and Forests of the Government of India in 12 towns of Haryana. 8 towns of ...... X. Anon. 1999. Annual Rcpn. Central Inland Capture Fisheries Rescnrch. Inaritote.
RIVERINE HEALTH AND IMPACT ON FISHERIES IN INDIA
Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) Barrackpore, Kolkata India 700 120
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Edited by
: Dr. K.K.Vass
Director, CIFRI Citation
: Das, M. K., Samanta, S. & Saha, P. K. 2007. Riverine
Health and Impact on Fisheries in India. Policy Paper No. 01, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore,Kolkata. 120. ISSN. 0970-616X.
Published by : The Director, CIFRI, Barrackpore Printed at
: Florence Offset Process Pvt. Ltd. 6A. S . N . Banej e e Road
Kolkata 700013
Policy Paper No. 01
RlVERlNE HEALTH AND IMPACT ON FISHERIES IN INDIA
by
Manas Kr. Das S. Samanta and
P. K. Saha
Central Inland Fisheries Resrarch Insli~ute Barrackpore. Kolkata- 120
I. River Sysrems and Fishery potential 2. Environmental concerns and conservation 3. Sources of Riverine Degradation 4. Delailed Case Studies gang;^ River Syslem) 3.1 Gelrer~lfeaturec 3,: Water and nutrient quality 4.3 Pc\ticide residue slalua in water, sediment and fi\h 3 4 Heavy metals In water, \edimenr and lish 5. Comparative Contamination of Inlantl Watcrc 5.1 Mcr;ll coiir:~nlination 5.2 I'esticide contarnin:~rion 6. Iinpac! t i l Stre\+ed Environnienr 6.1 Hydrilulics 0.1 ,I SLiIilll~y fi, 1.2 Siltation 6.1.3 Recruttrnent 0 . 2 l>ams and Fl\h pJrse\ 6.3 Conlnm~r~,~tion 6.3.1 Waler qualit)' 6.3.2 l'ox~cant~ 6.3.3 Biomagnif'icatlon 7. Exlsting Policy suppon 7.1 Policy F~.amework 7.2 Legnl Fnmework 7.3 Insritutionsl Fr;tmework 7.4 Are [he interes!~o f lisheries covered in the ahove policies 8. Recommendation 9. References
1. River Systems and Fishery potential There are 14 major rivers in Ind~a(Ganga.Brahmaputm. Brahmnni,Cauvery. Godavari. Indus. Krishna. Mahanadi. Mahi. Narmada. Periyar. Saharninti. Suharnarekha. Tapti) covering 83% of the drainage b a i n and account for 85% of the surhce flow. Brahmaputra. Gangn. Indus and Godavari basin cover more then 50% of the country's surface flow. Apart from this there are 44 medium and 55 minor rivers which mostly originate fmm the coastal mountains. Only 4 out of 14 major rivers are perennial. These are Brahniaputra, Gunga, Mahnnodi and Brnh~nani.The Cauvery. Mahi. Sahnrmati and Periyar passes through low rainfall areas. The major rivers with a catchment area of more than 10 M.ha each arc the lndus (32.1 M.ha). Godavari (31.3 M.ha), Krishnn (25.9 M.ha) and the Mahanadi ( 14.2 M.h:l). The total calchment arca of nicdium rivers is ahout 2.5 M.hi and Suharnarekha w ~ t ha 1.9 M.ha catchment area, is the larger1 river amongst the medium rivers in the country.( IINC.2oC-l) The diverse river 5ystem in Indin harhour one of the richest fihh genetic rerources in the world. The gangetic system alone harhours amund 265 species 01' fish. The Brahmaputro systeml2h species nnd the peninsular rivers arc reported to hear around 76 fish species. Rivers exhihit ;I complex mix ot' artisanal, suhs~rtenceand traditional fisheries with a highly dispersed urid unorgan~zedmiirket~ngsystem making collection of regular data on fish yield diflicult. Rased on the data on fish yield collected by CiFRl the average fish production from these riverine resources In lndia is only 30ngIkm. The catch statistics okcr the years indicate some disturbing trends in the riverine sector; the biologically and econo~nicallydesirable species the Indian major carps is he~ngreplaced by low value miscellaneous fish species, the total averagc fish landing in the Ganga River syatem declined from 85.21 tones during 1959 to 62.48 tones during 2(N)4 Similarly the fish spawn a\sailabilityof IMC ha\ also declined drnstically. (Jhingran IYC)I:Fish Statistics F A 0 1958-76; Handbook of Fisheries Statistics, Govt. of lndia 1081-2000, Das. 2007)
2. Environmental concerns and conservation Rapid urbanization, induskidiwtion, and intensification of agriculture have all affected the rivers in different ways in India. Most Indian rivcrs, at present. are highly regulated (Agrawal and Chak 195)1).Hundreds of multi-purpose
reservoirs lilr water supply, irrigalion, hydropower and fisheries have been c~m\lructed,as \cell as numerous barrages for water diversion. Many fltxxlplains havc heen cut out from rivers hy e~libankmentsand the remaining ripanan lands arc undcr intemive sgriculture and graring pressure. Human \ettle~ncnt>,defc~rcsrnlion,mining and other ;~ctivitieshavc degraded the river calchnie~~ls and ~ncrc;tredsedlnient loads of all rivers. Also, during the past fcw deci~dca,river\ h;wc received incre;~singly large di\charges of indurtrial cl'llt~oi~a, fertili~crs;~ndpert~cideafrom agr~ct~llural praclicca and domcrtir wa\tcr (CPCB 1906).All t h affected ~ riverme h~ota.Fish species composit~on ha\ ch;lngcd and rn:lny species have neiirly dibappeared. It IS pertinent to tiierlttrrrl ~liatout r ~ f t l i e30 world rlvcr basins ~ii;~rkcd ;I\ global level priorities 111aquatic hiodivcr\ity by Groomhr~dgeand Jenklnr (1998). lor the prtilccl~o~i nine arc l n ~ n Irid~a. i These basins include Ci~uvery.Ganger-Brahmaputra. Gr>il;~v:tr~. Indur. Kri\hna. M;~h;rn;~d~, N;~rm;~dn.Pcnri:lr and Tapi. Catiscrvar~on;lnd restoration crf rlvera liave hecoii~evital for tlic overall \urt:~~nahlctlo\cIop~nentof llic country. Howcver. u ~ i t i lrecenlly, t h ~ s " ~ o ~ t \ e r \ ~ t i hiia o ~ i been " li111ited10 "clei~n~ng" 111' river\ by tre;~tmenr ol' ~;ISIC\V;IIC~. occ;~\rional r y ~ i ~ h o l ircr m ~ ~ vofi ~pirbage l ;~ndenforcing the Irc;ltnient 01' ~ ~ ~ d u s l refl'lue~itr ial (Gopal and Ch;luhan 2003). For the coIiscrvat1on and re\toraucln ol' river Oang;~[he Cen1r;tl Gsnga Author~ly r c d e s ~ g ~ ~ ;ar ~ ~the c d N;~l~on;~l K ~ v e rConaerv;~tion Directorate (NKCD) war esti~hllahcdin 1985. NKCD rr>ordinatesthe implerncntation of the schetiies under the C;;I~~;I i ~ n dothcr Actlor1 Plans. The main clhjective of tlie G;~nga Action P1:1n wns lo lliiprovc the river water qual~tyto the 'Bathing Cl;~sr'. Accord~~ig to ~ h cCPCB aurvey report. the total ~nu~iicipal sewage generaled 111 the ide~itilied2.5 IOHIIF In 1985 W:I\ of he order of 1340 million litres per day ( ~ n l d )Out . of ~ h ~works s . corresponding to 873 nlld were tilhen up undcr Ihc lira1plii~heolGAPl'hc Aclion Plan prinit~rilyaddressed tothe interception :lnd dlvcrsion for treotinenl of the targeted municipal sewage of 873 111ld. Sclie~ue~ for thc ahate~ncntof yxlllut~onfroin grossly pollur~ngi~idustrieshas hceri nlcr~~~lored and ct~ntrollcdunder the exihting Environmental Laws. With rll' ?5h rchernes, the u'ater quality of Ganga has shown the co~~iplclioti i~npri~vernent over the pre-GAP p r i o d quality in terms of both the bio-chemical oxygen demlnd (BOD) arid dissolved oxygen, the two importmt parameters to ussess the river wsvr quality. To arrest river pollurion in Yamuna. certain
. . v have been taken by the Ministry of Environment ~ s u r c of s and Forests of the Government of India in 12 towns of Haryana. 8 towns of Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi under Yamuna Action Plan which is heing implemented since 1993 by NRCD. Under Gomti river Action Plan pollution abatement works are being take11 up along the Gomti river in Lucknow. Sultanpur and Jaunpur in Uuar Pndesh. Ahout 269 mld of sewage is targeted to be ~ntercepted,diverted and treated under this action plan. So far. these efforts have indicated localised improvements. Overall, there tias k e n limited appreciation of the nature of rivers as ecosystems whose ecological integrity depends upon their phyrical, chemical, biological characteristics and interaction+ with their cntchment. The evaluation of the condition of rivers and lakes relative to their original or desired srate isessential to conserbatton and rehahilitation. With the outlook for fisheries shifting from ~ncrearinpyield to increasing profitahility the approach I'or fisheries development is to ensure sustainability and reduce environmental impects. (Ayynppan rr (11. 2007). Thus knowlcdgc of the relative state of any walerhody ir essential 111 negotintionr w ~ t hother users of thc resource.
