J Pak Mater Soc 2008; 2 (1)

SOME OBSERVATIONS AND CONCERNS REGARDING MODERNIZATION OF IRRIGATION WATER-COURSES IN TWO REGIONS OF NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN Muhammad Ullah1, Jamila Begum2 1. Department of Environmental Sciences Northern University, Nowshera Cantt (Pakistan). 2. Government Girls College, Nowshera, Pakistan ABSTRACT The inefficient usage of irrigation water and water losses in the irrigation system has placed the NWFP under immense water stress. The OFWM project was environment friendly. More water supplies have increased plant Bio-diversity and bio-mass, increasing pesticide application and the possibility of surface water and ground water pollution. The project hade no negative impact on wildlife. Formers associated with FOS needed more training in integrated pest management and other irrigation system parameter. Water borne diseases were more at the southern irrigation circle than the northern one. Water–logging was more at the northern circle than the southern one. INTRODUCTION Irrigation water is an essential component for agriculture development. The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan has been blessed with adequate surface and ground water resources. However, the inefficient usage of irrigation water and water losses at various levels of irrigation has placed immense stress on irrigation water. This is one of the major causes of colossal poverty of small farmers living at the tail reach of irrigation system. The yields per unit area of these farmers are lower for almost all crops. In addition, this anomaly in irrigation water distribution has also resulted in an unhealthy competition among the farmers. This leads to environmental degradation of pristine farming land in the form of persistent waterlogging, soil erosion and water contamination. Water shortages, its accompanying pollution and natural resource degradation have adversely affected the farming land, wild-life and some economic species of flora and fauna in the project commanded area. Some wise men in the concerned establishment felt the need of conserving irrigation water by increasing its efficiency that would, consequently, increase the farm income of stakeholders. Therefore, several irrigation water management initiatives have been adopted and implemented for the conservation of irrigation water. The eventual objective to achieve has been the increase in

agriculture production and productivity raising the living standard of farmers. One of the irrigation water conservation projects has been the On-Farm-Water-Management (OFWM) project since the financial year 2000. The focal point of this project has been to improve; water courses, rehabilitation of water distributaries and minors from the canal in the commanded area of the project, renovation of water courses to increase the conveyance efficiency by reducing seepage, evaporation, and spillage and operation losses. All this was to increase the amount of water delivered by increasing irrigation-water efficiency. METHODOLOGY The study sites were selected at the northern irrigation circle, Mardan, and the southern irrigation circle, Bannu of the Department of Irrigation, Government of NWFP. The project intervention has been the brick-lining and improvement of minors and water courses. Site was a place where the Farmers Organization (FO) was established by the project authority and that it was functional. The data was collected by personally examining the site and discussions held with farmers and project officials of the concerned area. The Farmers Organization Sites (FOS) studied at the two study regions are detailed in Table 1.

Table 1: Locations and Farmers Organization Sites (FOS) Irrigation Circle Mardan Bannu

Farmers Organization Site Toru Minor, Yaqubi Minor, Qasmi Minor, Choki Minor, Misry Banda Minor (Nowshera) Pirbada Khel Minor, Kotka Zardad Minor, Saleh Khan Minor, Taji Minor, Sardud Minor, Bizen Khel Water course, ThurKhuba and Kum Thur Khubo and one site at Loke (DI Khan).

