The Nilgiris have undergone an incredible amount of change in the last 10 years. Coonoor, an area well endowed with natural resources, is the second largest tourist destination here. However, over the last year (2012-13), the town has been reeling under a water crisis [1]. The drying up of local water sources has meant that water supply has been erratic [3] and people have had to depend on purchasing water through tankers and tapping springs and open wells.
In this context, Keystone Foundation was interested to better understand the various factors affecting the availability and quality of water so it could later advocate for mainstreaming conservation action in district public policy. While the focus was on Coonoor, a larger area was taken up for the study.
It was important to be able to show various examples of what could occur if a change in approach was not undergone. In order to present these alternative “futures”, a computer simulation exercise was undertaken, which is basically is a computer program that is designed to simulate what might or what did happen in a situation [4].
We wanted to look at two specific questions:
Secondary data collected from:
Primary data:
Land use:
Assumptions
Projected outcome
Future trends
Projected outcomes
Projected outcome
Improvement of solid waste management and a 50% reduction in waste from local and tourist populations.
Projected outcome :
Projected outcome:
Locally, the villages mainly depend on springs for water supply and these are not contaminated as yet. The pollution is being sent downstream out of the Nilgiris where the communities living next to the river have to deal with the consequences.
Thus, it was possible to demonstrate the cumulative impact of various sectors on the water resource situation in the region and generate a consensus on the need to act on the same. It was able to show what happens to the water due to the combined effects of different ‘sectors’ – domestic, tourism, plantation, sanitation, agriculture etc. which normally operate independent of each other.
These were presented to a group of stakeholders in the region. Laypersons too were able to quickly grasp the significant messages regarding land use and waste management. This novel information, cannot be easily communicated otherwise.
Keystone plans to focus on the water supply and demand situation of Coonoor and modify the simulation accordingly. A Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) approach will be tried out to come up with a possible solution to the water crisis. This is the focus of a new project from 2013-15.
The simulation of nitrate levels highlights the need for good waste management and sanitation practices. Keystone is also planning to work on a village scale on waste management and sanitation issues with youth from the villages by partnering with other agencies involved in this work.
Read the complete article,'A peak at the future: Simulating Coonoor’s water situation', which is the fifth in the series of posts from the Data Capacity Project collaboration with Keystone Foundation.