3. Sources or Riverine Degradation L)oniestic waste Dornert~cand munic~p;~l effluents are ertiniated !(I constitute 75% of India'\ \rasteuater hy volume IMin~rtryof Envin~nmentrYr Forcst. 1092) The enortnity of sewage pollution is reflected in the river Ganga in which Inorc th;ln 70% of the total pollutlonal load ir contributed hy the sewage (Chaudhury. 1985). Municlpill sewage is very olten accc~nipaniedby trade waste synlhet~~. detergent\. heaby mrtals and (MBAS) from small scale industries \prawling around thickly urban areas.
The CPCH ryste~noticallycollects data on indurtnal waste water and domestic waste water generation from h ~ cities. g
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299 class one cities in lndia generate about I.HI million M L D of wastewater, where as capacity to treat only 4037 M L D exists in these cities. CPCB ( 2 0 ) . The basin wise waste water scenario ofclass onecities are given in Fig. 1 & 2.
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lndustriul waste: About 35.30% of the over 3 millton sm:~ll-scaleindustrial unils (SSILJa) arc of polluting nature. In case of large water polluting industrial units discharging effluents Into the rivers and lakes, only 29% have adequate effluent treatment planta (Ministry of Environment & Forests. 1997). CPCB has identified 17 categories as h~ghlyplluting industries for priority ation like sug~~wtorfollowed by piwmwulical, distillery, cement d fenilim. According to the 1996 figures. 229 class I cities in lndia generate about 16662 M L D of waste water whereas the capacity to treat only 4037 M L D exists. 345 Class I1 towns generate about 1650 M L D or waste water wherear capacity to treatonly 61.5 MLDexists,(CPCB. 2000). Est~matesforthe waste water generatedby the run1 households are not avnilable.The current practices
adopted for di\potal of industrial wastewater includes discharge into public sewers, riven, reservoirs or seas through creeks and estuaries with little or no trraunent. A~ricultrtralrunvjJ:Agricultural activities are one of the important causes ofenr irolilnent;~ldcgradatitms.The prtrblern of water pollution becomes more severe ;I+ the magnitude of agricultural runoff is very vat1 .The fertilizer (N+P,O,+K,O) consumption in Ind~ahas increased from 7.7 million tonnes In 19x4 to 17.54 n~illilrntonnes in 2OlXJ-OI (Minimy of Chemicals & Fertilizers, 2003J Use of pesticldcs ;ll\o ~ncreasedfrom 24.305 tonnes in 1971 to 61.357 tonner in IOc)4-95. l'hc pesticide uae hou'ever, decreased to 47.020 tonnes In ?OOI. Itis inrere\t~ngto note that only 25.309 of total cultivated area is under pestlclde ctii8er.Yet Ihe pe9ticides and their realdues have p)lluted agricultural prtducc arid tlil'f'errnl conip)nentr of environment. This 15 mainly due to i111prtrpc.rI ~ i ~ n J l ~wrong n g , use schetlule, non-au,areriess ahout clremlcal\ ant1 thc~rrcs~duekhavlour. Wurer abstraction: Thc prorjectedwater requirement of Indl21(or irrigat~rrn a ~ i dotlrer uses frtmi the d~ffcrentw;iterccrur\e as esti~notedduring 2025 is apprc~n~nlately I I00 billion cubic meter (Sunderesiln. Ic)X?).Accordlng to thc M~ni\tryol' Water Resources (MoWK) XOCk of India'\ ut~llzablewater i \ devotctl 10ugrlculturc in the fornl of irrigation. Demand for domestic hector ha\ r c ~ i ~ ; ~ ~low ~ r eant1 d accounts for only 5 9 of the i~nnualI'rrsh w:ltcr witlidr;tw:~lain Indra. Accordlng to MoWR, itidustr~i~l wilter u\e ill Indl;~stands ;I! ahrut 40 hill~(rli C U ~ I Cmeten or nearly 6% ofthe total fresh water :~hstract~on. According toCelitr;~lPollution Control Board (CPCH), in ?MU.Ind~a'snnnual freshwater ~'ithdrau'alswere ahout 500 hillion cuhic metre and the Indi,ln ~rtduhrryconsc~mctli~houtI 0 billion cubic meter of water as process w;lter and 20 hill~oncuhic ~neterascooling water. T h ~ saccounts for XOhconsunlption hy the industry The largc scale abstraction alters the water quality by reducing thc load hearing capacity of down stream water. Although water ahstractcd for tlic varitrur need\ are drnined back into the water system, hut i t is co~ils~iiinated hy ;Ivarlet). ol'substanco detrimental to aquatic life. The &oms. hal~i~pcs, riven i ~ n other d hydr;~ulicstructures ~ 0 n s t ~ c I on e driverinr ecrrsystein Jisturh the river continuity. The discharge downstrenni is reduced leading to hahitilt destruction hoth downstream i ~ n dupstream. The migratory pathways of fishes are obstructed. As flotd control measures various forms of river lnlining viz. guide, hanks, spruce and river revetments have been co~~structed in our country. Onc of [he direct impacts of river embankment is the increase in the water current velocity at particular siter of the river upsetting the life habits of aquatic organisms
Siltation: Nearly 5331 million tons of soil is eroded annually from the cultivable land and forests of India. On cropland. the erosion ciin range from less than 3 tomore than 50t acre 'yr'. Thecountry's rivencany appmxitnately 2050 million tons of soil of which nearly 480 million tons is deposited in the reservoirs and 1572 nlillion tons is washed into the sea every year. The loss of storage capacity of reservoir due to silting is hy far the most serious problem crrated by soil erosion (Gupta. 1975). The sediment load of the river Gango and R~~hmaputra are thu highest in the country with 586 million t to470 million t respectively. Of the major river ba.ins studied in the country more than one third carry sediment loads of loll million t or more (Jhingratl.1991) Climate change: The climate of the canh In the p;in few decades is showing perceptible changes both in global and regio~lillscale manifested by increase in at~nosphericand water temperature. Historical data shows an incrense in ternperaturc by 0.3'C to 0.@CbetweenlXOO to 19%) and projections by the (IPCC.?O07).As glohal end o i the century show a range of 2-43 "C ~~lcrease w:~rnmingcontinues lo increase the atmosphere temperature, i t will lead to u continuous shift of zero temperature line (+no\\ line) toward higher altitude. Thu\ glaciers s i l l receive more liquid precipitation arid less monsoonal solid precipitation. Shit't in snowline will result in lehser Input to glacier mass balimcc tlurlng sunilner ptrt(K1s.Therefore, higher :~tniosphcricte~~~perature and more liquid precipitation :it higher altltude in the Hi~nal:~y;~s will Iciltl to rapid retreat of gl;lclers and t1ownstru;tm flotxl~ngin the conling future (Hasnain 2(M)2. Kadr~t;~ 1.1 111. 199.3) Its impact will be felt in the rivers ;~ndassociated ecosy\tenls. This alteratio~lin the hydrologic pattern oftttc rivers and i~ssociuled wetlands will defin~telyimpact inland ftsheries ([);IS izr (11, ?M)7a) .In Wert Bcngd lor ex;l~nple [lie lnean minimum and mean max~mumair telnperature increased in the range 0 . I 9 "C - 0.67 "Cand 0.W "C - 0.37 'C in four districts during I985 to 2006. The mean maximu~natid mean i n i n ~ ~ n u rwater n lerliperatureduring tt~efish hreeding suihon (Marcli.Scptemher) also increased by 1.MI% and 0.31"C respectivelyduring the same time periixl in district Nonh 24 (Prgs). This enhanced temperature is onc of the prime reiison k)r the advanced hreeding by I - ? months of the lndion Major Carps in all the districts since last twenty years in West Bengal. (Dab 1.1 (11.2007b).
