Tourism in India _ Case Studies of Desert

The Thar Desert is one of the major hot deserts in the world. It stretches across north-west India and Pakistan. The desert covers an area of about 200,000 square km, mostly in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Rainfall in the Thar Desert is low - typically between 120 and 240mm per year - and summer temperatures in July can reach 53°. Much of the desert is sandy hills with extensive mobile sand dunes and clumps of thorn forest vegetation, a mixture of small trees, shrubs and grasses. The soils are generally sandy and not very fertile, as there is little organic matter to enrich them. They drain quickly so there is little surface water.

Economic Opportunities in the Desert

Subsistence Farming

Most of the people living in the desert are involved with farming. The climate presents huge challenges, with unreliable rainfall and frequent droughts. The most successful, basic farming systems involve keeping a few animals on the grassy areas and cultivating vegetables and fruit trees. Although a good deal of the farming is subsistence farming, some crops are sold at local markets.

Over the border in Pakistan's Thar region, the Kohlis tribe are descendants of hunter-gatherers who survived in the desert by hunting animals and gathering fruit and natural products such as honey. This type of subsistence farming is the most basic form of farming and is rarely found in the world today. Irrigation and Commercial Farming

Irrigation in parts of the Thar Desert has revolutionised farming in the area. The main form of irrigation in the desert is the Indira Gandhi (Rajasthan) Canal. The canal was constructed in 1958 and has a total length of 650km. Two of the main areas to benefit centred on the city of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, where over 3,500km squared of land is under irrigation. Commercial farming in the form of crops such as wheat and cotton now flourishes in an area that used to be scrub desert. The canal also provides drinking water to many people in the desert. Mining and Industry

The state of Rajasthan is rich in minerals. The desert region has valuable reserves of gypsum (used in making plaster for the construction industry and in making cement), feldspar (used to make ceramics), phospherite (used for making fertiliser) and kaolin (used as a whitener in paper).

There are valuable reserves of stone in the area. At Jaisalmer the Sanu limestone is main source of limestone for India's steel industry. Limestone is also quarried for making cement. Valuable reserves of the rock marble are now quarried near Jodhpur for use in the construction industry. Local hide and wool industries form a ready market for livestock that are reared in the area. Tourism

In the last few years, the Thar Desert, with its beautiful landscapes, has become a popular tourist destination. Desert safaris on camels, based at Jaisalmer, have become particularly popular with foreigner as well as with wealthy Indians from elsewhere in the country. Local people benefit by acting as guides or rearing and looking after camels.

The Thar Desert faces a number of challenges for the future:

 Population pressure - the Thar desert is the most densely populated desert in the world, with a population density of 83 people per km squared, and the population is increasing. This is putting extra pressure on the fragile desert ecosystem and leading to overgrazing and overcultivation.  Water management - excessive irrigation in some places has led to waterlogging of the ground. Where this has happened, salts poisonous to plants have been deposited on the ground surface. This is called salinisation and is a big problem in deserts. Elsewhere, excessive demand for water has caused an unsustainable fall in water tables.

Sustainable Management

A number of approaches have been adopted to address the challenges of living in the Thar desert and to provide its people with a sustainable future. In 1977 the government-funded Desert Development Programme was started. Its main aims are to restore the ecological balance of the region by conserving , developing and harnessing land, water, livestock and human resources. In Rajasthan it has been particularly concerned with developing forestry and addressing the issue of sand dune stabilisation. Forestry

The most important tree in the Thar Desert is the Prosopis cineraria. (Also called khejri or the 'loong tree') It is extremely well suited to the hostile conditions of the desert and has multiple uses:  A lot of foliage is produced, which can be used to feed animals, especially in the drier winter.  The trees can provide good-quality firewood.  The wood is strong and can be used as a local building material.  Its pods provide animal fodder.  Crops can benefit from shade and moist growing conditions if interspersed between the trees.  This and other tree species are planted in blocks to help stabilise sand dunes.

Scientists at the Central Arid Zone Research Institute have developed a hardy breed of plum tree called the Ber tree. It produces large fruits and can survive in low rainfall conditions. The fruits can be sold and there is the potential to make a decent profit. Stabilising Sand Dunes

The sand dunes in the Thar Desert are very mobile. In some areas they form a threat to farmland, roads and waterways. Various approaches have been adopted to stabilise the sand dunes, including planting blocks of trees and establishing shelterbelts of fences and trees alongside roads and canals.