State of Environment and Natural Resources 2006 - …ces.iisc.ernet.in/ravi/vnrm/pdf/Sirsimakk.pdfState of Environment and Natural Resources 2006 C M Shastri, Deepak M Shetti, G N

State of Environment and Na tural Resources 2006

C M Shastri, Deepak M Shetti, G N Hegde, G T Hegde,

Prabhakar R Bhat, S G Patgar, N H Ravindranath

Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka

Sirsimakki Village Ecosystem

Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560012

India Canada Environment FacilityNew Delhi 110066

Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012CES

State of Environment and

Natural Resources 2006



North Sahyadris and Western Karnataka Plateau

Centre for Sustainable Technologies,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012

Sirsimakki Village Ecosystem; State of Environment and Natural Resources 2006

Centre for Ecological Sciences,

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012

Published by

Centre for Sustainable TechnologiesIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012Karnataka, India.

Year of publication

2007

Team–CES

C M Shastri, Deepak M Shetti, G N Hegde, G T Hegde,Prabhakar R Bhat, S G Patgar

Team–CST

Deepa Kumar, Girish A C, Hameedulla Khan, Mythri D J, Sannadurgappa S D

Coordinated by

N H Ravindranath, Prabhakar R Bhat, Indu K Murthy, Rakesh Tiwari

Supported by


Collaborating Institutions

Dr. Sandhya Rao, INRM Consultants Pvt. Ltd., New DelhiProf. K Kameshwar Rao, Andhra University, VisakhapatnamDr. Ramakrishna Parama, University of Agricultural Sciences, BangaloreDr. P Pramod, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, CoimbatoreDr. Shailaja Ravindranath, Centre for Environment Education South, Bangalore

Contact

N H RavindranathCentre for Sustainable TechnologiesIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012Karnataka, [email protected]

Acknowledgement

The invaluable support provided by the people of Sirsimakki is deeply appreciated. The cooperation of GramPanchayat of Yadalli, Revenue Department, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department and ForestDepartment of Sirsi is deeply acknowledged. We would also like to acknowledge the technical support extendedby Mr. Mariappa Raju and Mr. K R Thiruppathi. We thank Y Joshi for editing the draft report andMr. Rozario M Furtado for ably assisting us during field work.

Report available online: URL: http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/ravi/vnrm/Home.html

Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................1

2. Demography and Rainfall ...........................................................................4

3. Land ................................................................................................................6

4. Forests ............................................................................................................11

5. Livestock ....................................................................................................... 13

6. Water ............................................................................................................15

7. Soil ................................................................................................................. 17

8. Birds, Large Mammals and Fish Resources ..............................................18

9. Energy and Sanitation ................................................................................20

10. Summary ....................................................................................................... 22

1

1. Introduction

Conservation and sustainable

management of natural resources

are fundamental to sustainable food

production, water supply and livelihoods.

Natural resources such as land,

biodiversity, water, livestock and soil are

being continuously exploited by human

societies often leading to the

degradation of these resources. Village

ecosystems are complex systems

with inter-linkages between natural

resources as well as livelihoods of

communities.

The state of environment and natural

resource report of a village focuses on

major natural resources, its status and

trends over the years and also the

inter-linkages. With this understanding,

the report highlights key environmental

issues with implications for resource,

livelihoods and sustainability. To

understand the status and trends,

indicators were identified and an

inventory of the natural resources

carried out. Agro-ecological zone (AEZ)

approach has been adopted in selecting

the village, taking into consideration the

key features of the selected AEZ and the

representativeness of the village. This

facilitates understanding of the strata of

the sub-AEZ in which the village is

located. This report serves as a model

and has been generated adopting the

indicators and methods developed by

the Indian Institute of Science for

monitoring natural resources.

The report presents general information

of the village in the initial section.

Subsequent sections systematically

address the status of various resources,

and the final section concludes with a

synthesis of the findings which identifies

inter-linkages of various resources and

environmental issues.

1.1. Utility of a State of theEnvironment Report

This state of environment and natural

resource report is of importance to:

� Policy makers at regional, state and

national level to design strategies

and policies to conserve natural

resources.

� District / block / panchayat level

planners and decision makers.

� Development departments such as

forests, agriculture, pasture

development, water resource,

environment etc., to promote

sustainable practices.

� Educational institutions to create

awareness.

1.2. Agro-Ecological ZoneApproach

India is a large country with diverse

temperature, rainfall, soil, vegetation

type and socio-economic conditions.

India has been categorized into 20

AEZs based on rainfall, moisture and

temperature regimes, soil type, land

form, etc.

AEZ categorization is based on the

Length of the Growing Period (LGP),

which is derived from climate, soil and

topography data with water balance

model and knowledge of the crop

requirements.

