Watershed Management in the Northern Areas
Watershed Management in the Northern Areas
Bahadur Ali Khan
ABSTRACT
The whole of Northern Areas which is 27,000 Sqr. miles is watershed of River Indus. The total length of Indus River in Northern Area is about 300 miles. The aggregate length of main streams which run into river Indus in Northern Area is about 3000 miles. Here the winter is quite long, growing season is quite short. The temperature ranges from 10 degree to 112 degree F. The total annual precipitation is most of the valleys is 5-6 inches in a year. In some parts where coniferous forests exist, the rain fall may be upto 30 inches. The temperature and precipitation varies very much due to precipitous nature of high mountains and deep valleys. Thousands of miles of mountainous area is completely denuded of all vegetation with very few pockets of coniferous forests here and there. There is great dearth of rich pastures, one inch of lain may cause more erosion than 16 inches in the plains due to steep nature of the mountains. Numerous small flooded streams full of silt and mud join the river Indus, making the river Indus to transport huge amounts to the plains thus reducing life of Tarbela Dam and causing rise in the river bed. It has been estimated that 80% of water of river Indus comes in the form of flash floods, thus serves no useful purpose but damage. In 1968-69 a team of 14 watershed officers including seven foreign experts visited Northern Area Watershed. I asked a foreign expert to express his opinion about Watershed Management in Northern Areas, he looked at the bleak mountains and remarked: Nothing can be done, let the nature take its Couise. During the current year, the present Government which is giving top priority to the development of Northern Areas, sent a team of 180 scientists under an N.D.V. Programme to survey, identify and to suggest practical solutions to various problems. The people of Northern Areas are anxiously waiting for the report of the team which may bring revolutionary changes in Northern Areas.
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March 1975
Vol. 25, Iss. 1
