Upstream before Downstream

Dr. T. S. B. Weerasekera Consultant and Snr Specialist Officer (Land Use) Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management

Some of the natural tribulations in the areas associated with the lower part of rivers and streams often reflect inappropriate land use and land use management in the upstream regions. Ironically, while the highly populated and urbanized downstream regions depend on the water supply and hydropower that originate in the upstream areas, they are vulnerable to threats such as floods, polluted water, high electricity costs or power cuts precipitated by low reservoir water levels, sea water intrusion caused by low water levels of rivers, all posed fully or partly by upstream land related activities.

In countering the threats, protection measures are invariably resorted to in the downstream regions at very high costs. Construction of elaborate systems of flood bunds, intricate drainage systems that include pumping, installation of fuel power plants to deal with any shortage of power caused by low reservoir water levels, mechanisms for the prevention of sea water intrusion are some examples.

Proper management of upstream regions would have saved a lot of money and recurring disasters such as floods. However, little attention, if at all, is directed to the cause. The management of upstream involves three major components that are related to each other.

First is the introduction and maintenance of appropriate land use and land use management in the upstream, regions supported by a strict set of land use policies. The second is land conservation. Third is harnessing the water.

Watershed

In the past five or six decades the land use in the upper watershed regions in Sri Lanka has changed drastically for the worst. Reduced forest cover, degradation of some of the tea plantations, a rapid expansion of annual crop cultivation on steep slopes, are the most prominent of the changes in land use that have taken place during that period. The total effect of these changes is a very significant reduction in the capacity of upstream lands to maintain a temporary rainwater storage from which slow release of water to the streams will occur. One of the main contributors to this situation is the lack of sufficient amounts of structured foliage to intercept rain, resulting in higher run off and low infiltration. The other contributor is the reduced soil depth due to soil erosion in degraded tea lands, freshly deforested areas, and lands with steep slopes that are used for cultivation of annual crops.

At present, although there is a decrease in the rate of deforestation in the upstream areas, the degradation of tea lands and cultivation of annual crops on lands with steep slopes continue.

Large extent of degraded tea lands exist particularly in Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Ratnapura and Badulla Districts. These are characterized by shallow soils, exposed rock, and tracts of tea lands with very low bush density.

They show evidence of severe soil erosion that has taken place over a long period. They come under the general land use category of abandoned tea lands, because land degradation over the years due to soil erosion has caused ever decreasing yields, and the consequent abandonment. It is also evident that the process of land degradation continues in some of the tea lands. Various stages of land degradation can be recognized by decreased bush density, a high percentage of exposed soil and decreased soil depth.

Management

Conservation of tea lands is part of tea land management. For example, erosion control measures should be an essential component in the set of agricultural inputs. It should be realized however, that high costs involved in land conservation may make tea production less profitable.

This is where the matter becomes a national issue. On the one hand tea industry has to be protected.

On the other hand land conservation should be upheld as part and parcel of appropriate land use and land use management of the upstream areas.

Therefore, considering it as a national issue of high priority, the state should grant the policy and financial support to the tea industry for the conservation of tea lands.

Degraded tea lands and the tea lands that are susceptible to degradation are two main areas that should be addressed by the state in providing policy and financial support in promoting appropriate land use and land use management aimed at conservation of land. Because degraded tea lands can no longer support profitable tea cultivation, conservation based alternative land use types that are somehow economically and financially rewarding should be introduced to these areas.

The issue of tea lands that are susceptible to degradation is somewhat complicated.

The degradation process may begin as a result of poor administration, poor technical management, or both. Also, it may be initiated by a sudden financial crisis precipitated by for example low tea prices, or a severe yield reduction brought about by long drought conditions.

In this situation, there may be a breakdown in providing the standard inputs necessary for the cultivation itself and for soil conservation measures such as maintenance of terraces and stone bunds.

Whatever the reason that activates the degradation, if immediate attention is not paid, the degradation process will continue until the yield levels are low enough to justify the abandonment.

The state intervention in this case should be a process that includes introduction of policy, monitoring, and appropriate action plans.

The policy should provide facility to identify yearly signs of degradation in a monitoring process, to perform detailed analyses to find reasons that have initiated the degradation, to find any lapses in the plantation management that have lead to the initiation of degradation, and to formulate the necessary action plans.