AEZ approach is globally adopted by FAO

for all forest, cropland and other land

resource related planning activities. The

AEZ and village ecosystem approach has

been adopted in this study due to the

following reasons:

� Approach widely used by the

Planning Commission, Agriculture

2

Ministry, National Bureau for Soil

Survey and Land-use Planning,

Agricultural universities, etc.

� Functional interdependence among

the natural resources (forests,

watersheds, grasslands, water

bodies, livestock, cropland, soil) at

village environment level in each

AEZ.

� Decision-making on use and

management of natural resources

such as forests, biodiversity, grazing

lands and irrigation water occurs at

village environment level.

� Participatory institutions such as

water sanghas, forest protection

committees, biodiversity

management committees, etc., are

organized and function at village

level.

� AEZ does not recognize the

administrative boundaries; E.g.,

Western Ghat evergreen forests

occur in several states, rivers pass

through several states.

� The current study has been taken up

in Sirsimakki village of Uttara

Kannada district.

1.3. Village Location

Sirsimakki village (14°34'6'' - 14°35'58'' N

and 74° 47' 4'' to 74° 48' 57'' E) is about 50

km from the western coast; 540–600 m

above the mean sea level and a part of

the hilly regions of the Western Ghats. It

falls in Uttara Kannada district of

Karnataka (Figure 1). The village is 8 km

from Sirsi, which is the nearest town. The

village consists of four hamlets, namely

Sirsimakki, Halasnalli, Sahasralli and

Melina Tumbemane spread over 384

hectares of undulating land.

The village falls in the sub AEZ 6.4

characterized as North Sahyadris and

Western Karnataka Plateau with

150–180 days of LGP. The soil is shallow

and medium loamy and clayey black

(deep clayey black soils as inclusion).

Figure 1: Location of Sirsimakki

KARNATAKA

UTTARA KANNADA

SIRSIMAKKI

1.4. Reason for SelectingSirsimakki

Sirsimakki was selected for the study

because of following reasons:

� Sirsimakki is a typical village of a hilly

region in Western Ghats having

characteristic land-use system with

multiple cropping pattern, high

rainfall and rich natural forests.

� The village represents stabilized

land-use and cropping patterns,

intensive use of natural resources

and changes in livestock

composition over the years.

� Past information on some aspects of

natural resources for one of the

hamlets of the village was available.

� Indian Institute of Science field

station is located about 12 km from

3

� Secondary records for data on

rainfall, population, land-use pattern

and livestock.

� Land survey to map different

land-use systems as well as estimate

area to enable comparison with past

data and to understand changes in

land-use pattern.

� Household survey to obtain

information on cropping pattern,

water sources, fuelwood

catchment area, and consumption

pattern.

� Field measurements for estimating

fuelwood and water consumption

and assessment of fish resource and

diversity.

� Vegetation survey to estimate

the species composition and

biomass of different forest types.

� Laboratory measurements to assess

the quality of drinking water sources

and the status of soil organic carbon.

� Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

to gather detailed and qualitative

descriptions of village resources,

patterns of use, trends and changes

in the status of resources over the

years.

1.7. Monitoring Period

The study was conducted during

October 2006 to April 2007, which is

referred to as the “current” period in

the report. The land cover and cropping

details described refer to the main

cropping season, i.e. kharif (June to

November). Since most of the cultivated

area is under perennial crops the

cropping details do not vary significantly

during any particular year.

the village and the staff have

good rapport with the village

communities.

� There is a scope to institutionalize

and conduct long-term monitoring

of natural resources due to the

presence of cooperative village

community, NGOs such as Sahyadri

Parisara Vardhini, Technonology

Demonstration Centre, Prakruthi,

and Indian Institute of Science Field

Station.

1.5. Natural ResourcesMonitored

The resources monitored in Sirsimakki

village ecosystem are:

� Demography: Population, land

holding and occupation pattern.

� Climate: Rainfall.

� Land : Cropland, grazing land, forest

lands and agro-forestry.

� Water bodies: Streams, open wells,

borewells.

� Soil: Soil organic carbon status.

� Livestock: Population, breeds,

grazing pattern and dung

production.

� Wildlife: Birds and large mammals.

� Fish resources: Diversity, production

and consumption pattern.

� Settlements and Infrastructure:

Sanitation, electrification status

housing areas and roads.

1.6. Methods Adopted

Several studies were conducted using

different methods to obtain information

on all major components of the natural

resources of the village. They include:

4

2. Demography and Rainfall

2.1. Population

2.1.1. Current

• 158 households account for a total

population of 699 with 255 male, 284

female and 160 children. The

average household size is 4.4.

• Population density is 189 per square

kilometre of land area.

2.1.2. Trends

• Number of households has almost

doubled since 1971 and is currently

158.

