Dam the River, Damn the People in India’s Northeastern State of Arunachal Pradesh
Tucked away in the northeastern most part of India, with snow-capped Himalayas in the north and the plains of Brahamaputra river valley in the south is the diversity rich state of Aruanachal Pradesh. But for its geographic location and other political factors, the state would have been an ideal eco-tourism destination and an ultimate getaway for the rest of India and the world.
Presently, it’s a region hidden away from repeated human intervention, aptly tagged: Paradise Unexplored! Such is the lack of information about the biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh that the Arunachal Macaque (Macaca munzala) - a species of monkey already known to the native people of Arunachal as Munzala or the “monkey of the deep forest”, remained unknown to scientists and biologists till it was “discovered” in 2004. The so called “discovery” was waiting to happen and it was after more than a hundred years that a new species of macaque was discovered (the last recent discovery being the Indonesian Pagai Island Macaque in 1903).
Now, for the past few years, the Prime Minister of India has had a vision. A vision to make India energy secure. And this is to be achieved beyond just the Indo-US nuclear deal, by tapping the over 50,000 MW hydroelectric potential from the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
What this means is that there are now hydroelectric projects proposed on all the rivers of the state, of varyingmagnitudes - from micro-hydel to the 3,000 MW Dibang Hydroelectric Project. What this also means is that the tribal state of Arunachal, where one requires an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to enter, will now see massive construction work that would, without doubt, put a tremendous amount of pressure on the state’s largely unexplored diversity - both biological and cultural.
The state is such that after every mountain range, one comes across a tribe completely different from the previous. The Unity in Diversity that is usually the punchline for the Indian republic is adequately represented by the state as well. The state is also the least densely populated states in the country and has been living in perfect harmony with Nature - barring some activities such as swidden agriculture. At the same time, the state is very prone to earthquakes and lies in the seismic zone V (the topmost).
Considering the above, such large scale construction of dams in the state is bound to have irreversible and permanent damage to the ecosystems supported by the state. What is also sad is the fact that the option to explore renewables has been completely overlooked, despite the lower parts of the state having been gifted with massive wind potential.
Aaaaaw lookadaliddlemonkey! Innecyuuuute!
Seriously though, fascinating. I find it so difficult to know where to stand on this issue - we need energy, but the cost is incredibly high to indigenous people and the existing landscape.
In the UK, we have for some time been developing a “land-use database” to inform our development decisions. I doubt these exist elsewhere in the world, but would argue a full survey of India (no mean feat!) is necessary to investigate the best options, before any decision to go ahead with the plans outlined above.
The World Commission on Dams is worth a look, http://www.dams.org/ (and we must fight to make sure developers heed the learning from commissions such as this, while not taking them too seriously)
It sure is a difficult call. We do need to power our laptops on which I write this, but does that have to be at the cost of indigenous people - who neither demand anything from our side, nor ask us for any “credits” for acting as the protectors of forests in regions beyond a city-dweller’s reach.
Developing a land-use database for a country as large as India is difficult, though attempts have been made to come up with similar databases at the regional level. Would help in strategic environmental assessments, but with the kind of Env Impact Assessments (EIA) happening in the country, I wonder if that would help
The voices from the state of Arunachal Pradesh are now getting louder and that native people of the state have come out in the open, making it difficult for engineers, etc. to work in the state - something, we can’t really blame them for.
The Monkey!
When I first clicked the monkey above, I had not idea this was the new species discovered. Though the yellow patches on its face and body were peculiar, I really could not make out.
I could actually pat on its back, thinking this being a non-city monkey (unlike the ones in New Delhi ( http://delhigreens.com/2007/11/06/the-monkey-menace-turns-fatal/ ) was the reason why it’s so docile!
It was only when I got back home several weeks later, did I realize its the new species that I had spotted!!