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J Pak Mater Soc 2008; 2 (1) RESULTS The Environment Impact Assessment (E.I.A) of the project was mainly focused on the following major Irrigation Water Woes. Water-Logging Water-logging was observed in three sites in the Northern circle, Mardan. Neither the farmers nor the project officials had exact figure of the extent of water-logged land in acres. A figure of 200 to 300 acres was given by the farmers at Turo Minor. Our site observation assumed that the figures for water-logged area were somewhat inflated. Yaqubi minor and Qasmi minor had similar situation as Turo minor. Water-Losses There were water losses in the various segments of canals, minor and water-courses. Cracks ranging from 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide on an average were found in the minors and watercourses. Poplar and eucalyptus trees were grown on the banks of minor and water-courses. Persistent stagnant water was common outside the minors and water-courses in both the circles. Natural cracks in the sides of minors and water courses were found, even though the average age of these minors and water-courses was 5 years. Soil Erosion No soil erosion was found in any segment of the minors and water-courses, nor any farmer or project official indicated soil erosion. However, soil erosion on a 5 acre farm was reported. On our examination, it was discovered at Loke (DI Khan) that it was a water seepage problem: water just disappeared in the farm. It was not soil erosion. Water Quality Faecal and city-waste water drained into minors and water-courses in the southern circle, mostly in the Bannu area. Water-courses in some segments were almost clogged with used and thrown away plastic bags and material in both circles. Farms, mostly in the Bannu area, were littered with these waste materials. Water-Borne Diseases The water-borne diseases reported by farmers and project officials of the area were cholera, infectitious dysentery, infectious hepatitis and malaria. Such diseases were more at southern circle than in the northern one. The frequency and intensity of the diseases were not known.

Cholera and malaria topped the list of diseases in DI Khan and Bannu areas. Habitat Impact on Birds and Wild Animals No habitat fragmentation occurred because of project intervention. Birds such as doves, crows, kites and sparrows found nesting places in the canopy of eucalyptus and poplar trees, grown on the bank of canals, minors- and water courses. The ground living small wild-animals such as meadow mice (a big rat like mouse), rodents, hares etc lived in holes underneath the ground surface. Pesticides Farmers sprayed their crops, using mostly synthetic pyrethroid pesticides purchased from the local market. The dosage concentration and frequency of spraying per season was reported to have increased, ranging from one spray per season to 4-5 sprays per season. However, outside the project area (unimproved watercourses) 1-2 spray per season was common in crop, vegetables and field crops .The increase in pesticide was more at sites in the southern circle than in the northern ones. Though, the increase in bio-diversity and bio-mass was more in locations of the northern circle. Domestic Usage of Irrigation Water The domestic usage of irrigation water was noted only in few sites of the northern circle where village women washed clothes at special bays made during the improvement of the minors and water-courses. However, this was substantial in the locations of the southern ones even for drinking. DISCUSSION The OFWM project, as a whole, was environment friendly. It reduced or eliminated some of the irrigation woes such as soil erosion and water-losses. One irrigation water seepage case was found at a farm at Loke (DI .Khan). This seepage problem occurred because no precision land levelling was done before or after the construction of the irrigation water-course, though it was mandatory under the project rules. The soil erosion was reduced or eliminated through bringing efficiency in irrigation water. There was very little time for the water to stay in the canal, minors and water-courses, so no soil erosion occurred. There was water-logging in some sites in the northern circle whereas no water-logging worth-

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J Pak Mater Soc 2008; 2 (1) noting was found in the southern circle. The water-logging at the northern circle was due to the excess water in the tail reach of minor and water- courses. There was no way the farmers could utilize this excess water at the tail reach. This excess water could not be drained into the pipes of the Swabi Scarp Project (completed almost 25 years ago), since 60 - 80% of the pipes of this project had been broken. The bureaucratic inertia and lack of coordination of the concerned interacting partners were blamed for this water-logging. From 200 to 300 acres land was noted as water-logged at the sites of Turo Minor and others in the northern circle. This assessment was mostly inflated in Yaqubi and Qasmi minors. No calculated figures were available with farmers or with project officials. Water Losses The water losses were more in those segments of minors and water-courses where extensive eucalyptus and poplar trees were grown alongside their banks. Roots of these plants created cracks in the sides of minors leaking water to the other side. There were also natural cracks in minors, causing water leakage. The farmer organizations tried several times to cut these trees from the banks but the owners of the land resisted such cutting. This case should have been referred to the office of the district government in the area. Ironically, the canal belonged to the Department of Irrigation and the trees and plants belonged to Forest Department. This anomaly in ownership rights created problem in managing the canal and minor repair to stop water leakage caused by plant roots. Keeping in view the bureaucratic indifference of our system, water losses occurred in some sites in DI Khan where the water-course was only 30% improved and the remaining 70% left unimproved. This was the major source of water leakage from water-courses in the southern circle of the project. Water Quality Water quality for irrigation purpose was deteriorated by the plastic material flown to the farm. The farmers screened the big plastic pieces at the farm gate, however, small pieces in the form of wrappers etc. entered the farm unscreened. Such plastic material was harmful to the crop growth. This problem was present throughout the project. The other seriously noticeable water pollution problem was faecal waste, city and village waste-water drained into the canals and minors. This was predominant

