Presentation from the CEPF Evaluation Meeting on 4th July 2013
The work done on the Mainstreaming… project was presented to CEPF partners ‘ group at Kotagiri on 4th July 2013. The presentation file can be accessed from here. We received valuable feedback including a suggestion to look at conversion of landuse to grasslands category as it would have greater impact on hydrological flows. We intend to add this as a scenario option in the model and its results shortly.
Poster on the Simulation Model and Inferences
We have published a poster that summarises the details of the simulation model developed as part of the ‘Mainstreaming conservation in district public policy’ project. This poster can be used by anyone interested in advocating a change in the way water resource use and management is being approached at policy and implementation levels. As with all other material produced in this context, the poster is also licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which means that you can reproduce, modify and/or use the material in any way as long as you acknowledge Keystone Foundation as the author. Please leave any
Shapefiles for Coonoor landuse layer
The Landuse of Coonoor region was derived from visual interpretation of Google Earth imagery and ground truthing. The imagery in Google Earth is from January 2012. We are not claiming accuracy of these layers as we are not experienced at remote sensing analysis. We have attempted this to get a general picture of the land use of the region. Please run your own checks before you use it. If you notice any errors, we would appreciate your feedback on the same in the comments section of this website.
Model files and presentation at UPASI, Coonoor on 11th June 2013
At 11 AM on 11th June, at UPASI in Coonoor a meeting is being held in which representatives from District Administration and various departments, prominent academic and research institutions etc. are expected to participate. The District Collector, The Nilgiris District would be the chief guest. The presentation to be made at the meeting is available here. The current version of the simulation model (work in progress) is available here for reference. The model file is developed in Matlab but can be run in Freemat as well. More documentation on the model and how to use it would be added shortly.
Mainstreaming Conservation in District Public Policy
The project proposes to influence existing policies pertaining to, – Use of pesticides – Municipal sewage and waste disposal – Land use change, including planting of exotic species Downstream impacts on livelihoods and ecology: The Coonoor river will be taken up a case study. This will measure and prove need for conservation action and protection of upstream shola-grasslands and wetlands/swamps landscapes for downstream continuity of water resources for people and wild life and nature. Expected results will be highlighting using sample upstream – downstream landscapes / villages ecological benefits and primary services such as drinking water. The project will include
The Context
The Nilgiris have seen a drastic change in land use pattern over the last century or so with shola forests and grasslands being replaced by monoculture plantations, habitations, farmlands etc. There is also an ever increasing population settled locally as well as a significant floating population that visits the Nilgiris for tourism. The pressure of all these factors affects the flow of water from the Nilgiris negatively. There has been some research in the past that has looked into these effects. 1. A study by Meher-Homji (1984) in the Nilgiris show a diminishing trend for the number of rainy days,