• There is 10% decrease in population

during the same period from 780 to

699 currently (Figure 2).

2.1.3. Factors Contributing

• Fragmentations within resident

families and establishment of a new

settlement of landless families have

resulted in increase in the number

of households.

Figure 2: Trends in population

Figure 3: Current land holding

• Increased awareness among

communities, reduced family size

and out migration of local

population to some extent.

2.2. Occupation andLand Holding Pattern

2.2.1. Current Status

• Farming has been the traditional

and main occupation of the village

communities with horticulture and

agriculture practiced on lands

situated in the valley.

• About 100 households with 67% of

total population of the village own

cultivable lands and practice

mainly horticulture and agriculture.

• About 38% of the population are

landless and depend on agricultural

labour and other occupations.

• 7% of the households are marginal

farmers1, 23% small farmers and 32%

of them large farmers (Figure 3).

1 In Uttara Kannada district, farmers are categorised as marginal, small and large on the basis of holding of dry

lands that are called as khushki lands. Paddy lands and areca gardens are considered as irrigated lands.

Farmers with less than 2.5 acres of dry lands are categorised as marginal farmers, those with greater then 2.5

acres and less than 5 acres are small farmers and large farmers are those with more than 5 acres of dry lands.

5

Figure 4: Distribution of rainfall in 2005

• Nearly 86% of annual rainfall occurs

from June to September, July being

the peak month.

• The average annual rainfall of Uttara

Kannada district is 2700 mm and that

of Sirsi taluk is 2500 mm.

• Nearest rain gauge station to the

village is situated in Sirsi which has a

mean annual rainfall of 2130 mm.

• The rainfall recorded during 2005

was 2609 which is 22% more than the

district average, highest in the past

seven years.

2.3.2. Trends in Rainfall

• Average annual rainfall over the

years has been normal without any

major fluctuation (Figure 5).

• Number of actual rainy days has

come down over the years.

2.3.3. Implications

• Normal rainfall has greatly helped

farming activities.

• Long rainy season has resulted in

ground water recharge and regular

water supply almost throughout the

year.

Figure 5: Trends in annual rainfall

• Main occupations of men are

farming (58%), agriculture labour

(33%), and others are engaged in

carpentry, barber, construction

labour and other business.

• People are also engaged in

secondary occupations such as

beekeeping and animal husbandry

(7%).

• Animal husbandry is an important

subsidiary occupation with 53% of

households practicing it.

2.3. Rainfall

2.3.1. Current Rainfall Pattern

• Most of rainfall occurs during

southwest monsoon with

july being the peak (Figure 4).

6

3. Land

3.1. Land Use

Sirsimakki vil lage is situated at an

altitude of 540-600 m above mean sea

level with an undulating topography. It

is surrounded by villages Heepanalli in

the north, Mundgesara and Karsulli in the

east, Hanumanti on the west and Urtota

and Amblihonda on the south. The

village supports rich forests and fertile

agricultural lands. Total geographical

area of the village is 384 ha. Major

land-use features are forest, croplands,

settlement, wasteland, grazing land,

revenue land and water bodies

including stream and tanks (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Current land use

7

3.1.1. Current Land Use

• About 285 ha of forest occupy 74%

of total land cover of the village.

• About 72 ha cropland accounts for

19%.

• Khushki lands which are non-arable

private lands account for about 4%.

• Settlements, wasteland, grazing

and revenue lands together

account for the rest 3%.

3.1.2. Trends in Land-Use

• There have been no major changes

in the land-use of the village and is

more or less stable over the past

three decades (Figure 7).

• Area under crops and settlement

has marginally increased.

• About 2% (4 ha) of forest land was

converted to cropland.

• About 36 ha of forest plantation was

raised during 1990 on reserve

forest and betta forest (refer

Section 4.3).


• Awareness among the communities

to sustain the forest resource.

• Management practices adopted for

maintaining betta lands.

Figure 7: Trends in land-use

• Assured returns from areca.

• Stringent forest regulations.

3.2. Grazing Land


• Since, village does not have any

dedicated grazing land, forest lands

serve as grazing lands.

• About 50% of total forest lands are

available to livestock for grazing

throughout the year.

• About 25% of forest lands are

available for grazing between

December and June since these

areas would be closed for grazing

to promote grass production during

the months of July to November, to

promote grass growth.

• About 5 ha (30%) of paddy lands in

Sirsimakki and Sahasralli hamlets are

used for grazing after the harvest of

kharif paddy till the onset of

monsoon.

3.2.2. Trends

• Grazing pressure decreased in

recent years due to increased stall

feeding.

• Farmers prefer stall feeding of

crossbred cows and in some cases

are forced to stall feed even

indigenous cows due to

degradation of grazing lands.