Reports of fish kill The degraded rivers in specific stretches have recorded total loss in aquatic life including fishes. The severe impacts of industrial effluents disposed into our river systems have resulted in fish kills, which have h e n reported from time to lime.
Table 1. Fish kill reports from Indian rlvtrs
urh~dilydue In wpar
All these reports indicate the laxity of our pollution monitoring system 4. Detailed Case Studies Ganga River System 4.1 General fedures :The length of mainstreani of the river is 2525 km. It originates from the icepacks of Gangotri in Uttar Kashi District of U.P, at 7 100 m MSL. Its total basin area isO.Xbl million km1with ageogruphic location 37" 3' - 85" 58' E and 25" 25 - 31" 30' N covering 8 states. It< main trihutaries are thc Yamun;~.Ramganga. Goniti. Tons. Ghagra. Gandak. Rurlii Gondak. Son. Bagniat~and Kosi. A total of 1.42.637 million m'of water is abstracted out of which the break up is for lmgation - 85.000 million 111'; Storage under reservoir projects- 33.476 ni~llionm': and for other purposes (Industries. Collieries power plants. etc.) - 24,161 million m'. The major walerahstruction point\ on the main Ganga are: The Upper GangaCanal at Haridwar; the Lower Ganga Canal at Narora: the pumped canals -Dalmau. Hhoupali and Zamanie :~ndthe Farnkka Barrage. Among the northern tributaries. Ramganga. Ghagra and Sarda hilve d~versionpotnts. The Triherii Canal taking off from the Ciandak. Madhuhan and L;~lbakhujacanals and the recent projects on Gandak a ~ i dKosi are the diversion p i n t s on the ea\tem group oftributaries. In the houthern sector. thc Chnmhnl projccts consisting of three dams and tl~ehnrrage nt Kotn haven live storage of X500 In cu m. The Eastern and Wclluted. Joshi (199 I ) studied metal contcnt in fish in the Kish~keshto Kolkata stretch of' river Ganga. The highest values recorded are glven in [tie Table - 5 . Like sediment. the content ol'Cr. Cu. Ph and Zn was found high in the fi\h samples collected from middle stretch of the river while Hg wur l i ~ g hin the estuarine samples. Kaviraj (19891reponed relatively high content of Zn (135.6 pg g ') in Perltre~r,irldtcur. Among the studied fishes. M~t.srtrcrr~bclrts pcrrtccilus accuniulated more amount of Zn (108.2 pg g '). As per the I1S FDA limit for human consumption, the Pb and Cr are found to cross the limits in some occarions. Sinha cr 01. (2007) reported mercury concentration in different s;t~nple+of the Ganga river in various seasons (water: O.(XX)37-.O(X)32:sediment: 0.08. 0.106: benthos; 0.108-0.144: fish: 0.205-4.369: llotxiplain boil: 0.095-0.126: vegebtion: 0.098 0.254 ) The high pH level (> 7.5) also facilitates metal precipitation in the Ga~iga riversystem in addition with the heavy silt load. Since fresh silt is alsodeposilcd every year, the cumulative impact o f metal accumulation on sediments is not observed.
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Merol i.c o pohr source pollur(ttir and since ir grrs adsorbed t r r ~rreril)irntetl Ire? qitickly on parrirulo~rniatrers, rhc esecr is nor rlt.urly ohsenqed :orre wise. Alrltougli rhe rsruarine :otir o f r i ~ v Gotigo r is kcnvily indrrsrrinlised the hi,qlt [idol .flirsltirt~ncriviry is riot ~IIIoH~~II~ rhr ) n r r < ~10l ~uccuniu/d~ra1 alorniit~glyliigh In,cls. 5. Comparative Contamination of Inland Waters 5.1 Metal contamination In general. metal pollution was found more In the rirers since ~lieschave become the discharge sites of the effluents ulrich are niostly untreated. Studies arc relatively less, in the reservoirs. since these ;Ire niostly Itrated in the upstrealna of the river and the huge water volume is protecting these water bodies from pollution. Some of the reservoirs receiving effllients are repofled to he heavily polluted. Flocxlplain wetlands are also reponcd to have heavy metal contamination. Tlie levels of heavy met;il in various water hodies are given in (Table- 5 )
5.2 I'esticidc contamination Majorit) ofthc studies on the phlicide residues in the inland aquatic ayslcma in Indi;~were conducted in the rivers. I n some c;l\es the observed levcls in water arc enormously high 35 hih heel] reported in 'T;ihlc 6. I f we gencr;ilii.e thc re\[ of the data gener;lted from the ltid~aiirlvera, the ohser\ed range I'or HCH &as O - S(I(X) ppt of whlcli the 10(Xl- S(KH) ppt wcrc detected near the ptrllut;lnt receiving areas. IIIcase oI'I)DT also, rivers exhibited \im~larlevels ( 0 - 5HXJ pptl and trend. Aldrin was not recorded in all the cases. Its reponed range wa* 0 - 200 ppt. Dieldri~iwas recorded in still less number ol'cases. Ahundance of endoaulf;~nwas tiowever, noticed, in the range of 0 - 31XN ppt. Heptochlor *a$ reported 0 - 3 I ? ppt in river Ganga (Agn~hotri, 1993).Chlordane wa\ found in maces (Anhu. ?oO?). Studies in reservoirs arc meager. Very high accuniulation o f the organochlorine pesticides are reported from the reservoirs o f Kajasthan. Rajendra Bahu r r a/. (1983) observed ICOO I(KHW) ppt HCH in the Aranyar reservoir of Andhra Pradesh. Ihese published values are unusually high and detected in only isolated cases. Modern instrumental technique like GC-MS
-
could validate such observations. Joshi (1990) detected the isomers of and DDT in water of Rihand reservoir.
