Integration of scientific and traditional practices adopted Springs of Lunghar village rejuvenated

Mungchan Zimik
UKHRUL, Apr 5 : An integration of scientific and traditional knowledge in a pilot  project to rejuvenate springs at Lunghar village area in Ukhrul district has been successful.
Once on the brink of extinction, the springs at Lunghar have been revived. Water is flowing from the springs "uninterrupted", and all the households in the village now have access to it.
The pilot springshed management project, launched by the Directorate of Environment & Climate Change, focuses on sustainable management of water resources, particularly springs at Wata hill, aiming to improve water security, and build resilience to climate change.
As a part of the State Action Plan on Climate Change, the project was launched during 2021-2022.
"The problem of water shortage has been resolved. There is uninterrupted flow of water from the springs during this dry season. All the households of the village have access to water," said village headman, Mataisang Lungharwo, interacting with a team of journalists and officials of the State Directorate of Environment and Climate Change.
A team of Ukhrul media persons and officials of the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change visited Lunghar village to take stock of the ground situation of the pilot springshed management project.
During the interaction, Thingreiphy Lungharwo, a woman leader from the village, said that the project to revive springs has been successful because of the collective efforts of the villagers and application of scientific and traditional knowledge.
She said surveys and mapping for springs in Lunghar area were completed in 2021, and the pilot project was launched in 2022 by the Directorate of Environment & Climate Change, in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), Pune under Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Lunghar village lying on a hill top is situated in the northern side of Ukhrul district. The village was selected as a model for the springshed management project for further replication in other areas.
Thingreiphy said that Lunghar village adhered to the Tangkhul traditional practices of forest conservation, and protected the area from destruction and hunting.
Additionally, all hazardous activities were banned in the area in order to retain and revive green vegetation, she added.
The integration of scientific and traditional knowledge proved instrumental in conserving the springs, Thingreiphy stressed.
Mataisang Lungharwo, headman of Lunghar village, said the Wata springs are one of the main water sources for the whole of the village.
However, the springs remained parched during dry seasons in the previous couple of years. Human activities were degrading the environment and drying up the springs, he said.
To conserve the environment and rejuvenate the springs under the springshed management project,  the headman said, the whole of the Wata hill slope, measuring about 2 sqkm, was declared a community preserved forest and protected area to prevent from disturbing the forest environment.
Further, the village constituted a Water Security Committee, comprising youth members, women, Church leaders and representatives of the Village Authority to monitor the project.
The village also appointed two Community Resource Persons (CRPs) for maintaining record of spring water discharge volume regularly.
Through concerted efforts and application of traditional knowledge and scientific know-how, the springs have been rejuvenated, he said.
At a project site located about 2 kilometres from the village, Ihao Thumrah, a Community Resource Person (CRP), said Wata Spring-I and Wata Spring-II have been revived and the springs are supplying water regularly to the village starting 2024.
In 2022, the springs were dying. Today, the springs have been recharged and rejuvenated, Ihao said.
Explaining how the springs have been revived, Ihao said a spring recharge intervention includes construction of wooden cribs and loose boulder check dams along the stream to reduce current and retain water.
Notably, the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change has constructed 18 cribs, 45 loose boulder check dams and several other structures in the upper hill slope streams. There are also barbed wire fences around the water recharge area for protecting the forest and averting disturbances from wild animals.
Apart from installing physical structures, the villagers carried out a mass afforestation programme on the upper slope of the Wata hill. The villagers planted oak trees in an area measuring 3.2 hectares, Ihao said.  
To measure the flow of water, V-notch weir monitors are installed in the streams of the springs. These V-notches are directly monitored by IIT Roorkee, Ihao said.
Further, there are also two instruments installed to measure volume of spring water discharge. These instruments are maintained by the Community Resource Persons (CRPs).
The volume of water discharge is 10 litres every 24 seconds, and more than 70 percent of the Lunghar villagers are now getting water from the springs, Ihao said.
Lunghar village has a 1.5 lakh litre capacity water reservoir and a water filter tank.
Shinglei Kazingmei, a young woman, said women and girls of the village have now stopped walking long distances to fetch water.
"The successful rejuvenation of the springs has removed burdens from the women in many ways. Earlier, we had to walk long distances daily to fetch water," she said, thanking the Directorate of Environment & Climate Change for implementing the project in the village.
The article was written under a joint initiative of Ukhrul District Working Journalists Association (UDWJA) and the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change Govt of Manipur.