8

3.2.3. Implications

• Decreased grazing pressure in

recent years provides scope for

improvement and regeneration of

grazing lands or forest lands.

3.3. Cropland

3.3.1. Current Cropping Pattern

• Farmers grow both perennial and

seasonal crops in cultivated lands

situated in the valley.

• Major crops include areca on about

45 ha (62%) and 15 ha paddy (21%).

• Banana, pepper, cardamom and

vanilla are grown along with areca

as intercrops.

• Coconut (6%), cashew (5%), mango,

and banana (2%) are other crops on

dry lands (Figure 8).

3.3.2. Trends

• There is a marginal increase in

cropland area with 4 ha of forest

lands converted into cropland

mainly banana, coconut, and areca

in the past 15 years.

• About 15% of the paddy lands

(2.3 ha) have been converted

into areca garden in the past 20

years.

• 7 ha of khushki land have been

converted into croplands

with crops such as coconut and

cashew.

Figure 8: Major crops

• Vanilla, a cash crop has become

popular since 2000 and generally is

grown in areca garden as a mixed

crop.

• Hybrid variety of banana – G9 is

being grown in betta forests lands

with irrigation (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Changes in cropping pattern

Areca

9


• Since, paddy crop is less economical

and its cultivation is labour

intensive, farmers have converted

paddy land into areca garden.

3.3.4. Implications

• Area under commercial crop like

areca has increased by 7%.

• Increase in area under areca has

lead to increased pressure on forests

for green manure or plant resources

since areca cultivation requires lot

of organic inputs.

3.4. Crop Varieties


• Traditional crop varieties are more

common.

• Areca variety cultivated currently

is only traditional or local variety.

• In paddy, both traditional (in 70% of

houesholds) and high yielding

varieties are cultivated.

• Traditional varieties of banana,

cardamom and coconut are grown.

• Paniyur, high yielding variety of

pepper is common.

• High yielding variety of paddy - Jaya,

is also grown along with traditional

varieties like hegge, halaga,

aloorsanna, mysoorsanna.

• New banana variety G9 (GRANDE 9)

is grown on an area of 2 ha apart

from traditional varieties.


• Hybrid banana crop has been

introduced because of early

maturity and better yield.

• Paniyur variety of pepper is grown

for its better yield, resistance to

diseases, and also ease of

management.

3.4.3. Implications

• G-9 banana and paniyur pepper

have given better yield and

economic returns.

• However, crop area under some

traditional varieties of paddy

(Halaga, Hegge), pepper like

mallisara, is reduced.

3.5. Manure and FertilizerApplication


• People use mainly farm yard manure

(FYM) for their croplands.

• Only 13% of land holding households

use inorganic fertilizer for areca,

paddy and banana.

3.6. Pests, Diseases andPesticide Application


• Areca: Koleroga, a fungal disease

has been reported by 100% of the

areca cultivating households.

° Bordeaux mixture is applied at

the rate of 15 kg/ha.

• Paddy: Blast (benkiroga) and neck

blast (bilikole) are the common

diseases, reported by all households

that are cultivating paddy.

° Enosan is applied at the rate of

2.5 litre/ha to control blast.

• Coconut: All households reported

mites (Aceria guerreronis)

infestation or nusiroga.

• Banana: Bunchy top of banana was

reported by 100% of the banana

cultivating households.

3.6.2. Implications

• Because of koleroga disease,

farmers sometimes incur heavy loss

in yield up to 25% to 40%.

10

3.7. Crop Yields

3.7.1. Trends in Crop Yields

• Areca: 25% of households reported

decrease in yield where as others

responded that there is no change

over the past 5 years.

• Paddy: About 100% households

cultivating paddy reported that

there was no change in the yield of

paddy over the past 5 years.

• Banana: About 66% banana

cultivating households reported

decrease in yield and others

reported no change over the past 5

years.


• Decrease in yield of areca was

mainly due to koleroga disease.

• Farmers experienced loss in yield of

banana due to bunchy top disease.

• Other important diseases and pests

that have affected crop yields are

wilt in pepper, mites infestation in

coconut.

3.7.3. Implications

• Increased application of pesticides

leading to soil degradation.

• Loss in yield of banana and other

crops has caused economic loss.

Table 1: Agro-forestry tree composition

Species Trees/ha Total

number

Cocos nucifera 7 298

Artocarpus integrifolia 5 246

Mangifera indica 5 234

Holigarna arnottiana 3 132

Caryota urens 3 129

Vateria indica 2 76

Aporosa lindleyana 1 67

Citrus reticulata 1 59

Myristica fragrans 1 47

Lonicera malabaricum 1 35

Others (121species) 17 754

3.8. Agro-forestry


• Agro-forestry is practiced in the

form of bund planting along areca

garden and paddy field on an area

of about 72 ha.

