Taking Stock of Our Earth's Resources Is Crucial for Effective Integrated Watershed Care
1. Chandan Sharma, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Lawley Road, Coimbatore, Scientist, India
Soil
degradation, water shortages, falling efficiency, rising temperatures, and
societal decline are some of the issues that land, the most essential natural
resource, faces today. Since rainfed regions in India are so pervasive and have
so much promise for increasing agricultural yields via improved utilization of
resources, they must be developed as quickly as possible. Adopting a
comprehensive watershed management plan that integrates human involvement in diversifying
natural assets to support overall societal growth is the most effective method
for handling these rainfed regions. Conducting a complete land resource survey
is the first and most important stage in establishing a watershed control
program, which is then followed by careful planning, efficient execution, careful
monitoring, and exhaustive assessment. Our study included a comprehensive LRI
at a scale of 1:3960 of the Dwarkeswar Micro-Watershed in the Puruliya region
of West Bengal. Soil type, underlying land use, topography, climate, and
vegetation were all considered in this exhaustive survey. We identified and
mapped ten physiographic units and nine different soil series over the examined
region. We created an organizational unit map that serves as a powerful tool
for efficient land use development by using these criteria and considering the
current socio-economic situation and requirements. This map may effectively
drive the watershed management strategy.
soil degradation water shortages falling efficiency rising temperatures societal decline land resource survey watershed management natural assets
The current Micro-Watershed strategy
integrates the deliberate and efficient utilization of Earth's resources
through collaborative endeavours among local end-users. In contrast to the dominant
approach of solely focusing on infrastructure enhancements to alleviate
poverty, an alternative income source has emerged by safeguarding local
resources. The authors have dedicated their efforts to elaborating on this
concept, recognizing it as the sole means to reconcile human civilization and
Earth's resources while preventing resource depletion. By embracing this new
paradigm, which holds particular value in rainfed farming regions, the land and
human society can be better safeguarded.
1. All India Soil & Land Use Survey (1985) Report on Demarcation of Priority Subwatersheds of the Rupnarayan Flood Prone River Catchment, WB. R.K.Dutta, M.K.Mitra, S.S. Mishra, R.R.Biswas, RC, Calcutta, Report No AGRI 691.
The author confirms sole responsibility for the following: study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and manuscript preparation.
The authors did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
I thank the following individuals for their expertise and assistance in all aspects of our study and for their help in writing the manuscript. I am also grateful for the insightful comments given by anonymous peer reviewers. Everyone's generosity and expertise have improved this study in myriad ways and saved me from many errors.
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