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| Land degradation and socio-environmental consequences of hydropower development in the Punatshangchhu River Basin, Bhutan |
| Kausila Timsina* |
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The rapid pace of economic and social development in the eastern Himalayan regional economies is mainly driven by hydro capital generation. Conversely, hydropower development is often associated with environmental degradation and marginalisation of poor subsistence communities. Hydropower project development aggravates land degradation as the construction involves large tracts of land.
Bhutan aims to produce 10000 MW (megawatt) hydropower by 2020. The Punatshangchhu I and II hydropower projects in the Punatshangchhu river basin has altered the land use pattern of the area greatly. In the lands around the project site, like Uma Karthog, Rubisa, Pinsa villages, agricultural productivity has declined. This paper will examine hydropower construction-related impacts on agricultural land, the inter-related socioeconomic implications and the changes in composition and availability of water on the three villages.
Data will be acquired from field survey with a structured questionnaire in the villages of Uma Karthog, Rubisa and Pinsa. Soil samples will be collected from the tunnel, dam and muck deposition sites, from the agricultural affected land and non-affected land to see the change and variation of soil nutrient content. Soil sampling will be done through systematic sampling using grids or transects and zigzag method. Water samples will be collected from upstream, hydropower construction site and downstream and the water and soil samples will be tested.
The study will suggest mitigation measures to be taken for reducing land degradation and effects on water which can be useful in taking mitigation measures in other projects that are aligned by 2020. The study will also help Bhutan in planning developmental activities which ensure sustainable economic growth and address associated environmental challenges.
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Ms Kausila Timsina is a doctoral candidate at
the Sikkim University, East Sikkim Gangtok, India.
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