• It is dominated by economically

important species like coconut, jack

fruit, mango and nutmeg. Also, there

are wild or forest trees species such

as Holigarna arnottiana, Caryota

urens and Vateria indica.

• Major products are nuts, and fruits.

Other important uses of these

species are protection to the

cultivated lands, shade and soil

protection.

11

4. Forests

Sirsimakki village consists of natural

forests as well as forest plantations. The

village consists of three categories of

natural forests namely reserve forests,

minor forests and protected forests.

These natural forests are of tropical semi

evergreen type.

4.1. Reserve Forests


• Forests are under the control and

management of Karnataka Forest

Department.

• The area under reserve forest is 7 ha.

• Access to forest produce by the

farmers is restricted.

• Any kind of non-forestry activities in

these forests is banned.

• The major species include Acacia

auriculiformis, Xantolis tomentosa,

Holigarna arnottiana and Casuarina

equisetifolia, which totally account

for 87% of the total.

4.1.2. Trends

• Only a third of the area (3 ha) support

natural vegetation.

• The remaining area has been partly

encroached by farmers and in the

rest 5 ha acacia, plantations have

been raised by the Forest

Department.

4.2. Minor Forests


• Minor forests are under the

ownership and control of the Forest

Department but communities have

access rights.

• People collect dry, dead and fallen

forest produce like fuelwood, dry

leaves, grass, non-timber forest

products (NTFPs), etc.

• Grazing is allowed on these lands.

• Currently, an area of 0.73 ha minor

forest is present in the village.

4.3. Soppinabetta

Betta or soppinabetta (soppina means

leaves and betta means an area or

hil lock with vegetation in local

language) is the local name of the

protected forest adopted in the Indian

Forest Act. The Betta forests are

assigned to farmers for the purpose of

supplying organic matter in the form of

green and dry leaves to areca gardens.

This special privilege was extended to

areca farmers by the British during 1867

with some regulations facilitating

optimal and sustainable use of these

forests. The farmers have the privilege

of collecting green leaves for the

purpose of mulch, fuelwood, grass, NTFPs,

small timber for their bonafide use.

About 6-9 ha of betta lands were

assigned per hectare of areca garden.

Any type of commercial level extraction

is banned in these forests.


• Total extent of betta forests in

Sirsimakki is 278 ha, constituting

about 95% of the total forest lands

in the village.

• Forests are continuous and are

spread across 140 survey numbers

of the village.

• A network of about 7 km long road

running through the forest divides

the forest into eight fragments.

12

• The major species include Aporosa

lindleyana, Terminalia tomentosa,

Careya arborea and Terminalia

paniculata, which totally account

for 64% of the total (Table 2).

4.3.2. Trends

• About 36 ha of forest plantation

dominated by Acacia auriculiformis

were raised on betta lands between

1988-1990.

Table 2: Major tree species in reserve forest and soppinabetta

Reserve forest Soppinabetta

Trees/ha Percent Trees/ha Percent

Acacia auriculiformis 396 73 Aporosa lindleyana 122 28

Xantolis tomentosa 32 6 Terminalia tomentosa 62 15

Holigarna arnottiana 26 5 Careya arborea 47 11

Casuarina equisetifolia 14 3 Terminalia paniculata 41 10

Aporosa lindleyana 8 1 Eugenia jambolana 31 7

Nothopegia colebrookiana 6 1 Bassia latifolia 20 5

Lagerstroemia lanceolata 6 1 Lophopetalum wightianum 14 3

Flacourtia montana 6 1 Eugenia umbellata 12 3

Careya arborea 4 1 Buchanania lanzan 12 3

Mimusops elengi 4 1 Terminalia chebula 9 2

Others (17 species) 38 7 Others (32 species) 59 14

Total 100 Total 100

13

5. Livestock

5.1. Livestock Population

5.1.1. Current Population

• Of the total 158 households, 53%

households mostly landowners

maintain livestock.

• Total livestock population is 278 with

crossbred 100, indigenous cows 83,

buffaloes 61 and bullocks 16

(Figure 10).

Figure 10: Current livestock population

• The purpose of livestock rearing in

the village include milk, dung and

draught purposes.

5.1.2. Trends

• Crossbred cows were introduced in

1983.

• Population of livestock in 2006 has

increased slightly when compared

with the population of 1986

(Figure 11).

Figure 11: Trends in livestock population

• However, there has been a 33%

reduction in the number of

indigenous cows as well as bullocks.

• The number of crossbred cows has

almost doubled since 1986.


• Crossbred cows has replaced

indigenous cow population since

people prefer crossbred cows for

more milk production.

• Assured market through a milk

collection unit in the village.

• Stall feeding system and also

breeding programme of the

government have promoted shift to

crossbred animals.

