Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal Bardibas Municipality-4 Gauridanda, Mahottari Cell No.: +977 9854022997/974403659
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Raising of Seepage Water Technology A Case Study of Irrigation Channel Improvement in Ratu River System Gauribas-8 Rajabas, Mahottari District, Nepal 1. Building Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Ratu Watershed through Strengthening Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change Adaptation Measures Program in Mahottari & Dhanusha District,Nepal 2. Climate Advocacy Network Nepal : Strengthening Civil Society Organization and Community Response to Climate change Program in Mahottari & Dhanusha District,Nepal Ratu Watershed: Upstream of Mahottari District Bardibas Municipality # 6 , Rajabas Safe Narrative Progress Report st st (1 October – 31 December 2012) Project Partners Project Number: P323-004/2012 KH 2668 Final Project Progress Report - 2015 Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal Bardibas Municipality-4 Gauridanda, Mahottari Cell No.: +977 9854022997/974403659 Email: [email protected]/[email protected] Raising of Seepage Water Technology A Case Study of Irrigation Channel Improvement in Ratu River System Gauribas-8 Rajabas, Mahottari District, Nepal 1. Background Nepal is divided into five physiographic regions: Terai, Bhabar, Chure hills, Mid-mountain and high mountain. Among all the physiographic regions, the Terai, Bhabar and Chure exhibit the close relationship as upstream, midstream and downstream based on the River System Management (RSM) of Nepal. The proposed area of case study falls under the Chure region of Ratu River System in between the Mahottari and Dhanusa Districts, Nepal. To arrest the land degradation in the Chure, Bhabar and Terai Region, the Government and non-governmental organization of Nepal has been implementing many projects over the last few decades. These projects pioneered for watershed/river system management by developing technical packages based on different models. In fact, considerable variation in the concepts of implementation, the organizational structures and the degree of people's participation are found among the projects in the study. The project of the Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) has focused its effort on disaster risk management using the participatory approach. Since the CBDRR's participatory approach has been found note worthy in different reports as a best example of participatory for disaster risk reduction and profit maximization through the construction, utilization and management of irrigation channel through the raising of seepage water in Nepal, which was chosen for this case study. The economy of Nepalese people is based on agriculture but, the management of cultivated land and used rural technology are highly traditional. In fact, more than 70% of the total population depends on subsistence farming. The Nepalese have strived hard in order to overcome the harsh physiographic environment and raise crops successfully. Lack of irrigation facility and depletion of water resources through the seepage to sub surface is one of the outstanding examples of battling the severe impediments to farming. The population of Nepal including the study area is increasing day by day and in order to meet the increasing demands of the growing population for food, fodder, timber, and fuel-wood, marginal lands are being cultivated. Consequently, many forest and shrub lands have been degraded and also destructed through encroachment. Farm lands in the hills and mountains are classified as upland (bari) and lowland (khet). Whereas, upland farms are rain-fed and planted with crops like maize, mustard, wheat, millet and buck-wheat. Lowland areas are usually irrigated and planted with paddy and mustard. 2. Objectives of the study The main objectives of this study are: to find the historical background of cultivation in the Chure region to trap the depleted water resources in river system as irrigation facility to find the importance of irrigation channel for the economic development of farmer. to study and analyze people's participation in irrigation system improvement. to manage the local resources properly with the sustainably and collaboratively. - 1 - 3. Site description Ratu is a boarder river, located between the Mahottari and Dhanusa district. The Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal is implementing the Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) program under the cooperation of the Caritas Nepal/Germany in Ratu River System since 2013. All total, there are forty Village Development Committee (VDC) either falls the total or partial area in Ratu River System (RRS). The Gauribas VDC of the Mahottari district is located in the upstream of RRS towards the northern direction from the East-west highway. In this VDC, there is a small village namely Rajabas at the river terrace of Ratu River, which is the site of this case study. There are two river terraces in Rajbas; upper and lower whereas upper terraces have settlements and lower terrace falls under the cultivation as irrigated khet