Ketusielie Angami
Officer’s Hill, Kohima
Two out of 35 most important biodiversity hotspots worldwide, namely the Indo-Burma and Himalayan region are located in the North-Eastern Region of India. While prominent species such as the Rhino and Tiger have been successfully protected in the region and elsewhere; the celebrated Hornbill, the endemic State bird Tragopan blythii and the less prominent visitor Falco amurencis (Amur falcon)all have been adopted for conservation in Nagaland. The medicinal Ginseng, or the multipurpose Bambusa/Sinarundinaria have been on board the protected list, however varyless attention is paid to the vast and diversified lotic and lentic aquatic ecosystems which are home to a vast array of endemicaquatic species, about 266 species (recorded and reported), andcontained in more than 19,000 Kilometers of rivers, 144,000 hectares of lakes, 24,000 hectares of reservoirs and over 1.0 million hectares of wetlands (inclusive of floodplain wetlands) in the region.
Nagaland having a total length of about 1600 kilometers of rivers, some 2500 hectares of reservoirs and lakes and about 1500 hectares of wetlands is home to about 149 fish species, most of which are endemic, but as many as 103 species categorically come under various levels of conservation status. About 29 species are already endangered, 44 species are highly vulnerable while about 30 species are on the threshold of near threatened. While Nagaland has adopted the Chocolate mahseer, Neolissochilus hexagonalepis, as its State Fish, which figures in the IUCN Red list of threatened species (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)
The aquatic resources and ecosystems have been affected largely by anthropogenic activities like dam construction on major riverine systems, pollution through discharges of effluents, mineral mining (coal) etc. and the threats on these fragile and vulnerable aquatic resources are likely to exacerbate due to the effects of climate change where vulnerable communities are largely dependent on these resources for their livelihood.
An anecdote substantiating my write-up is reproduced here, wherein, my personal observation reveals some alarming and disturbing trend in the abundance of aquatic biodiversity in a small steam traversing the outskirts of Mangkolemba town. It was sad to find no sign of aquatic life in this stream which once abounded in small shell and fin fishes. This difference was observed within a span of some 10 years when I first fished in the river in 2004 and then during my basic research which took place in 2015. As our team goes about exploring more areas, it was also observed that several acres of land have been turned into wasteland. Urbanization, Corporate greed, Exploitation of resources (of human and natural) have shattered ideals where cynicism had already set in. Don Henley’s “End of Innocence” comes to mind as one cross these ugly images of exploration where acres of land are excavated for the purpose of unregulated coal mining. This activity not only degrades agricultural lands, forests, and scenery of an area but has its impact both on surface as well as ground water. Piled waste materials from these mining sites creates runoff that both pollutes and alters the flow of local rivers and streams. The situation is worsened as rain water percolates through these piles where water soluble components are dissolved in the runoff water and cause the elevation of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in local water bodies. This in turn renders the water unfit for consumption, for agriculture and farming purposes. The acidity and presence of metals in the water runoff are directly toxic to aquatic life. Some of these metals bio-accumulate in the aquatic food chain and pass it on to humans. Communities living at the vicinity and downstream are displaced owing to unfavorable living conditions. Those without any option but to continue living in the area become victims of various ailments resulting from the exposure to the toxic effects of pollutants.
Late/failed monsoon with prolonged dry spells leading to drying up of aquifers and ponds, and decline in ground water table coupled with unethical anthropogenic activities in the form of unplanned and unregulated dam construction on rivers, developmental projects sans Environmental Impact Assessment, discharge of effluents into river systems etc. are all contributors to the dwindling freshwater aquatic resources of the state. Again, these aquatic resources, their management and conservation are being neglected due to the absence of a managing body as they primarily come under private or community waters which otherwise could be well protected by the involvement of the community themselves, as some like the Ao and Chakhesang communities are already doing it.
“Climate change” is one of the biggest cause of social injustices of our generation, where the vulnerable communities are effected the most. Therefore, adaptation measures like sustainable use of aquatic resources by local population and protected area management can efficiently buffer negative impacts of climate change.
Erratic rainfall patterns influencing flash floods in some places and drought-like situation in other places, change of fluvial dynamics of river systems leading to loss of feeding and breeding grounds of fish, unethical traditional fishing methods leading to colossal loss of aquatic biodiversity are some examples of habitat and biodiversity loss.
Mitigation and adaptation both can be applied to combat the impacts of climate change. However, the economies of developing countries are closely linked to natural resource base and to climate- sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water and forestry, and therefore are faced with a major threat from projected changes in climate. The climate change challenges have made traditional coping strategies ineffective and have put the lives and livelihoods of several million peopleat serious risks. This underlines the urgent need for promoting climate change adaptation and climate resilient development.
As stated by Junine Kuriger of SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), it has become important to suitably integrate climate risk management into mainstream development activities as this alone will ensure that development is relatively insulated from the impact of climate change and climate variability. This can also ensure that new project initiatives avoid activities that inadvertently increase vulnerability, thereby maladaptation. In the process of pursuing assessment of project initiatives at different stages, it is crucial to holistically analyze the context in which the project is being planned or implemented, in terms of livelihoods, resources and socio economic activities and determine if these will have direct or indirect links with climate change.