HCH
In some ponds and floodplain wetlands of West Bengal relatively high content of endosulfan (670- 8350 pp)war repcad by Chowdhuy, er ul. (IN). Although the observed residue levels are many a times high. the tropical climate of the country is protecting the water phase from the worst state of pollution even after a huge consumption of these compounds in the past. It is clear that all the surface water nsources are contaminated with the residues of organtrhlorine pesticides, the content of which often cross thousands of times over the permissihlc limits of US EPA and the aquatic organisms or their consomers are at a nsk due to these pesticide res~dues. Only a Sea attcmptr have hcen made to study the residues o f organophosphorus pest~cidein the river waters In India. Malnthion, methyl parathionand dunethoate wcre detected in many water samples ofriver Gunga. ethion was also found trcas~onally(Ray 1992). In tlie same river however. Agnihotri ( 1993) ohservcd very low concentrations of these insecticides. In somc pond and fltxdplain wctland of Wcrt Henpal, unu\(~nllyhigh content of methyl parathion (XSOM) - ? I 13(K)o ppt) and n~ontrrntophos(535(XW) 441(KXW) ppt) wcre detected (Chowdhary, cv ol.. 1004). Althougli the water sources were near the paddy fields receiving these pesticides, mow such study con strengthen tlie findings.
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Stutiius on tI1e residues in scdinients of organochlorine pesticides are relat~velyless than that of the water phase, h ~ HCH. r the reponed range is 0 250 pph except river Gom11(0.1 - 1650 pphl. DDT and aldrin were found to he present in the range o f 0 - 1000 pph. In only one repon the levels of DDT and aldrin were high of 690 - 4850 and U 1700Xl pph respectively (UNEP. ?(KI2).D~eldrinwas also tletected in many cases, observed range 0 500 ppb. Endosulfin wits reported in the sedimentsof river Gomti (0-72.6 pph) (Singh
-
-
1.1
-
01.. 2005).
Scattered repons on the retidue contcnt in fish are available. la the fish from river Yamuna, huge residues of DDT (59 - 7575 ppb) were obaervcd (Pillai and Agarwal. 1979). In the fish samples of river Gomti, higher contcnt of DDT (0 1658 ppb) and moderate amount of HCH (4 410 ppb) were reponed by Kaphalia rt 01. ( 1986).
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Application of fertilizers and pesticides are responsible for their higher residues in [he fishes of the floodplain wetlands. Very limited study was undertaken to measure the pest~clderesidues In such environments.The residues of endosulfati were found high (490 - 2390 pph) in the fisher from pond and fltwdplain wellands of West Bengnl. A few studies on the residue of organophosphorus pesticides in fish are uvailuhle. Very high accunlulalion of methyl parathion (10?50 - 10850 ppb) and monocrotophos (320(X)O - 5?35O(l pph) in !he fishes from pond and Iltmlplain wctlands of West Uengal was observed (Chowdhury et al.. 1994). Apriculturnl applic;~tlonswere the source hehlnd such unusual accumulation 7 "
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6. Impact olStressrd Environment
6.1
Hydraulics 6.1.1 Salirii~y:In river Hooghly river course modifications have played their part in estuarine fisheries. There has k e n a overall declinc in the salinily of Hooghly-Matla estuary after conimissioning of Farrakka barrage (Sinha el al. 1996) uith gradient and niarine zones pushed down touards sea. This has brought ahout distinct change in tlie species coinposition of fishes caught. with freshwater species making their appearance in tidal zone and a few neritic species diaappeilring. The likely impact of taming of river Noriilada on its estuarine fishery is an example. In a desk review (Anon. IL)9J)of the likely impact of Numnda Sagar iind Sardar Sarobtlr on the fisherieh downstream, carried out by ClFKl tbr Nartnada Control Authority, i t has heen pointed out that as per report of the N;~rinadiaWater Dispute Trihunal (Anon.l97X) there wotild be 72.71 B reduction rn u'ilter irvailahility down stream ;it 30 year\ c~lcon~mcncenicnt of construction.lt may not change tlie sal~nityregime during non-mtmstxmtnonths hy the ilnnual event ol'd~lutionduring months \hi111 not he tnaintaincd.Thi\ shall effect tlic ~nigratoryfauna, particularly Te~t~rc~loso i l i s l ~ uand Mocrohnic.hi~ori,r~.~c,rtbcrgi,and accordingly the fish yield downstream will decline. Stage attained at 15 years frotii the commencement of construction of construction, whcri freshwater release frnm Serdar Sarovar shiill ceare, will he very cr~ticala5 11shall ka.;sociuted with steep hike in salinity and in t~bsence of compromising Pactor (Freshwi~terflow) the tidill ingtess shall be more towards river side. It is more likely that the whnlc estuary shall undergo a transformation into a hiotope characteri7ed hy hypersalinc condition with salinity tongue further tnvading inland. Firhery \hall drastically change. With the present height of R0.3m attairied hy Sardar Sarovnr Ilani, impact of impoundment are already visible in the down stream. In river Krishna changes due to salinity are discem~hle.Recent inve\tigntions conducted by ClFRI in river Krishna estuary in Andhra Pradesh, revealed that the establishment o f upper Krishna projects in Maharashtra, and Karnataka involving reservoirs viz.. Sriseilam and Nagarjunasagar,the water availability in the river downstream of Prakasam Barrage has dwindled. Further, the
requirement of water for irrigation and the VijnyawadaThermal Power Station. the gates of Prakasam Barrage remain closed resulting in complete drying up of the upper estuary bed. The seawater incursion into the riverine stretch has resulted in ground water becoming saline. The increase in salinity is due to reduction of freshwater river flows. Present investigationsrevealed the salinity ;~mplitude in Krishna estuary to range from 20 to 35 ppt, a hyper-saline condition. During high tide the seawater reaches up to Nadakudu covering about 90rk, (of the tidal stretch. Only during monsoon the rainwater and discharges from Prakasam Barrage on account of attainment of full storage Icvel, lowers the estuarine salinity. Thus the Krishnaestuaryst present is wholly a tide.kd, polyheline estuary threatened by the absence of freshwater from the main riter. Thus Mullets are dominant in catcher (110%)represented hy M~rarlcr~lrhulrr~. Liiu purtin. Liio spp. Clupeids, perches, sciaen~ds,catfishes, p n a r i d prawn\ and mud crabs (Sr,vllu .srrrcrro) form the other groups. The marine catch includer rnackcrels, sardines and pomfrcts etc.
