National Conference on Springshed Management in the Indian Himalayan Region

Organisers: Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

About the conference

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), India and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal is organising a national level conference under SDC’s Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (SCA-Himalayas) project to address water related issues in the Indian Himalayan Region through spring revival.

Along with a clear focus on climate adaptation, the SCA-Himalaya project focuses on integrating gender, social inclusion and accessibility considerations to ensure fair access to water, strengthening leadership and technical capacities of women and underrepresented groups, reducing disproportionate burdens from water scarcity, and policy support for institutionalizing and scaling springshed management initiatives. By mainstreaming GESI in springshed interventions across scales, the project aims to foster more equitable access to water resources, empower local communities, and build resilient water systems.

DoLR has played a pivotal role in scaling the concept of SSM in India. From implementing initial pilot projects in the northeastern and other Himalayan states, DoLR has emerged as a key nodal agency for SSM. At the workshop, the experience of DoLR in piloting and scaling SSM will provide guidance for other departments seeking to explore and execute spring revival at various scales. The conference also aims to strengthen DoLR’s plans to scale SSM across India, as well as to contribute to the National Mission on Springs under the leadership of NITI Aayog.

Objectives

The national conference on springshed management aims to highlight the importance and relevance of springshed management in a changing climate. It will highlight progress, challenges and opportunities related to springshed management and focus on scaling up such initiatives in India through knowledge sharing. The specific objectives of the conference are to:

• Exchange knowledge on current initiatives, challenges, and opportunities for springshed management in India
• Deliberate on innovative and science-based springshed management approaches and share best practices in springshed management
• Explore scope for convergence and collaboration between different stakeholders, and policy support for scaling up springshed management

Expected outcomes

• Enhanced understanding of springshed management based on results and lessons learned from implementing spring revival protocols through the SCA-Himalaya and other projects.
• Shared understanding on the scope for scaling best practices from the SCA-Himalaya project in India.
• Fostering of collaborative strategies and policy recommendations for effective springshed management based on insights from springshed implementation in Indian Himalayan states.

Background

In India, springs are the primary source of water for many hill and mountain communities, meeting their drinking, household, livestock rearing, and minor irrigation needs. An estimated 200 million people depend on spring water across the Himalayas, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, Aravallis and other hill and mountain ranges. There are an estimated five million springs across the country, of which nearly three million are in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). However, half of the perennial springs in the IHR have either dried up or become seasonal (NITI Aayog, 2018).

Owing to the impacts of climate change in the form of rising temperature and rainfall duration and intensity, and a marked decline in winter precipitation, the problem of drying springs is being increasingly felt across mountain regions such as IHR. As a result, thousands of villages that depend on natural springs are facing acute water shortages in the Himalayan and other hill and mountain regions of India, impacting ecosystems and livelihoods. This makes it imperative to advance and scale a science-based approach to springshed management across the country.

Springshed development in India has received a fresh impetus after the release of the Guidelines for New Generation Watershed Development Projects (WDC-PMKSY 2.0) in 2021 by the Government of India with a specific focus on springshed management. It is for the first time that the guidelines have placed a special focus on springshed management by recognising it as an activity under the new generation watershed development projects to mitigate spring water depletion in the Indian Himalayan Region.