The pride of Pokhara
After walking around Phewa lake this year after about 30 years, I felt that urgent attention is needed if we want to preserve this natural heritage for posterity. Its surface area as well as its depth has reduced and this reduction has accelerated in recent times. This can easily be observed even with naked eyes. Scientific studies have also predicted that a significant portion of the lake will be dead within this century.
Phewa lake is a special natural artifact. It was formed through a unique geological process a very long time ago. It is basically a natural lake, but was expanded by the human interventions like dam-building. With the growing siltation of the lake, one can question whether damming alone can preserve the lake.
In addition to being a site of cold water bio-diversity, it is now a very popular recreational destination. As a result, it has played an important economic role. Many people in Pokhara have benefitted directly or indirectly from the income and employment generated because of the lake. But until now, it is also common property, and the “tragedy of commons” is noticeable in Phewa’s case since there is no strong institution to look after it. Moreover, its stakeholders have shown a greedy and short-sighted attitude. As a result, it is no wonder to see people living near the lake and deriving income from it, but throwing rubbish, soil and sewerage into the lake.
I spent my childhood days near the lake. It was certainly not my choice, but I feel privileged to have had that opportunity. The lake was very important for me, as well as many others who lived there. It was a source of drinking water for the people and animals. In retrospect, I think that the water must have been clean. We swam in the lake for pleasure as well as for cleansing. This was back in the 70s and 80s. When I lived in Pokhara again in the second half of 1990s, I started to swim again, but began to get rashes on the skin. By 1997, the rashes were so severe after the swimming that I altogether gave up this practice. Then I realised that the water must have been severely polluted.
The pollution could be very severe by now as we see various symptoms that are indicative of a polluted water body in the Lake. The rampant growth of water hyacinth and other plants, extinction of various species of fish, and, sometimes, the death of local fish are some of the indications of extreme pollution. This type of pollution has taken place because of wrong farming practices in the lake watershed and dumping of rubbish from urban areas. Because of the nature of the watershed, the pesticides and chemical fertilisers that are applied in the farms are easily leached into the lake. This has increased the nutrition content of the lake, and its consequences are the growth of aquatic plants, less oxygen and eventual death of the lake water.
A major problem threatening the existence of the lake is siltation, which is causing the reduction in the depth of water and shrinking of the surface area. If one walks upstream, one can easily observe a massive land area that has become dry now. Moreover, the depth of the lake in its significant part is very shallow indicting that it will become dry soon. The increased level of silt that comes from landslides and soil erosion in the watershed is a cause for this serious problem. Various studies conducted in the 1980s predicted that this lake will be completely silted between 60 to 100 years. Another study conducted in the mid 1990s using high-precision technology to estimate the siltation rate forecasts that the lake will be completely dead when 80 percent of the storage capacity is silted in about 190 years, and that 16 percent (or 68 ha) of the lake’s area will be silted up by the next 24-33 years. One of the reasons for the lengthening of the life of the lake as shown in a recent study was probably the increase in tree coverage in the Phewa-lake watershed, mainly due to community forestry and the little demographic pressure on the land which was a result of the short-term and long-term migration of people.
The pollution of the lake and its shrinkage will have negative consequences for the economy of the Pokhara region as a whole. It is likely that the tourism industry will suffer the most. As of now, the lake has helped to lengthen the stay of tourists that come for trekking in the Annapurna region. The recreation in and around the lake means that tourists—both domestic and foreign—will be tempted to stay longer. On the other hand, the pollution in the lake will distract the tourists and may cause the reduction of their stay which will badly affect the tourism industry.
As the conservation of soil and water in the watershed is very important for the preservation of the lake, it is important that Pokhara residents, especially those engaged in the tourism industry, put pressure on the government for the welfare and conservation of the watershed. A small tax could be imposed on tourism industries of Pokhara municipality to pay for this. This will be the payment to the residents of the watershed for the ecological services they provide to urban residents in Pokhara. Organic farming, if promoted in the watershed, could reduce chemical pollution to the lake and also help in the supply of healthy food to the urban residents and tourists. Tourists are willing to pay a high price for such food and the organic farming activities help conserve soil and water. This will strengthen the linkages between tourism and rural economy in the watershed of the lake.
Posted on: 2011-10-24 08:15
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