6.1.2 Sillaliun: Land use patterns i r ~;I watershed influence runoff, river hydrclgrapliy and sediment load. Deforestation is a reason for the excessive silt loud In most of the liirn~~lyan river tributarier, a lo;ld which has increased rater ol'siltation duwnrtream in oxbow lakes, floodplain sloughs & backwaters (Nuturaja~~IOXY). Keduct~onin foreht cover har led to a great increase in both the d~csolvedand p;~nicul;~tesolidh In Ganga river system Rao (1979). The red~rr~ent luodr of the Ganga and Brahmaputm are the highest in the country with 586 nlillion tones and 470 nlillion tones respectively. Of the major basins stud~edin the country Inore than one third carry sediment loads of 100 rnillion tones or Inore which is very high. In Chilka lagoon (Banerjee el al. 1996) regulated decreased discharges ln coming rivers have made considerable negative inlpirt on its fishery. Siltation of lagoon bed and its connecting channel with sea, profuse weed infestation, decrease in salinity and qualitative and quantitntive decline in the fishery of this lagoon has been observed. 6.1.3 Rrcruitmmr: The impact of water abstraction is very obvious in river Ganga. Water ahstrrction and consequent reduced stream flow has affected the breeding and recruitment of fishes. The fish spawn availability index in river Ganga declined fmm 2984 ml in the 1960s to 27 ml in recent years (1993.2004) (Nutiuajan 19M. ClFRl Annuill Repon 1971-2004).It also showed a continuing deterioration of Indian major carps seed with decreasing
percentage of major carps seed (78.62% in 1961-1%5 to 34.48% in 2000-04) whereas minor carps (from 20.688 in 1961-65 to 52.95% in 1991-95) m d other fish seed (from 0.7% in 1961-65 to 47.8% in 2000-04) showed an increasing percentage in total seed collection. In the Ganga basin approximately 85 billion m' of water is divened by canal project and by hydro-electric and storage reservoir for irrigation, power and flood control. Canal projects accounted for a little over 60% of the inipounded water (Natarajan. 1989). The construction of l l d control dykes and levees in l l d prone low lying areas has deprived the major carps of their extensive hreedinp habitats, previo~~sly available in network of interlaced channels connected with the Kosi river (David.1959) and the flood plains of the Kosi. Gandak. Kapti, Sarju and other tributaries. Canal projects and flotd control meaaures are the two major factors that arc specially responsible for destructionof brccd~nphabitat for major carps (Natnrnjan 1989).The spawnlng grounds of Indian major carps are situated in the flowl plains which are inundatedduring the monsoon. I t is believetl that a flotxl level between 5-8 In helps the fish to mlgrate upto the hreedinp grounds & a lnoderite current 10.35 to I. 6 t d h r ) help thc spawn to shift down. Breeding and recruitment arc ser~ouslylialnpered when thc water level in the streams do not reach the spawning ground due to madequate discharge rille. F l w d levels have a close relationship with the spawn availability of major carps (Jhingran. 1989) The oxhow laks, deep pwla and other lentic water hrxlies asstriated with the rlver act as sanctu:tric+ for the hrtmders which get connected to the rnainstrea~ndurlng the nionsa)n, when the d~\cliargeralr become inadequate, thesc watcr bodlea fail to get connected and the brvtdcrs get isolntd. 6.2 Dams and Fish passus Hilsa: Hilsa is a classical example of ani~dromousfishes being affected due to obstruction oftheir mlgritory pathways hy dams. The naturnl migratory rnnge of these fishes in 1500 km from the Hooghly estuary to Allahnbad on the Ganga. The 1975 construction o f the Farrakka harnge at the head of the Bhagirathi and Padma tributaries of the Ganga, some 470 km from the river niwth, ha.. not affected the hilsa fishing in the tidal stretch of thedelln.However; the barrage has nearly dominated the riverine fishery upstreamo f Fnrrakka on h e main elream of the Ganga, a fishery whish was bnsed on runs of both Padma & Hwghly stocks. (Natarajan. 1989). Similarly hilsa ceased to migrate
up to Datircxlar River, a tributary of the Hooghly after construction of dams (DVCI, a harragc (Durgapur), and a weir (Anderson weir).The migration of fish is also restricted to JOkm in the Rupnarayan River (Pantulu cr.al. 1966).
The dams In the upper stretche\ of the river obstruct migration of mahseers (Tor hpp) that move from low land to upland reachs for breeding. Shetty & Malhotra( lYH3) repned decline of Tor tor itlong with other fishes following construct~onof a barrage at Triheni on the Gandhak river. Barrage at Son, Okhla and F;~rrakkaare alro known to impede major carp migration for breeding. For example the yield of major carps are reported to have been reduced ahout 50% of the 1964 level in the lower Ganga following construction of Farrakka (Jhingran 8i Ghosh 1978)
Fish pass: Major irrigation structures on rivers such as dams, weirs and harri~gr+form solld obstruction to the migratory path of fish for pawning or I'eetling. Mdj~orltycif thc+e hydreullc rtructurea in India hiwe no provisions of lish pass resulting in significant reduction of fish rpecicr and yield. Fish passes arc key elements for the restoration of free passage for fish and other aquatic 6pecic:c'ierin rtverh.The few li\h pa\ses built in India are on the Mahanadi harrege. Nartlj harrage i ~ nriver Mahanadi, the Hathnlkund harrngc on rlver Jamuna and F:lr;lkLa harrc~pe~ Irlver I Ganga. The fish passes In the harrages on rlver Mahanad~arc of the Drnil typ- and In Far;~kki~ hlrrage on river Ganga it is Fihh lock. 'These p;lsres ujere colrstructed to take care of the migratory ro.st,t~ber,qiand requirement of the Indian m y o r carps. Mucrohrarlrilr~,~ T ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ crltsl~~r. o l i ~ s Unf'onun;~tely cr these requirements has been parti;llly fulfilled. Most of these structures had some drawkicks. 'This can he overcome by Intensive research on the Irydraulicdesign of fish passes for structures of varying heights ilnd OII ni~gr;ttionhehav~orof the migratory fishes of Indla. ClFRl is conducting research on this imponant aspect and has designed pool type fish passch for sonle upcoming dams in the rivers of north eastern India. This environmental requirement of constructing lish passes for maintaining fish populstloti in the entire stretclr of the river for sustainuhle fisheries development needs due i~irponance.
6.3 Conlaniinatlon 6.3.1 Worer quality: Sewage pollution is the major source of water quality deterioration of our rives and floodplain wetlands. The major adverse impacts of sewage pollution are dcoxygenation. high BOD load, rapid eutrophication
and accumulation of heavy metals in the envimnment. Sharp fall in dissolved oxygen in water puts the biotic communities under severe stress. Wlrile some species can tolerate a wide range of dissolved oxygen, many communities are highly sensitive to t h ~ sparameter. . For instance, conrplete absence of zooplankto11during lanuary to August and 11s reappearance ia September represented by Ki*rcrridlcr sp. have been observed in the downstreamof sewage effluent outfall on the Ganga and Yamurn. Bacterial population in rit'er water and river bed gives a direct indication of organisnis in the organic waste load. The mean concentrationoftoral colifor~n Ganga water shows considerable seasonal and sectoral variations. The c o u ~ ~ t is low In the sectors frorir R~shikeshto Kanauj lnorrnally lccs than 2.400 MPNI 100 tii!) and higher concentrations :Ire noticed ;II Uluheria. Dakshinrswar. Palta. Kirlyilni, and Darbhang;~Gh:u (Patna). It Ir cclimntcd that domestic uasteti;iter contains I(X) million coliform per IfX) ~ nand l 70KH1 vim1 particles per IN)ml. Synthct~cdctergelitr k i n g ahsorhed into the body sysleln of fish impa~rthetr growth and reprtwluctioncapacity. Iletergents mixed with oil may he 60 times more toxic than oil alone. Synergistic action of detergent5 with ~n\ect~cides 1i;rs 3 1 ~ 0heen recorded. Its huh-lethal ct~ncentr:rtic~n causes thrnning and elongaticin of resp1r:ltory epithelial cells. (Jhingran 19x9) 0hwrv;rtion in river Kill1 (Qas~niand Sidd~qui.1964))revealed deterioration of wirer qu;rlity hy sugar nil11 effluent. I t Incrc;r\cs ttre BOD which deplete\ a freer deal of DO in the river uilter ;rnd very often lid1 ~ n o n i ~ loccurred. ~ly
6.3.2 Toxicants: Pul~crcrrtdl~iill~ r ~ i i lqfllrrrrrr: l 11np:rctol'tc~xlcdischarge from T r ~ v e npaper ~ ;rnd pulp ~ n ~1s lreflected l in erratlc Itlovement and monality of fishes spreading o\,er an area 01'50 "1. rii,( l)aweal). Tire %her affected were My.s/_srli.r ~.rrrurrr~. Pi~ttt~ir.r ~ ~ ~ p l tE\riricu.i r ~ r r . cl(rrrric.~r.\. Kirrr r_srlrli. Bleachingpowder present in the effluents release free chlorine \rhich la h~glilypoisonoup with corrosive propeflies and 1s responbihle for fish monitlity. Srcrlwttili~J,~olirls: Exposure of fishes in river Damoder to fly ash produccd from thermal power plants cause respiratory distress. This 1s due to deposition of coil dust panicles and fine silt on the gills. Damages occur in the primary and secondary gill lamellae with swollcn lips (.Banerjee el, el. 1LTlK) Hm~:\rt~eruls:Fishes in the ~ndustrialeffluent outloll area in river Haldi at Haldia are exposed to an average metal concentration(pl ' J of Cd (2-14). Cu (5-191, M n (8-88). Pb (17-41) and Zn (22-37J.The levels of Cd. Pb and Ph