mostly at the southern circle and no such case was reported from any in the northern one, though we assumed the same situation existed there too. Water-Borne Diseases The water-borne diseases including cholera, infectious hepatitis, amoebic and bacterial dysentery and malaria were reported mostly from southern circle, DI Khan. The women fetched canal water in pitchers, stored it in homes and used it for all domestic purposes, including drinking. This stored water was the main cause of such cluster of diseases as confirmed by local physicians. Such diseases were also common in the northern circle, though it was not reported by the farmers nor the project officials had the knowledge of these. The source of such diseases was not irrigation water in the latter case but poor sanitation at village near canals, minors and water-courses was a blame for water-borne diseases. No proper study was undertaken to diagnose and determine the actual cause of such diseases at any the sites. Habitat Fragmentation Contrary to the general perception of the project sponsors that the project may fragment the habitats of birds and small wild-life. There was no habitat fragmentation due to the project intervention that had a negative impact on the birds and small ground living animals. The project intervention increased the bio-diversity and bio-mass. This allowed for a better habitat for birds such as doves, crows, kites, parrots and sparrows in the canopy of trees and plants grown on banks of canals and minors providing them nesting places to live and reproduce. The ground living animals protected themselves by two special factors. They have a very strong threshold of pesticides smell, they either run away from the direct spray (hand spraying) or go inside the holes (hibernation) underneath the soil surface, thus protected themselves from the hazards of pesticides. Moreover, the pesticides used were not the persistent organic pollutants (POP). They were, synthetic Pyrethroids that are not persistent. Moreover, wild animals first nibble any thing they eat or drink as the rats do. This is how they can protect themselves from any health hazard. Climate Change More solar energy (sunlight) reaches southern circle than the northern one. Moreover, southern circle is more humid than it had been because of

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J Pak Mater Soc 2008; 2 (1) Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC). Therefore, this tropical situation (sustained hot and wet) promoted tropical diseases, mostly malaria and cholera and that the risks for dengue fever are quite high in this circle. Table 2:

Environmental Impact Assessment Parameters, Northern Circle, Mardan

FARMER ORGANIZATION

Turo Minor Yaqubi Minor Qasmi Minor Choki Minor Misry Banda Minor

Silt Silt was not properly disposed off. It littered the paths and roads, created environmental pollution. The silt dried often, some compacted

Water-logging

Waterlosses

YES 300-400 Acres YES YES 200-300 YES 50-100 No figure known YES No figure known YES

Soil Erosion

Water Quality

Diseases

Pesticide usage

Domestic usage

3 – 4 Fold NO

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

YES 3 – 4 FOLDS YES 3 – 4 FOLDS

NO

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

YES 3 – 4 FOLDS YES 3 – 4 FOLDS

NO

NO

Mir Bada Khel Tubewell

YES 3 – 4 FOLDS

NO NO NO NO NO NO "YES" means that the problem existed but the nature of the problem and its magnitude was not known to both the parties (farmers and project officials) while "NO" means that neither the farmers, nor the project officials had any knowledge of the particular problem... Table 3: Environmental Impact Assessment Parameters, Southern Circle, Bannu SITE

Waterlogging

Waterlosses

Soil Erosion

Contamin ation (WaterQuality)