lands. The area of river terrace is flat, south facing and highly populated in between the Forest and RRS. Mulkulo is the irrigation facility of the lower terrace and command area of this channel is more than 60 hectare. The location of improved channel is shown in Figure 1, below. Figure-1: Location of Irrigation Channel Improvement with its Command Area in Ratu River System The climate of this village is sub-tropical and humid and marked by monsoon rainfall. The pre- monsoon period is generally hot and dry and sometimes there are hailstorms. The average annual rainfall is about 1500-2000 mm which occurs mainly from May to September. The mean peak temperature in July and August is 35.5°C and falls around 5°C in January. - 2 - The cropping patterns are greatly affected by soil, altitude, and irrigation. The main crops are paddy, maize, millet, and wheat in rain fed cultivation and Paddy, wheat, maize in lower terrace, but seasonal vegetables are also grown. Raising livestock is a major occupation as economic activity in the river system. In spite of the time involved in collecting fodder and looking after the livestock and other social costs, raising livestock is profitable. Livestock is also the main source of manure for improving soil fertility and draft power for ploughing. The total population of Rajabas village is 536, which belongs to the 270 female and 266 male within the 95 households of locality. But, the number of farmers as member of user group of the Irrigation System (Mulkulo) is 73 HH and dominated by ethnic groups and practicing religions in Hinduism and Buddhism. Due to economic, social and ecological pressures, the local people are forced to leave their villages for short and long-term employment. The lower castes often work as seasonally paid labors in the village. 4. Concept of Seepage Water Rising Background An irrigation channel is a waterway, often man-made or enhanced, built for the purpose of carrying water from a source such as a lake, river, or stream, to used for farming or landscaping. It can be dug into the ground and then filled with water, or an existing stream can be widened in a process called "canalization," and diverted as appropriate to provide maximum efficiency. The channel improvement for the rising of seepage water was constructed focusing to the irrigation purpose of lowland. At first, this concept was developed by the farmers themselves to fulfill the shortage of water to the purpose of irrigation in their farm. When they searched the water inside the river courses of Ratu River found to be high in the depth. Hence, there were no any perennial sources of water in the River and drying at the early of the winter season. But, the source of seepage water was found to be perennial in the sub surface even in the winter and dry season also. Therefore, the users Mulkulo in Rajabas village was trying to raise the water to the surface since long time. Water discharge in previous Rajabas is a river terrace with higher potentiality of crop production, but there was no any system of winter cultivation in the command area of Mulkulo even in lowland due to lack of irrigation facility. In another hand, the river flooding in monsoon season was common in the Ratu River. The major event of flood disaster in Ratu River were 2050, 2060 and 2061 whereas, these events were damaged a huge number of life and property of local people. After the flood event of 2061, Ratu River become very wide and the problem of yearly bed rising was started. Previously, there were many water sources around the Rajabas village even in the small torrents also. But, the remained source of water is only one at present. The remaining water sources are also arising at the end of August and drying soon after the winter. Water discharge at present They have enough water for the monsoon cultivation, but not enough water for the winter/dry cultivation before using latest technology for irrigation (seepage water raising system). Therefore, the farmers of the Mulkulo are arranging the individual turn for the irrigation. According to the farmers of Mulkulo, the main reason of water seepage in Ratu River are 1) deforestation with reduction of vegetation coverage in upstream, 2) sedimentation in river channel and its tributaries, 3) changing pattern of rainfall, 4) increasing ratio of runoff instead of infiltration to the sub surface etc. Based on the above circumstances, the technology of seepage water rising for the irrigation was developed by the farmer themselves through the - 3 - construction of deep channel in 2064. Later, the CDAFN a non-governmental organization (NGO) has developed a technology for the raising of seepage water through the irrigation channel improvement. Cropping pattern According to the water users group of the Mulkulo, the total volume of water in previous (before the seepage of water) and present (after the raise of seepage water) are similar, but the pattern of river flow (as surface and sub surface) became the differences. Previously, the crop cultivation was only one for the majority of lands and only few have two, but they are producing three crops after raising the seepage water at present.