were alarming ( Samanta er ~ 1 2 0 0 5 ) Biopsy of the gills. liver and kidney of fish A. gagora. A. aor and P. pama showed gill hyperplasia and swelling. Necrotic hemopoitic tissue and renal tubular degeneration is evident. Investigationsconducted in I 10 Km stretch of river Hoophly passing through a densely industrialised zone indicated the levels of metals and pesticides to he within permlssihle limits. However fish abundance and richness declined in the downstream sites of this stretch. Thir is because of sandification of the river with frequent sand extraction tiom the river bed and point source pollution. ( [)as and Samsnta. ?(X)h) In tlic Hooghly estuary, studies were conducted to determine the bioconcc~itrationfactor ol' DDT. The ob\ervtd levels of DDT it1 different components of' the food c h m and h~o-magn~fication factor!, are glven In the factor of 7500 for fish and 15833 for bivalves Fipurc (3). 'The bio-co~icentrat~on ure ~ndicatlngrisk associated with the tsrrotrial consumers including human
ler 0.08 ppb hdor 1 '------
Sedimm 70 ppb
---"-- C M r 1166
Plankton 1 % ~ppb hcbr 2500
Fhh 450 ppb
Oaaopod 90 ppb
BbnugnlfiuOon ol DDT h IglUt* (ood Ch8h In H00ghC 08tUV
The ecological malady afflicting the inland aquatic resources and the consequent decline in fisheries can be traced to the mthropogenic activities nssociated with population gwwth in the river basins. Irrigation pmjects, flood contml measures have nearly desmyed floodplains, sloughs, inundation mnes. and oxhow lakes, all of which are breeding habitats of the major curps. The impairtnent of recruitment in these fishes has set into motion changes and readjustments of fish populatio~~s at the second and third trophic levels. The Major carp populations are now declining. while minor carps and other less economic species are increi~singin relative abundance.The i~iipactof irrigation project on fisheries is compoundedhy land use practices, polluticln,exploitation. and fishing. Hydraulic structures have all eliminated the fishery for anadromous fi'thes Ti~nuctlr~.sa ilishrr 7. Existing Policy support For inland fisheries and i t \ beneficiaries aa stake holder the significance of hater lies in the fact that water in the river, rcservoir or lake serve as hahitat fur lish unlike other stakeholden. For suggesting any polrcy for inland fisheries devclopmcnt it i+essential to understandthe structure and ~nechanisrnof water qualit) povcrlnence In India. B n i c i ~ l l yit has three iispecta; policy frame work to deal w ~ t hwater quality issues, a legal fralneuork for violators of the policy and ~nstitutionalframework to implerrieiit the pol~ciea
7.1 Policy Framework The policy fran~eworkof Govcrnnicnt 11f India for nianagenlent of water resources in lnd~aare elucidated In National Water Policy (2(X)2) (Box-I): National Conservation Stratcgy and Policy Statenlent on Environment and Develop~nent(1992):Pol~cyrtatetiient Tor Aharc~nentof Pollut~oli(1992) and Draft National Environment Policy (2(NJ4) (Box-?). The policy statements and strategies advocated are lechnological Inearurea like use of clean technologies and water pollution control rystems; Lonlng strategy like setting up of source specific and area wise water quality si;indards and time hound plans to prevent and control pollutton; f~scalincentives Ibr environmentally clean technologies, recycling and reuse of waatcs and con%rvation of natural resources, operationali7;ltion of polluter pays princ~pleand command control like enforcement of pollution control norms, environmental audit, EIA and clearance of projects by MOEF above cemin size.
t
Box-l National Water Policy I
2 3 4
5
b
7
Water is a prime naturiil resource, a besic human need and a precious national asset. Planning, development and management of water resources need to he governed by national perspectives Water is pan of a larger ecological system. Reallsing the imponance and scarcity attached to the fresh water, it has to be trerted as an essential environment Ibr sustaining all life forms Watcr resources available to the country should be brought within the category of u~ilizahlcresources to the maximum possible extent. Waler rrwurces development and management will have to be planned I'or it liydrol~~gical unit such ar drainage basin as a whole or fi~ra suhhiirin. mmilti-\ectorally, taklng into account surface and ground water for sust;~inshlruse incorporattng quantity and quality aspects as well as cnvironlncntal conaidcrations. Water\hed management through extensive soil conservation. cetchnient-;ire:i treittment, preservation of forests and increasing the forc\t cover i~ndthe conrtructton c~fcheck-dams should be promoted. With a view to give cffect to the plann~ng,developmentand management ol'the walcr resource\ on ;I hydrologiciil unit basis, along with a multiseclori~l.tnul~i-disciplinary and piirticipatory approach as well as iritcgratlng quality, quantity and the environnicntal aspects. the existing ~nstittltionsat various levels under the water resources sector will have to bc iippropriately reoriented I reorganised and even created, wherever nccessnry In the plalining and opcritlion of systems, water alltration priorities should he hroadly as follo\r8s: Drinking water Irrigation Hydro-power Ecology ? Agmindus~riesand non-agricultural industries Navigation and other uses. However. the priorities could be modified or added if warranted by the area I region specific considerations.
8 9
10
II
I2 13
I4 15
16.
There should be a close integration of water-use and land-use policies Management ofthe u8aterresources for diverse uses should incorporate n participatory approach; by involving not only the various govemmenttil agencies but also the users and other stakeholders, in an effective and decisive manner, in various aspects of planning, design, development and management of the water resources schemes. Both surface water and ground water should be regularly monitored for quality. A phased programme should be undertaken for improvements in water quality. Effluents should be treated to ;~cceptablelevels and starldilrds hefore discharging them into natur~lstream\. Minimum flow should he ensured in the perenninl stretlms for maintaining ecology and soclal considerations. Principle of 'polluter pays' should he followcd in managelnent of polluted water. Ncccs\ary legislation is to he made for preservationof existing water bodies hy preventing encroach~nentand deterioration of water quality. Wli~lephys~calflood protection works like enlha~~k~nents and dykes will continue to be necessary, increased e~nphas~s should he laid on non-\tructurnl measures such as flood forecasting and warning, tlotxl plain zoning and flood proofing for thc mtni~nisationof lo\rcs and to reduce the recurring expenditure on IlocnI rcllef. The ero\lon of land, whether by the se;l in coastal areas or by river hy suitable cost-effective meaturch. waters ~nland,should be m~ni~nised
Box-2 Kutionel Environment Policy Thc Ni~tiltionc~l D~,I~OIIIII~III I'olir). (NEP, 2004) is ;I response to our national commitment ton clean environment. mandated in the Constitution In Articles 48 A and 5 1 A if).strengthened by judicial interpretation of Anicle 2 1. It is recognised that maintain~nga healthy environment is not the state's responsibility alone, but also that of every citizen. Objecrives of NEP 2 0 4 The principal objectives of this policy are enunieratedbelow. i. Conservation of Critical Environmental Resources:
To protect and conserve critical ecological systems and resources, and invaluable natural and man-made heritage which are essential for life suppt~rt,l i v r l i h d s , economic growth, and a hroadconception of human well-being ii. Intra-generat~onalEquity: Livelihood Security for the Poor: To ensure equitable access to environmental resources and quality for all sections of society, and In particular,toensure that poor communities. which are most dependent on environmental resources for their livelihtxxls, are assured secure access to these resources. iii. Inter-generntiunal Equ~ty:
7'0 ensure judicious use of environmental resources to meet the needs :~ndaspiri~lionsof present and future generations. IV. 1ntegl.atiol1LIT Env~ronmentalConcerns in Economic and Social Dcvelopnient: TO intcgri~lrcnvironmentiil concerns into policies, plans, programmes. slid projectb for econonilc and social development. v. Efficiency In Environmental Resource Use: To ensurc effic~cntuse of environmental resources in the sense of reductiun 111 their use per unit of economic output, lo minimize adverse environmental impacts. vi. EnvironmenIal Governance: Ttr apply the principles of good governance (transparency, ra~ionality, nccou~itability,reduction in time and costs, and participation) to the nvanayement and regulation of use of environmental resources. vii. Enliuncement of Resources for Environnientul Conservation: To ensure higher resource flows. comprising finance, technology. mnnagemcnt skills, traditional knowledge, and social capital. for cnvironmel~talconservnIion through ~nutuallybeneficial multi stakeholder partnerships ktween local communities, public agencies. and investors.