• Reduction in the draught animal

population is mainly due to less

labour intensive crop or the shift

from paddy to areca.

5.1.4. Implications

• Increase in number of crossbred

animals has led to intensive

livestock management practices

such as stall feeding of animals.

• Increased dependency on dry

fodder and feeds purchased from

the market.

• Reduced pressure on grazing and

forest lands.

14

• Increase in number of crossbred

animals and decrease in indigenous

livestock may lead to loss of

local breeds and hence the

biodiversity.

5.2. Grazing Practice


• Some livestock are stall-fed, some

are sent out for grazing and some

are subjected to both.

• Livestock are grazed mainly in forest

and paddy lands.

• About 56, 30 and 30% of crossbred

animals, buffaloes and bullock,

respectively are stall-fed.

• Only 25% of livestock are let out for

grazing throughout the year

(Figure 12).

• Grazing density is about 1.1 animal

per ha of available grazing area.

5.2.2. Trends

• In general, the practice of open

grazing is becoming less primarily

due to degradation of grazing lands

and decreased grass production.

5.2.3. Implication

• Change in grazing practice has lead

to reduced grazing pressure on forest

land.

• Reduced grazing pressure would

enhance regeneration of forests.

• However, it would put increased

pressure on the farmers’ economy.

5.3. Dung Production

• With a production of 19 kg of dung

per day, crossbred cows account

for 58% of total dung production.

• 54 (34%) households use dung for

biogas production.

• 94% of families owning livestock use

dung as manure (Table 3).Figure 12: Grazing practice of livestock

Table 3: Average dung production (fresh)(kg/day)

Animal type Average dung Total for

production/ a day

animal in kg in kg

Indigenous cow 7 581

Crossbred cow 19 1900

Bullock 6 96

Buffalo 11 671

Total 3023

15

6. Water

6.1. Irrigation Water

6.1.1. Current Irrigation Sources

• Open wells (44%), stream (34%), pond

(11%), borewell (3%) and others

(7%) are the sources of irrigation

water.

• 31 households use irrigation systems.

• People use flow (25%) or drip (12%)

or jet (63%) irrigation methods.

6.1.2. Trends

• Number of irrigation units has

increased in the last 5-10 years.

6.2. Drinking Water Sources


• Open wells are the main source of

water for drinking as well as for

domestic usage.

• 53% households own open wells and

use water from these wells for

drinking.

• Public water supply system with

borewells as its water source meets

the demand of drinking water of 43%

of households.

6.3. Drinking Water Quality

6.3.1. Current

• In all the samples, pH is low and does

not conform with the BIS standards

(Table 4).

• Higher concentration of iron was

found in waters from hand pumps.


• Turbidity and pH can be attributed

to the geological sources and salts.

• Turbidity can also be due to

dissolved calcium, magnesium or

iron, attributable to geological

sources.

6.3.3. Implications

• Iron imparts unpleasant odour and

colour to water, rendering the water

less acceptable for drinking and

domestic usage.

Table 4: Drinking water quality

Parameters Desirable Permissible Taps Open wells Hand pumps

limit* limit*

pH 6.5-8.5 - 6.38 5.39 5.44

Total dissolved solids# 500 2000 81.67 104.76 75.00

Chloride# 250 1000 5.91 12.22 3.54

Sulphate# 200 400 16.93 25.85 10.00

Total hardness as CaCO3

# 300 600 43.67 30.14 20.00

Total Alkalinity as CaCO3

# 200 600 71.25 28.29 25.00

Iron# 0.3 1 1.71 0.08 12.28

Nitrate# 45 100 0.12 3.48 12.68

Fluoride# 1.9 1.5 0.05 0.12 0.04

#mg/L

*Bureau of Indian Standards

16

6.4. Microbial Load

• About 14% of the open well samples

and hand pumps conformed to

standards and none of the tap

water samples met the standards.

• 38% of open well samples and 67%

of the tap samples had total coliform

count ranging from 11 to 100.

• 14%, 3% and 7% of open well samples

had total coliform count ranging

from 201 to 300, 301 to 400 and 400

to 500 respectively. None of the tap

water samples fell under this range

of total coliform count.

• 24% of the samples had total MPN

count greater than 500.

• About 33% of the tap water samples

had total coliform load ranging

from 301 to 400.


• As most of the sampled sources were

open wells, the contamination may

be due to improper lining (insulation)

and presence of manure pits close

to water sources.

• The presence of coliforms can also

be due to contamination by birds,

animals and rotten leaves.

6.4.2. Implications

• If the coliforms are pathogenic,

they are expected to cause

diseases.

17

7. Soil

7.1. Soil Quality


• Soils are lateritic, red brown in colour

and acidic in nature with pH 4.5 to 6.