The action plans need not necessarily be aimed at finding faults with the plantation management.

They should rather be aimed at remedying the situation by providing technical and management recommendations, policy support, and if necessary, financial support in case the reason for the problem is beyond the control of the plantation management.

Slopes

The cultivation of annual crops on steep slopes is a very sensitive issue because it almost always involves social and political elements.

This activity is largely subsistence farming and little or no investment is made on soil conservation. Rapid degradation of land due to soil erosion has been observed in the areas that are being used for this type of farming. This is particularly evident in the upper watershed areas of Mahaweli. Another undesirable result of soil erosion in these areas is the filling of reservoirs with products of erosion such as sand and silt.

It may often be noticed that the farmers are encouraged to continue cultivation on lands with steep slopes by some institutes which provide them with funds and technical support for the introduction of soil conservation methods. However, it is impossible for the institutes to support the farmers interminably.

The farmers are expected to continue to practise the initially introduced soil conservation methods on their own.

Yet the farmers fail to do so because, being subsistence farmers they do not have the additional resources required for the continuation of soil conservation. Similar to the case in tea lands, once the erosion process starts the land undergoes rapid degradation, and further farming without adequate soil conservation measures results in ever decreasing yields.

Finally the land is abandoned when the yield levels are not sufficient to maintain subsistence farming.

Conservation

As far as land conservation is concerned, several alternative land use types may be proposed for the areas in which annual crops are cultivated on steep slopes.

The best option is to re-establish the forest. However, it is inevitable that the farmers will have to be settled in another area suitable for farming. Finding such lands in close vicinity to their traditional home villages may not always be possible, and the removal of families to other locations will bring about various social and political problems that may not be solved immediately. Another alternative is to introduce perennial crops that would provide good ground cover. This option depends on the willingness of the farmers to take up the new land use and its management. Besides, establishment and maintenance of a perennial crop in steep slopes involves high capital investments.

In this complicated situation State intervention is essential. In the context of appropriate land and land use management in the upstream areas, the position of the State should be that lands with steep slopes should not be utilized for annual crop cultivation. With this standpoint, the farmer community will have to be provided with alternative income generation activities in the same localities in case the farmer families cannot be moved to suitable farming areas elsewhere. Then the lands should be brought under forest cover or perennial crop cultivation. While having the political will to make the necessary changes in the land use it is the responsibility of the State to make the lives better for the farmers.

It is well-known that soil erosion is the cause of land degradation in the upstream areas. Investigations conducted by the author in collaboration with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveal that in some of the tea lands where land degradation has commenced, the erosion rate is as high as 1-2 cm per year.

In almost all the eroded tea lands the top soil is absent and what remains is the hardened laterite on which few sparsely spread tea bushes fight for moisture and nutrients for survival.

In the same investigations it was observed that the lands with steep slopes used for annual crop cultivation also have high erosion rates. Therefore, it is imperative that programs of introducing appropriate land use and land use management are implemented in order to control erosion and thereby to prevent land degradation in the upstream areas.

Harnessing and water in the upstream regions have been discussed extensively in the past. However, of the major rivers, only Mahaweli has been developed significantly for agriculture and hydropower.

The annual flow of Kelani is over 6000 MCM and that of Kalu is close to 7500 MCM. Both have their watersheds and flood plains in the wet zone. Except for what is being used for domestic and industrial purposes a high percentage of their water is not used for any activity.

The agricultural activities in the wet zone do not need much support from these rivers in the form of irrigation. Therefore the most logical way of harnessing and regulating their flow is diverting their water to the Southern dry zone, specifically to Matara and Hambantota districts. It is very timely that the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management has given high priority to the diversion investigations. In the context of current and future development programs in the Southern dry zone, diversion of Kalu and Kelani rivers will be a worthwhile investment.

Upstream

Introduction of land conservation, introduction of appropriate land use and land use management to upstream areas and harnessing water often involve tough political decisions. Results of poor upstream management become evident so slowly that most of the people are unaware of them or are simply ignorant.

On the other hand, the benefits of good upstream management are not realized instantly. Therefore, as an investment activity it may not win instant popularity.

The Government has to take the initiative in introducing the upstream management process and the Government has to sustain the process until the land user community and the general public become well aware of the benefits it brings to the individuals and the country in general.