1
Under this objective the proposedaction plan for Freshwater Resources viz.. river systems is a) Promote integrated approaches to management of river basins by the concerned river authorities, considering upstream and downstream inflows and withdrawals by season, pollution loads and natural regeneration capacities. to ensure maintenance of adequate flows and adherence to water quality standards throughout their course in all seasons. b) Consider and mitigate the impacts on river flora and fnuna, and the resulting change in the resource base for livelihmds, of multipurpose river valley projects, power plants, and indusiries. c) Consider mandating the insii~llationof water saving closets and tups in Ihe building byelaws of urban centres. And for Wetlands it is
n) Set up a legally enforceableregulatory mechanism for identified valuable ueilands to prevent their degradation and enhance their conservation. L)ebelop n nat~onalinventory of ~ u c hwetlands. b) Formulate conservation and prudent use slrateglea fnr each sign~ficant catalogued wetland, with participation of local communil~es,and other relevanl stakeholders. C)For~nulateand implement ectr-tourism strategies for identified wetlands through mult~stakeholderp:lrinerships involving public agencies, local communities, and investors. d) Take explicit account of impacts on wetlands of significant development projects during the environmental appril~salof such projects; in particular, the reduction in economic value of wetland environmental rervices should be explicitly factored into cost-benefit analyscs. e) Consider panicular unique wetlands as entities with "Incomparable Values", in developing strategies for their protection.
7.2 Izgal Framework Some of the environniental laws of importance are (a) The Wilter (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. 1974 : I t created the Central and State Pollution Control Boards (CPCB and SPCBs) (h) The Wi~terCess Act. 1977: I t was amended in 2003 and its main attention is toenhance the finance ofthe CPCB and SPCBs by imposing a levy (cess) on water consumed by certain industries and by I t ~ a l a~~thorities. (c) The l:.nviro~inientaI (Protection) Act. 1986: It empowers the Central Government to decide ern~asionstandards, restricting industrial sites. laying down procedures and safeguards for accident prevention and tlandling of hi~~ardous wa$tr. investigation and recearch on pollution I$hUC\. (dl The Environriien~Inipi~ctAs\ecc~nent~ntroducedin 1994, empowered Cctitral Ciovernrnen~to imposc restrictions and prohihitions on installilli~nexpanslonr or t n o d e r t i ~ ~ aof l ~30 ( ~ lypca ~ l of aclivil~erunleas i111 env~ronnlenlalclearance is granted. aim of environment \ta~idard\ir to Environment \tnndards: The preva~l~rig reducc potentidl darn;~geto: hurnan society In trrlns of healrli datnages (niorh~dityand niortal~ty):to sensitive ecosysternr, rewurce cc~n\ervation(lish) i+also one of the ;~ims. F.nvir~innientMani~getiienlSystetn (EMS): Such as I S 0 1300I requires adopt~on01' standardired environment management practices, documentation and third party verification. Adoption of EMS could significantly ease the hurden (11' ~nonitoringby PCBs. F~olnhellng:kolahels address the preference of environnicntally conscious c~~nsuniers. rather than ensuring adherence to envtronmcntal standards. Lahel~ngschenieq may involve review of the entire prtxluct cycle from sourcing rdw material to finid disposal of the project.
7.3 l~~slilulwnal Framework At prosent, statesgenerally plan, design and execute water supply schemes. Water supply and sanitation is n state nsponsibility under the Constitution of India. The states may give the responsibility and powers to the PanchayatiRaj institutions (PRls) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). In addition, a variety of
different government institutions at the centre have a role in the management of declining of water supply. Ministries of Water Resources, industry, power, agriculture, environment and forests, rural development, urban development arc some of Ihe major ctakeholdel's ministries that have a mandate in water resource management. Other imponant institutions that have a major role in water resource/qoality n1anilgement are Central Water Commission, Central Groundwater Boilrd Authority. Central WaterQuality Authority. Centr.11and State Pollution Control Boards. 7.4 Are the Interests of Fisheries Covered in the Abnve Policies The Natiotlal Water policy (NWI') of India st~pulntes(Clause 14.3) that "Minimum water flow should he ensured In the perennial streanis for ma~ntainingecology and social considerations". tiowever, tllr NWP also places environment in the fourth order ofprlor~tySnr ;~ll(xationof water. The sequence o i prior~tyis drinking water, irrigation. hydropower, and then environtnent. I h i s means that at any panicular Incation, the available water after supplying the requiren~entsof drinking, Irrigation and hydropower requirement, he requirement of environ~nentu ~ l be l fulfilled. On the other hand. the concept of a niininlunl flow ~n thc river stipulatcr that a certain quantity of water is to he fir\[ allrrated to ma~ntainthis ~rrinilnumflow, and all other requirenients r the environment arc to he supplied only fro111the halance if nny. T h ~ upgrades requirelne~its;II priority one. Thus it is seen th;~tplacing of environment at fourth prior~tyIn the NWP creates a conflict with the concept of min~mum flows or EFR. Riverine and coastal h~td~versity has not heen atlequately rccognised in the conservation challenges of NEP, nor the fishcrtcs hector as such. It may he notcd that exotics fishes have been introduced into the inland waters hodies and riverine systema without effective mechanism\ to examine ecological consequences, particularly on hicdiversity and aquatic life. One major concern demanding the attention of pol~cymakers is the question of water alloca~iona flrr maintaining ecological services. Also as an environmental irsur, the difficult problem of land- water linkage is not being addressed in the present water or land policies. The pressing problems of conservation and management of Inland fisheries
arc not k i n g addressed in the policy document. For the aquatic organisms like fish water serve as n habitat I f we take theexample o f irrigation and flood management which has relevance to fish and fisheries interesting set of supply ride and demand side option come out. For adaptation to the increaseddemand of water for irrigation. the supply side optlon aims at increasing supply. lncreas~ngthe water source for irrigation is expensive and has potential environmental impact. The demand side options aims at reducing demand. ThCy include increase use efficiency through improved technology and high price for water and changes in cropping pattern hy switching to crops that require less or even no irrigation. For flmrl management. nme~it and F~shIlcalth: A Holisl~cArsessment of Inland 1:ishcrier In Indlo. 11, 11.C. Gnrwami ted.). ' N u r a r ~ l u n r l A ~ ~ r / ~ r r ~ ~ ~ o ~ n ~ ti~:tir/l\ (111 F'IJII RI F'i~/~~rrt,t'. Narendra Publlshlng House. Delhi, lndla pp 137.151 24. 1)ils. M.K..and Ihs. K.K IW3. A review 111 rhc fish di~aseepiztx~tic ulccrativc +)ndrome 111 Indla. Et:n~.rrott. Ecfll. l 1: 1.74-148. 2 5 . [>us. M K.. Maurcy. P.. Br:~hmane.M.P.. Mulihopadhyny. M.K. & Saha. P.K. 21X17n. Ittlpact. Adapti~tlonand Vulnerability uf Inland Fisheries to Climate Change Jo~rrnalof lAb.'M ,VoI. J4(?1. 68.76 26. 1)its. K. K.. Hagchi. M M.. Mukhopadhyay. M. K.. Ghosh. B. B. & Saha. Kcya IYLX), Impact of paper and pulp factory efilue~ilon the fish and thetr enrironrncnl In Hcx~ghlyertuar). 111.A. G. Jhingridn. V K. Unnithan and A. Ghc~th.01) Conlrlbut~unslo [he Fi5heries of Inland Open Water System+in 111d1a (I'ilfl1). 27, Dav~d.A. 1959 Ohscrvut~onof the some some spownimnp ground of the Genpelic major carps with a note on carp +ecd resources in India lndinn J. f r l ~M?l: 327.341 28. Dey. S.. Srivastuvu. P.K.. Maj~,S.. Das. M.K.. Mukhopadhyaya. M.K. and Saha. P.K. 2007, Impact of cliniole change on the breeding of Indian Major Cnrpr in West Bengul J. InlundFish. S(K. Indio, 39 (1):26-34. 29. Gnncsun. V.. Srin~unsulu.K , and Pandcy. A. K., 1991. Trace metal conccnrrullon tn water and sediments ofthe river Khan and Kshipm (Ujjain). Inr. J. ECIJ. Env. Sci. 17(3).225-236.