• The organic carbon content in these

less disturbed soils is very high.

• In soils of paddy land the organic

carbon content was high (1.34%)

compared to soils collected from

low rainfall areas showing high

fertility of soils.

Table 5: Organic carbon status in differentland-use systems

Land category % organic carbon

Areca garden 1.75

Coconut garden 1.8

Paddy 1.34

Betta 2.25

Betta plantation 2.25

• In plantation soils, organic carbon

ranges from 1.15% to 1.8% which is

very high, indicating high fertility of

soils.

• In betta lands, OC is 2.5% at shallow

depth (0-15 cm) and at lower depth

(15-30 cms) 0.75-1.0%.


• Large quantity of organic manure

(FYM) is used for plantation

croplands and paddy fields.

• Betta lands support lot of trees,

shrubs and herbs from which organic

matter get mixed in soils.

7.1.3. Implications

• Shallow depth soils are very fertile

due to accumulation of leaf litter

and are undisturbed.

18

8. Birds, Large Mammals and Fish Resources

• The village has a rich variety of wild

fauna especially birds.

• The key habitats for fauna include

forests, betta (grazing lands), wet

lands (tanks, stream) and croplands,

• Birds, which are mainly terrestrial

birds are found in all habitats

distributed throughout the village.

• Some habitat specialist birds such

as hornbills, woodpeckers are also

found in the village.

8.1. Large Mammals

• Wild boars, mongoose, and hares are

occasionally hunted for meat.

8.1.1. Trends

• There is no major change in the

population of wild fauna over the

years.

• According to people’s perception,

there is marginal increase in the

population of wild boars and

monkeys in the recent past .

• Barking deer, varanus and hare have

decreased over the years.

• Population of civets, squirrels,

mongoose, foxes and bats has

remained stable (Table 6).

8.1.2. Implications

• Wild boars and monkey have

become pests to crops such as

paddy, sugarcane, banana and

young coconut, causing loss in the

yields (Table 7).

Table 7: Major vertebrate pests

Pests Crop affected

Wild boar Paddy, sugarcane,

young coconut trees,

young areca trees,

banana plantations

Hanuman langur Cardamom plants

and fruits, banana,

areca nuts

Bonnet Macaque Cardamom plants

and fruits, banana,

areca nuts

Fox Sugarcane

Rat Paddy crop and

Paddy/rice in houses

Peafowl Paddy

Table 6: Changes in population of birds and mammal species

Animals / birds Trend Reason

Vulture Decreased Scarcity of food

House sparrow Decreased Pesticides used in the houses (Domestic

pollution), habitat loss

Wild boar Increased Protection under Wildlife Protection Act

Monkeys Increased Protection under Wildlife Protection Act

8.2. Birds

8.2.1. Trends

• Number of vultures and house

sparrow has decreased.

19

8.3. Fish resource

• Fishing is carried out in tanks and

stream.

• No professional fishing is carried out

in Sirsimakki.

• About 10 major fish species have

been recorded.

• The dominant fish species are Dania

eaquipinnatus, Garrha gotla

stenorhynchus, Puntius sophore and

Rasbora daniconius.

• Currently, 25% of households

consume fish.

8.3.1. Trends

• Fish catch has come down over the

years.

• There is 15% increase in the fish

consuming families.

8.3.2. Factors contributing

• Sedimentation in the tanks lowers

the depth of the water which leads

to stunted growth of fish, and

eventually decreases yield.

Table 8: Major birds sighted

Ashy wren warbler

Barn owl

Black drongo

Blue jay

Common peafowl

Crimson breasted barbet

Crow-Pheasant

Egrets

Golden oriole

Grey wagtail

Hoopoe

Indian golden backed woodpecker

Indian myna

Jungle crow

Koel

Large grey babbler

Lorikeet

Magpie robin

Malbar grey hornbill

Malbar pied hornbill

Red vented bulbul

Red wattled lapwing

Red whiskered bulbul

Rockettailed drongo

Rose ringed parakeet

Rufous backed shrike

Small green barbet

Small green bee-eater

Small minivet

Spotted dove

Tailor bird

Whit breasted water hen

White breasted kingfisher

Yellow wagtail

20

9. Energy and Sanitation

9.1. Energy Sources


• Firewood is the main source of

energy for about 82% of the

households.

• The main energy requirements are

for household cooking, processing

of horticultural and agricultural

produce.

• Biogas is an important alternate

source of cooking energy with 34%

of the households using it mainly for

cooking. This can be linked to dung

section.

• In addition, 7 (4%) households use

LPG for cooking.

• There are 39 (24%) households

where fuel efficient improved

(ASTRA) stoves are used for

cooking.

• 25-50% fuel saving with improved

stoves has been reported by

people.

• People use crop residue also as fuel.

