Concerns of Farming Community in Protecting Irrigation Tanks a Study from Tiruvannamalai District of Tamil Nadu, India

Transcription

1 Concerns of Farming Community in Protecting Irrigation Tanks a Study from Tiruvannamalai District of Tamil Nadu, India K. Sampath, Ph.D., Society for Environmental Education and Conservation Chidambaram Tamil Nadu.

2 Freshwater wetlands one the highly productive ecosystems Irrigation tanks, one the categories of wetlands, have both economic and ecological l values But ecological values not realized Getting degraded in many ways Government apathy Prevalence of unawareness among people

3 Materials and Methods Study carried out in Tiruvannamalai district Irrigation Tanks Number of tanks in Tiruvannamalai district 1900 Water-spread area ranging gfrom 5 to 767 ha Most of the tanks are river-fed Number of tanks surveyed for the study 88 Water-spread area of 34 tanks was above 100 ha each Water-spread area of all the 88 tanks was 8492ha

4 Construction of Tools Information schedule Questionnaire and Opinionnaire Information Schedule Consists of two parts ; Profile of farmers and irrigation tanks Profile of farmers included name, age, education qualification, occupation, extent t of land owned, annual income, marital status and number of cattle Profile of tanks comprised name of tank, village, panchayat, water-spread area, ayacut area, water level, borewell found around, social forestry activity, i infestation i and so on.

5 Questionnaire The questionnaire contained constant / alternative questions Two dimensions Utility values of Tanks 13 questions Threats of Tanks 9 questions Opinionnaire Three dimensions Utility values of Tanks 13 Statements Threats of Tanks 13 Statements Management of Tanks 17 Statements

6 Sampling From each tank 3 farmers were randomly selected All the three tools administrated on 264 farmers from all the 88 tanks The farmers responded negatively or positively were presented in terms of percentage Results Profile of farmers Bird population and Threatened bird species Knowledge of farmers On various aspects of Utility Values of Tanks and Threats of Tanks nearly 55% of farmers possessed knowledge

7 Utility Values of Tanks S.No 1 Tanks are useful in many ways Tank water is better than ground water Tanks are important for replenishment Tanks are ideal habitat for birds Bird droppings important for crops Birds Control Insects pests Bird population indicator of tanks health Birds control vermin like rat Tanks play crucial role in economic development

8 Utility Values of Tanks S.No 10 Birds from foreign countries use tanks Water-spread area of tank Ayacut area of tanks Year of construction of tanks

9 Threats of Tanks S.No 1 Tanks are getting silted Tanks face various threats Weed infestation deteriorates tanks Unawareness is a cause for deterioration Flora and fauna are getting endangered by deterioration of tanks Free electricity indirectly affects tanks Use of chemical fertilizers affects tanks Social forestry activity affects tanks Birds decimate by deterioration ti of tanks

10 Opinion of Farmers The overall mean percentage of farmers who offered positive opinion for the dimension Threats of Tanks was For the dimension Utility Values of Tanks it was For the dimension Management of Tanks it was Percentage of Farmers who Offered Positive Opinion for individual statements

11 Utility Values of Tanks S.No Statements % 1 Tanks offer livelihood for farmers Proper maintenance of tanks facilitate t 100 ground water recharge 3 Tank water is used in several ways Tank water is better than borewell water Implementation of social forestry 96 deteriorates tanks 6 Tanks offer ideal habitat t for plants and 70 animals 7 Bird droppings help increase agri. yields 70 8 Birds of irrigation tanks control insect pests and vermins 70

12 Utility Values of Tanks S.No Statements % 9 Tanks offer ideal habitat for large number of birds 10 Population of birds and animals are indicator of tanks health 11 Farmers have concern in protecting flora and fauna of tanks 12 Fishing is not hindrance to agri., activities Tank water is sufficient for agri. activities 4 all through the year

13 Threats of Tanks S.No Statements % 1 Irrigation tanks are getting deteriorated Weed infestation deteriorates tanks Deterioration of tanks is cause for decimation of flora and fauna 4 Deterioration of tanks is a cause for decimation of birds 5 Tanks are silted by wrong agri., practices 85 6 Tanks suffer from encroachment 85 7 Encroachment is the cause for deterioration 8 Greed rather than unawareness is a cause for deterioration

14 Threats of Tanks SNo S.No Statements % 9 Farmers repose faith on bureaucrats Authorities concerned take action if informed 11 Encroachers will desist from such acts if convinced Excessive use of chemical fertilizers will 31 degrade croplands 13 Free electricity it will degrade d tanks

15 Management of Tanks SNo S.No 1 Concerned about welfare of tanks Tank conservation movement is necessary for conservation 3 Inclusion of concepts on tanks management will help conserve tanks Change is required in the existing 98 structure of tank management 5 Mismanagement of tanks is the cause for 95 decimation of birds 6 If all farmers are made members of 92 society it will bring desired benefits

16 Management of Tanks S.No Statements % 7 Income from the tank is spent properly 85 8 All the farmers are concerned with the 80 management of tanks 9 If tank management is discussed with 60 fellow farmers it will bring desired benefits 10 Farmers have faith in authorities in preventing hunting Authorities commit irregularities in the management of tanks 12 Govt. takes effective steps for tank management 52 25

17 Management of Tanks SNo S.No 13 Tank restoration work taken up by govt is 16 satisfactory t 14 Feeder canals are maintained properly Supply canals are maintained properly Functioning of farmers society is 18 satisfactory t 17 Right attitude prevail among educated 21 youth

18 Conclusion In the component knowledge 45% of the farmers was not found to possess knowledge Prevailing of such situation could be one of the major reasons for deterioration of tanks In the component opinion 22% of farmers could not offer positive opinion It reflects the dissatisfaction of farmers on various aspects of the tanks Efforts need to be taken to address these issues.

19 Recommendations Ayacuttars should be educated Encroached area should be retrieved Farmers society should be established and made functional Modernization should be carried out by the department concerned regularly with participation of farmers Implementation of S.F. activity on the entire water-spread area should be stopped Tank management should be included in the school curriculum School teachers should be inculcated awareness on tank conservation Activity of nomads should be curtailed at least during the peak season of birds

20 Thank you!