evolve strategies, which will act as a complementary body to the process of restoration of lakes. Such proactive measures would also involve real people who both use and misuse water bodies. Like fishermen, for example, who will have to be persuaded to revise their lifestyles. This will not be easy, and the policy-makers, therefore, should not ignore their socio-economic problems. 

            Furthermore, the plans, development of projects and evaluation technology should be tailored to suit individual eco-regions, using the concept of expected conditions for each eco-region. It is, therefore, imperative to define ownership and legal status of the lakes. "Conservation and restoration requires a systematic and comprehensive plan to study selective and representative wetlands. Details of the study including the status of lakes, their sustainable use, management and conservation will serve as a good resource for future use and formulation of strategies for long-term management in rural and urban areas," says Dr. T.V. Ramachandra, of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, who has been long involved with this project. "To carry out such studies, researchers have to be given easy access to both protected areas and data about wetlands. 

            A thorough restoration programme has to include details regarding the maintenance of health, disease and quarantine aspects of aquatic biota. In addition, India being a mega diversity region, with hotspots in the Western Ghats and North-Eastern regions, it would be great if the Government supports the study of aquatic biodiversity of the inland water bodies," he explains. What is restoration if there was no mass awareness whereby people recognise the importance of water bodies, their role in sustenance of human civilization and the aquatic biodiversity? 

            One way to ensure active public participation is to have students from schools and universities monitor ecosystems regularly. A people's watchdog team to monitor and stop the dumping of wastes into water bodies and to protect the catchment area would help. Initially though, public participation would require public education on the importance of clean water for better health and hygiene. 

            "We have seen that associations and citizen monitoring groups make more impact when it comes to educating the public. Therefore, for such groups to spread the word they need to have accurate information about the causes and methods, which can be solved through education and training," says Dr. Ramachandra. 

            Illegal farming of expensive fishes to make money has become common these days. Research has found that such commercial farming, if unsuitable to the particular lake characteristic, can degrade the ecosystem further. 

            Bangalore's geography is such that it had no natural wetlands. Hence water bodies had to be built to support hydrology and agriculture, and tanks were built to provide drinking water. Between 1973 and 1993, the number of water bodies decreased by 35.09 per cent. "The study we made pointed to a 93 per cent reduction in the number of water bodies over a period of 100 years," laments Dr. Ramachandra. 

            If the statistics for the 1970s were so bad, one can imagine the current rate of degradation, thanks to the liberalisation and the IT boom in the City. It is clear that water bodies here, once a source of drinking water, are no longer able to meet the requirements. In such a situation what we, as citizens, are required to do is what our counterparts in Sumida City in Tokyo or Bonn in Germany did. The residents of Sumida City began rainwater harvesting after a flood left them without drinking water for weeks. 

            In Bonn, households are required to pay tax per square metre of paved area unless they adopt rainwater harvesting mainly to control urban floods and prevent overloading of the sewer system. Apart from encouraging rainwater harvesting, the State Government is supposed to ensure that natural drainage channels are kept open and every sub-unit of the City maintains a lake to store the overflow. If every citizen considers saving the ecology his or her personal duty, this once-beautiful City would truly be green and clean as it was a century ago. 

KRISHNA NARASIMHAN