SPRINGS MAKE HIMALAYAS

Incentive-based approach can ensure conservation of Himalayan forest springs, a key source of water for downstream states

- RITESH SHARMA

FOR MORE than a decade, women of Bohal, Odi and Mandai villages in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district have protected the forest spring in their area, a vital source of water not just to the villages but also to the nearby town of Palampur. In 2010, they signed a 20-year agreement with the Palampur Municipal Council to protect the springshed by curbing excess grazing and by undertaking soil conservation efforts to check land degradation and allow rainwater to properly recharge the spring. In return, they received an annual payment of ₹10,000 from the council and tapped water for their households.

This was India's first payment for ecosystem services agreement. It gives the people of the villages a sense of water and economic security, and assures the council of better water supply for two decades. It also brings forth the need to conserve forest springs.