A lot has been said and written about the beauty of Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya, the abode of clouds. It is said that the swirling fog around the hills, the summer drizzle and the wonderful stinging raindrops during the monsoons add to the ardour and sparkle in the starry eyes of honeymooners.

Unfortunately, this sparkle has dimmed in recent years because of the relentless environmental degradation. The landscape of the world’s highest rainfall receiving area is at present practically without any forest cover. The gradual desertification of the entire area is heart-rending, to say the least. There has been rapid depletion of the topsoil cover. More than 80 per cent of the area now lies interspersed with rocky outcrops — with hardly any scope for regeneration. If this process is allowed to continue, the condition will worsen and cause great ecological imbalance.

Nowadays, Cherrapunjee goes dry for several days even during the monsoons. Local women have to trudge long distances in search of potable water during the winter months — which is why Cherrapunjee is gradually coming to be known as a wet desert.

While exploring the causes of degradation of Cherrapunjee, it can be inferred that the forces of nature are perhaps against conservation. The buffeting monsoon winds that lash the region from May to September, the ever-present rains and the topography comprising deep gorges and ravines, collectively seem to be accelerating natural degradation. But then, combined with negative methods of resource exploitation and cultivation practised since time immemorial, degradation has increased manifold.

The effects of ruthless felling of trees, rampant mining activities and age-old destructive shifting cultivation have been absolutely devastating. The trend of declining rainfall has been slow but definite because of lack of sufficient trees required for clouds to bestow the gift of rain. Today every cloud over Cherrapunjee that fails to cause rain reminds us of our callous attitude towards nature.

It is amazing that while Jaisalmer, situated in the middle of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, normally faces no shortage of water despite an average annual rainfall of 15,000 mm, the place which receives the highest amount of rainfall in the world is facing acute water shortage. The reason is simple. In Jaisalmer every drop of water is conserved but here in Cherrapunjee because of the terrain, almost hundred per cent rain water goes to waste as runoff. Henceforth, if we desire to see the heavenly beauty of this area of rain restored to its pristine glory, there is an immediate need to protect the environment.

In order to rise to the occasion, our approach should be holistic and multi-disciplinary. In the hill section, proper catch water drains upstream can be diverted to safe outlet, followed by vegetative cover in exposed surfaces. Plantation of grass, creepers, shrubs and trees can also provide binding forces to the soil. Land treatment like continuous contour trenches, check dams, gully plugs, percolation tanks, embankment-cum-dugout ponds and contour vegetative hedges can prove effective for soil conservation and runoff management.

Plantations should be preferably raised in the form of shelter belts/winds breaks or block plantation with locally available species only, which can regenerate and spread over easily. Initially, plantation in all probability will require importing of soil for each seedling/sapling.

If further biotic interference can be stopped then these steps could conserve soil and water and ensure natural regeneration of forest cover. This would increase the permeability and reduce the velocity of erosive run thereby leading to gradual formation of humus topsoil and increase in the groundwater table.

In due course, the land in the lower reaches may also become conducive to other farmland activities like agroforestry, horticulture development and the like, which in turn can stand as an alternative to the destructive shifting cultivation. One of the root causes of today’s catastrophic land degeneration is the result of age-old practice of unscientific mining. Indiscriminate mining of limestone and coal has already caused extensive damage to the quality of air, water and soil in and around Cherrapunjee.

The recurring pre-monsoon forest fire is another brutal destroyer of the forest flora and fauna which needs to be addressed immediately. Along with increasing awareness among people, the menace should be tackled with the iron hand of law so as to arrest further deterioration and total degradation of the area.

Studies reveal that in most of the hilly terrain, land is scarce and deficient in foodgrains. Under the circumstances, a paradigm shift in the concept of environment vis-a-vis economic development that is the sustainable productivity/consumption is inevitable. Instead of trying to fulfil all their requirements through cultivation and mining, other household production activities have to be encouraged. Workought to be better initiated by some committed non-governmental organisations and experienced personnel rather than the lethargic governmental apparatus which has miserably failed to fulfil people’s aspirations even after 50 years of Independence. Most importantly, the rural unemployed youths must be motivated to expose the local crafts and handicrafts to the world via the medium of tourism. Likewise entrepreneurship based on tourism might be a lucrative option for earning livelihood, leading towards an eco-friendly environment.

All these suggested measures will produce nothing unless the people’s participation in the programmes is ensured. The various schemes taken up hitherto have miserably failed because the implementing authorities did not take into cognisance the actual year-round field conditions, land tenure system and the wholehearted participation of the local people.

History has proved that local communities can be used as a strong fencing against environmental degradation and can also actively participate in the process of sustainable development. One such success story is the village Gopalpura near the Ranthambhor sanctuary in Rajasthan. The villagers of Gopalpura could do wonders by converting the degraded stony and compacted lands into greenery. This was made possible not by the government’s largesse but by people’s participation in the pasture land development programmes in consultation with WWF India.

The experiment may be replicated in Cherapunjee too. What is needed is a mass movement against all evils that are responsible for environmental degradation. A strong consciousness among people regarding the importance of bio-diversity preservation is a must.

We can be hopeful that some sincere and concerted multidisciplinary people’s programmes based on intensive soil-water conservation clubbed with massive plantation and settled production systems, which will be able to reverse the current deteriorating scenario and rejuvenate Cherrapunjee, are not too far away. Runoff water can be preserved like that in Jaisalmer to solve the problem of scarcity of water during winter. Green and pristine hills can reappear. And Cherrapunjee can continue to receive the highest rainfall in the world.

lThe author is divisional officer of the research division of the soil conservation department, Assam