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Sustainable land management techniques benefit communities living in unstable terrain
Rapa Quindlen
Sarpradesh – For retired soldier Tularam Tiwari, 72, and his wife Dambari Tiwari, 65, from Thongjazor village of Shombangkha clan in Sarpradesh, the monsoon is a sleepless season, or rather a season of nightmares.
Their bungalow is dangerously located about 50 meters above the landslide zone next to the farm road. The landslide in 2016 threatened their home and their lives.
“After the landslide, I moved to another place and lived there for three days until the rain stopped,” recalled Tularam Tiwari, who has lived here for 13 years after retirement. “The road was filled with soil twice, but it was washed away by rain in the next few days.”
To prevent landslides in the area, they used bioengineering techniques to create a buffer zone, and then built a wall along the drainage ditch on the other side of the road.
With this intervention, the couple now feels safer. “The buffer zone will prevent the potential risk of another landslide. This approach seems more reliable and we feel safer,” said Tularam Tiwari.
Bioengineered land development techniques use materials such as bamboo to stabilize unstable terrain and manage land development in an environmentally sustainable way.
The implementation of the bioengineering technology was made possible by a Sustainable Land Management (SLM) project supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Community members participated in the construction of the buffer zone. They also planted trees in the landslide area.
Shompangkha Mangmi Ash Man Rai said the measures have proven to be both cost-effective and sustainable. “We are reaching out and creating awareness among the public to make them aware of the impact of the project.”
The project involved an investment of around Ngultrum 250,000 to create this buffer zone. “As the plants grow taller, the soil becomes stable and it is effective in preventing landslides and soil erosion,” said Ashman Rai.
“Building a wall incurs higher costs for the government,” he added. “For example, a wall built in another village, Patakali, cost Nu 1 million but was washed away a year after its completion. It was a huge loss.”
As Sarpanch Dzongkha plans to implement the project in 12 dzongs in the fiscal year 2024-25, local government leaders held a meeting in Gelephu on July 4 to formulate an action plan for sustainable land management.
The Tsongkhapa agriculture department has identified 13 acres of land for cultivation of lawn and 40 acres of land for establishing a buffer zone in Tsongkhapa.
Through SLM, farmers can use innovative erosion control techniques such as building check dams, planting grass hedges and stone bunds to increase farm productivity without destroying land resources.
Other land development techniques include hedge planting, stone bunds, terracing, live and log impoundments, brush compaction, buffer zone creation, water conservation and pasture establishment.
Kinley Namgay, an agricultural official in Sarbond Dzongkha, said such measures are very effective in reducing soil erosion. “These measures will help mitigate the potential risk of soil erosion and landslides caused by heavy rains.”
The land management techniques are expected to benefit local farms by increasing productivity, conserving natural resources, reducing environmental impacts, and ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability.
Bal Bahadur Mongar of Jigmechoeling Mangmi said the land management plan would reduce the impact of the monsoon. “It will greatly benefit farmers from my clan as most of them own land on the slopes of the highlands.”
He said that this year’s heavy rains have affected the farmland of some farmers in the clan. “In the past, some farmers lost their land due to soil erosion, but they received land compensation.”
Sonam Dakpa of Gelephu Mangmi said measures like growing grass suitable for her clan would further benefit farmers by encouraging them to grow multiple cereals in a season.
The project will provide financial incentives of 1,500 Ngultrum per barrage and 8,000 Ngultrum per acre of stone bunds. The government will provide grass seedlings and training free of charge.
The action plan will be completed by June 15.
Initially, the government provided farmers with farm tools and financial assistance to develop their land through soil conservation programs. The Agricultural Land Development Program (now known as SLM) began in the 1960s.
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