Silt Deposition

PIRBADA KHEL KOTKA ZARDAD

NO

YES

NO

YES

YES

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

TAJI

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

SALEH KHANA MISAL KHAN

NO

NO

NO

YES

YES

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

BIZAN KHEL

NO

NO = NO PLANT

NO

NO

TARKHOBA

NO

NO

NO

NO

Pesticides

Domestic Usage

3 – 4 fold increase 3 – 4 fold increase

NO

3 – 4 fold increase 3 – 4 fold increase 3 – 4 fold increase

NO

NO

3 – 4 fold increase

NO

YES

DOUBLE

NO

NO

NO NO

Legend same as for Table 1. the path, mostly disappeared within 3-4 months since its removal from canals and minors. The owners of the canals (FO farmers) and irrigation department were responsible by creating secondary environmental problem due to nondisposing off the silt.

Tables 2 and 3 indicate the estimates of negative or positive impact of a particular environmental problem developed as a result of OFWM project. We could not calculate the complete intricacies of each parameter, since it

Muhammad Ullah, Jamila Begum: Some Observations and Concerns Regarding ……………

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J Pak Mater Soc 2008; 2 (1) was not required by the project rules. The word "NO" meant that neither the farmers nor the project officials of the area had any idea of the concerned parameters. Perhaps having no idea of the problem was due to the absence or lack of knowledge by the stake-holders about a particular parameter and not the absence of the problem as such. CONCLUSIONS From the Environment Impact Assessment (E.I.A) perspective, the following conclusions are drawn: 1. The OFWM project was environment friendly. 2. The water-logging in the northern circle could have been averted even on emergency basis by repairing the broken pipes of Swabi Scarp Project, so that the excess water at the tail reach of water courses would have been drained into them. 3. The project increased 3-4 times the usage of pesticides because of an increase in plant bio-diversity, bio-mass and, consequently, increased in pest population. 4. The canals and minors belonged to the Department of irrigation and the trees on the banks of the canals belonging to the Forest Department. This anomaly in ownership created problems in repairing the cracks in the canals and minors. 5. Birds and ground living wild-animals increased with increase in plant bio-diversity and bio-mass and thus the habitat improved. 6. Farmers associated with FOS were not properly trained in any component of IPM.

REFRENCES 1. Anon. Project document (unpublished). On Farm Water Management Project. Department of Irrigation, 2006, Government of North-West Frontier Province (Pakistan). 2. Anon. Environmental planning and practice. 1990, Allama Iqbal Open University (IOU), Islamabad (Pakistan). 3. Bailey, B. Engineering of the Farm. 2002, Island Press, Washington DC, USA. 4. Bell PA et al. Environmental psychology. 1983, National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan. 5. Bengton DA. Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment. 1996, American Society for Testing and Materials, Conhoho, PA, USA. 6. Cuningham, W.A. 2002, McGraw Hill Book Co, USA. 7. Giller P. Biodiversity Impact of Agriculture Environment Schemes. 2007, Br Ecolog Soc 2007; 44(1): 365. 8. Johnson BR. Ecology and Design. 2002, Island Press, Washington DC, USA. 9. Anil K. Environmental Chemistry. 1993, Natonal Book Foundation, Islamabad. 10. Kathryn MM et al. Justice and Natural Resources. 2002, Island press 1718 Connecticut Av. Washington D.C. 20009 U.S.A. 11. Molles MC. Ecology. 1999, McGraw Hill Books Co, NY, USA. 12. Ofiara DD et al. Economic Losses From Marine Pollution. A Hand Book for Assessment. 2001, Island Press. Washington DC, USA. 13. Scheneither HS, et al, Wild life Response To Climate Change. 2002, Island Press, Washington DC, USA.

Muhammad Ullah, Jamila Begum: Some Observations and Concerns Regarding ……………

54

some observations and concerns regarding ...

increasing irrigation-water efficiency. METHODOLOGY. The study sites were selected at the northern irrigation circle, Mardan, and the southern irrigation circle, Bannu of the Department of. Irrigation, Government of NWFP. The project intervention has been the brick-lining and improvement of minors and water courses. Site.

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