30. Ghosh. B.B.: Bogchi. M.M. and Dc. D.K. (19x3) Some observations on the stalus of pollution in the H(w)ghly estuary (West Bengal) with reference to heavy metals deposited through industrial wastes. I. lr~lundFish. Soc Indilt 1511 & 2): 44-53. 31. Ghosh. T.K. & Konnr. S.K. 1993. Mass tnurtnlity in fish in the river Mathabhanga - Chumi. West Bengal. Ernirorl. Erol. II: Pages 833.838, 32. Gopal. B.: and Chuuhan. M. 2003. River Restoration in India: A Cuse Study o f River Yamuna East Asia Regional Seminar on River Realoration. Kualu Lumpur. January 13- 15.2003. 33. Groomhridge. B.: and Jenkins. M . 199R. Freshwater Biodiversity: A preliminary global assessment. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) Biodiverbity Serles Nu 8 . World Conservation Press. http:// www.unep-wcmc.org/rrrource%puhlicstin~i~~~~iv~serics,httn, 34. Gupta. G.P 1975. Sediment prcxluction stiltus reporls on dut;~collection ilnd utlltration &ril C(IS. D~grsf.3(?): 10.21 35. Halder, t'.. Raha. P.. Bhatiachi~rya.A.. Choudhury. A. & Adityachoudhury. N. IOX9. Studies on the res~dueaof DDT and e n d o i u l l ~wcurrlng ~i In Ganga Haler. Indlan J. EIIL imrl Hrulfh. 31. 156-161 36 Harnaln. S.I. 2(X)?. Hltn:tlayan Glacier tnelti down: itnpnct on South Asiun K~ver\IAHS Rlh ho. 274. pp: 1-7. 37. ICAH. ?oU? All Indla Ccn)rd~natedResearcll Pr(!jcct on Peiticide Residue. ICAH. Annual Repon. 2(K)I and P r ~ rofthe Group Meetillp lieltl al Gujarat Agril. Un~vers~ty. Anand. Feh. I-?. 2lX)?. 38. Indi;~'\ lnltial Natlunal Comrnunlcauon 111 the linitetl Nattons Frumewark Convc11tn)non Cllrnatc Change. ?(W. M~r~l.\fry I~EW~I~~IJIIIIPII~ u r ~ I~on~.sfs. d Gmcrr~slrr~f oflnd~u 39. 11ldln.ej Neua.l3'Vuly.2003 40. I\reili. AMuI Wahld. 1901. Okcurrencc of hewy metalk in Gnngu river wutcr and sedimmts of western Uttor Pradeah. Poll. Re$ I(X21. 103-I(W. 4 1 , Jhingran A. G. I W I.Impact of environmental streason fresh wasler fishcrles resources. J. Inlurld. Fi.\lr. 111drcr.23 (2): 20.32. 42. Jhtngran. A.G. & Gho\h. 1978.The fisherics of'the Ganga river systctn in the 14: 141.162. context of Indian uquaculture.Aq~ruc~rlf~rrc. 43. Jhingran. A.G. 1989. A syrt~~psrs, Impact of environmental perturbations tm the fisheries ecology of river Ganga. CIFRI. Barrackpore. Kolknta. 44. Jhingran. G. A. & Joshi. H. C. 1987. Hcavy meuls in water sediments and lish in the river Yamuna. J. Inlurd Firh. Sur. Inilia. 19(1), 13-23.
45. Joshi. t i . C. 1986 a. In: Proceedings ol'thc National Seminar on Pollution Conrri~land Env~rnnmentalManagement. NEERI. Nagpur. 17-19 Mar, pp 80.86. 46 Jorh~.H. C 1986 h DDTresidues in firh in the river Hooghly. In: Proceed~ngs of the Symporium on Pcrt~cideRealdue and Environmental Pollution. Mur;~flarnagar. 2-4 Oct. pp 93-96, 47. Jorhl. H. C. IWJ. Environmental constraints in management of fisheries in Inland 11pc11waters syrtcnis ~n India.pp 8-19 In Manas Kr. Dis and P.K. Ch;~lrahr~ny (edsl Contribut~(inlothe F~sherlcsofInlandown Water Systertis In lndla Pan II. 1nl~r11d Fr.\l~r~rre.s SC I~,I.! oJ111drrr. Barrackpore. 4K
Joshi. H. C.. 1991 Monitoring of toxic and ho/ardous suhstancea in the r l w r Ci;lnga. 111 H .Gupta (Ed). Prtr Work.Trg. Riomcin.., 62-68.
49. K;ldotn. T.. Sclo. K. & Ageta. Y. 1993. Shrinkage of glac~erA X 0 10 since 1078, Shc~ronpHlmnl, c:lst Nepal.111:Young C.J. (rd) Snow and Glac~cr Ilydnjlogy (lkw Kalh~nanduSymp. Nov. IW? IAHS Publ. No. 218. 145-141. 50. Knphal~a.R. S N~putn.U.. Mchrutra. S.. Seth. T. 0 . 1986. Fresh water fish: an indicalor ofpest~crdecontanilnallon In the :lquatic environment.J. E ~ i ~ , i r t ~ ~ i . 111,1/, 7, I.Y 51 K;lon;ln. K.. Slnha. K.K.Tanahe. S.. lchihashi. ti..Tetsuka\vn.K. 1993 tlr:~vy mel;ll\ and organ~rhlor~ne realdues In Ganga river dolphins from India. Mur. 1'0/11i1. 81111.21>(3):170.l62.
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Kilu\hil. S..Sahu. B K.. Lawania, R K , andT~wari.R. K.. 19YY. Occunencc or heat y metal\ In lentic watcr of Gwalior region. t'/,t;11i. ,\l/il~!. .Sl 1. lllf>. Nayah, A. K.. R:~ha.R .k Dn\, A. K.. 1905. Organrrhlorinc pc.+l~c~dc rcsiduer in ~nlddlertrcaln ol'thc G:lnper river. Inrlla. Rull. Etr~~iro~i. T1111rr1nr.lirrirol. 54, 68.75 Nignm. 11. Hans. R. K.. Prakarh. S.. Seth. T.1) & Siddiqui. M. K. I. 1998. Biomagnlficauontrforganwhlorine pcrt~c~der and rncialf in birrla of an lndiun lake. Poll Re,
