- Threat to endangered birds
The Dibang river is dotted with several river islands, which is home to several bird species and has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA). It is a potential Ramsar site, which means that it meets all the requirements to be declared a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. In addition to this, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has said that the Dibang riverine tracts in the plains near the foothills should be declared a Bengal Florican National Park because it supports the population of this very rare and threatened bustard species from the Indian Subcontinent.
- Loss of community rights over land due to Compensatory Afforestation
As per the 1980 Forest Conservation Act, double the area of any forest land being taken for a project such as this must be compensated to the local people. The total forest land required for the DMP project is 5056.50 hectares, so compensatory afforestation of 10, 113 hectares has to be done. To do this, more community controlled land (mostly Unclassified State Forests) will be acquired. In Arunachal, the local tribal communities have ownership over these Unclassified State Forests. Therefore, compensatory afforestation will involve further acquisition of land rights from people. Considering the losses, an appeal was made to the concerned authority for absolute transparency in land acquisition for any compensatory afforestation process.
- Loss of grazing land for Mithuns
Mithun (Bos Frontalis), a semi domesticated free-range bovine species, is an important component of the livestock production system of Arunachal Pradesh. It is primarily reared for meat and is highly preferred among the tribal people as a ceremonial animal. It also plays an important role in the economic, social and cultural life of the Mishmi people. The possession of Mithun is the traditional measure of a family's wealth. Marriages are not fixed until the bridegroom's family gives at least one Mithun to the bride's household.
Mithun requires a specific natural habitat consisting of sufficiently dense wooded forests, gentle slopes, water-sources and must be away from human settlement. It flourishes and thrives well in areas that afford to it abundant fodder and cool and wet environmental conditions. The submergence of vast forest areas post construction of the dam will severely affect the habitat of the Mithun. Several affected people’s organization were up in arms because there has been no study on the impact on the natural habitat of Mithun and loss of its grazing land due to construction of dam.
- Land use restriction in catchment area and no compensatory benefits
A catchment area is defined as the area of land bounded by watersheds draining into a river, basin, or reservoir. The direct catchment area for the project is 59,811.88 hectares, out of which 10, 281.64 hectares is degraded forest/abandoned jhum and 3851.64 hectares is agriculture/current jhum/habitation. Shifting agriculture (jhum) or the slash and burn cultivation is a dominant traditional land use in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh. A notable feature of this system of farming is the rotation of fields, known as jhum cycle. The jhum cycle refers to the period of rest allowed to jhum land for recoupment of fertility. A long period of rest allows the forest to recuperate and the soil to regain its fertility. The submergence of land by dams will lessen the land available for cultivation. This increasing pressure on the land will result in the shortening of the jhum cycles, thus impacting the ecological viability of this farming system. This will also increase the pressure on the surrounding areas, thus affecting the environment and the livelihoods of jhum dependent communities over a much larger landscape.
In addition to the submergence, land use restrictions will also apply in the catchment area of the reservoir as per mandatory norms to reduce the siltation to increase the life of the reservoir under the Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan. Therefore the CAT plan will restrict people and impact their livelihood and habitation. About five villages will be affected due to partial submergence of their lands, which in future may lead to degradation of land resulting in displacement.