• About 79% households are

electrified and use it as the main

source of lighting.

• Among them 72% use various

electrical appliances.

9.1.2. Trend

• Number of fuel efficient stoves and

alternate source of energy such as

biogas units and LPG have

increased since last two decades by

almost100%.

9.1.3. Implication

• ASTRA stoves, biogas units and LPG

have reduced pressure on forests for

firewood since forests are the main

source of firewood.

9.2. Sanitation


• Only 52% households have toilets in

their house and 100% of them use

regularly.

• 70% of these toilets are septic tanks

and remaining is pit type.

• Only 50% households have taps in

toilets.

• All households with cattle have

separate cattle shed.

9.2.2. Implication

• 48% of households do not have

toilets in their houses and continue

to defecate in open and hence

pose the risks of affecting the health

of the communities.

21

Fuelwood Conservation - Effect of ImprovedStoves and Biogas PlantsSirsimakki is a biomass-based village. People use a large quantity of biomass collected

mainly from the forests as fuel for various purposes such as cooking, bathwater heating,

processing agriculture products such as cardamom and areca, and drying clothes

during monsoon. About 55% of the total fuelwood consumed is for cooking purposes.

People have been using traditional stoves of different types for biomass combustion.

Traditional stoves have been found to be less efficient with only about 12-15% of the

total heat generated being utilized for heating and rest being wasted. Increase in

population has lead to increased pressure on forest for biomass resources. On an average

about 2 to 2.25 kg of fuelwood is used per person daily.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore introduced fuel-efficient ASTRA stoves in Sirsimakki

during 1983. Since then 39 stoves have been installed in the village. People have

reported overall efficiency of 25-50% with these stoves.

The annual biomass consumption, which was 534 tonnes during 1980, has now reduced

to 166 tonnes, a 69% decrease. This reduction is mainly due to increase in the number of

improved stoves. Use of improved stoves has drastically reduced biomass consumption

to about 294 tonnes. Further, 54 biogas plants have been installed in Sirsimakki since

1980 in 54 households (34% of total), which has also reduced the demand for biomass by

128 tonnes. Introduction of LPG has also contributed to reducing pressure on forest for

biomass.

The dependence on forest for biomass

resources has reduced drastically in

Sirsimakki, owing to reduction in

population, and adoption of fuel

efficient stoves and LPG. Community

initiative and adaptation of improved

technology have positively impacted

the forest resource. Apart from saving

the forests, improved stoves which emit

less smoke have improved the health

of women involved in cooking activities.

Num

ber

of h

ouse

hold

s

160

120

80

40

01980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Without biogas plantWith biogas plant

600

450

300

150

0

Bio

mas

s in

ton

nes

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2006*

Annual biomassrequired/consumed in theabsence of improvedstoves

Annual biomassconsumed withintroduction of improvedstoves

* 34% shift to LPG incorporated

22

10. Summary

Sirsimakki, which represents a hilly

village ecosystem, is endowed with

rich natural resources. Soil, water and

forest resources that provide fodder,

fuelwood, green and dry leaves, small

timber, NTFPs, medicinal plants form the

basic and most important natural

resources that people are dependent

upon.

The land use including cropping pattern

of the village has more or less stabilized

with Paddy and Areca being the major

crops. Different high yielding varieties

of crops have been introduced. The

agricultural practices are largely

organic with mulching of areca gardens

with green leaves from soppinabetta.

The croplands also support rich tree

cover dominated by traditional species.

Forests which occupy significant part of

the total geographic area of the village

have undergone marginal changes in

area over the past decade, with

conversion of a part of the area to

acacia plantation. Soppinabetta, which

is a managed forest, serves as a source

of leaf litter, fuelwood as well as some

fruits and timber.

Livestock composition has changed to

a significant extent with introduction of

crossbred cows. This in turn has led to

increased milk production and

therefore income. On the other hand,

the demand for grass has increased with

decrease in population of indigenous

cows and increase in crossbred cows.

The village receives high rainfall and

over the past decade, rainfall has been

consistent. The groundwater is high due

to this constant recharge and therefore

households have adequate drinking as

well as irrigation water all through the

year.

Effective management, traditional

agricultural practices and policy

decisions by the communities at the

local level have helped maintain the

soil quality as well as sustained use of

resource over the years.

State of Environment and Na tural Resources 2006

C M Shastri, Deepak M Shetti, G N Hegde, G T Hegde,

Prabhakar R Bhat, S G Patgar, N H Ravindranath



Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560012


Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012CES

Documents

State of Environment and Natural Resources 2006 - …ces.iisc.ernet.in/ravi/vnrm/pdf/Sirsimakk.pdfState of Environment and Natural Resources 2006 C M Shastri, Deepak M Shetti, G N