Sustainable land management techniques benefit communities living in unstable terrains

Lhakpa Quendren

Sarpang—For Tularam Tiwari, a 72-year-old retired soldier, and his 65-year-old wife Dambari Tiwari from Thongjazor village, Shompangkha gewog in Sarpang, monsoon is a season of sleepless nights – or rather nightmares.

Their one-storeyed cottage is precariously located around 50 metres above a slide area along the farm road. The landslide, which occurred in 2016, poses a threat to their home and lives.

“After the landslide, I moved to another place for three days until the heavy rain stopped,” recalls Tularam Tiwari, who has lived here for the past 13 years since his retirement. “The road was filled with soil twice, only to be washed away by rain in the following days.”

A buffer zone was created using bioengineering techniques to prevent landslide at the area. A wall was then built along the drain on the other side of the road.

With this intervention, the couple feels much more secure and safe now. “The buffer zone will protect against the potential risk of further landslides. This method looks stronger, and we feel more secure,” Tularam Tiwari said.

Bioengineering land development techniques use materials like bamboo to stabilise unstable terrains and manage land development in environmentally sustainable ways.

The implementation of the bioengineering technique was made possible under the sustainable land management (SLM) project supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The community members were involved in building the buffer zone. They also planted trees at the slide area.

Shompangkha Mangmi Ash Man Rai said that such measures have proven to be cost effective and sustainable. “We advocate and raise awareness among the public so that they understand the impact of the project.”

The project invested about Nu 250,000 in creating this buffer zone. “As the plants grow tall and the soil becomes stable, it becomes effective against landslides and erosion,” Ash Man Rai said.

“Constructing a wall would incur higher costs for the government,” he added. “For instance, a wall built with Nu 1 million in Patakhari, another village, was washed away within a year of completion. This is a huge loss.”

 

As Sarpang Dzongkhag plans to implement the project across 12 gewogs in 2024-25 financial year, local government leaders met in Gelephu on July 4 to prepare an action plan for sustainable land management.

The dzongkhag agriculture sector has identified 13 acres for grass plantation and 40 acres of land for the creation of buffer zone in the dzongkhag.

Through SLM, farmers can enhance farm productivity without degrading land resources using innovative erosion control techniques like check dam construction, grass hedgerow plantation, and stone bunds.

Other land development technologies include hedgerow plantation, stone bunding, bench terracing, live and log check dams, brush layering, buffer zone creation, water source protection, and fascine construction.

The Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer of Sarpang, Kinley Namgay, said that adopting such measures has been effective in reducing soil erosion. “These measures will help mitigate potential risks of soil erosion and landslides due to heavy rain.”

The land management techniques are expected to benefit local farms by improving productivity, conserving natural resources, reducing environmental impact, and ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability.

Jigmechoeling Mangmi, Bal Bahadur Mongar, said that the land management programme will reduce monsoon-related impacts. “It will greatly benefit farmers in my gewog as most of them own land on upland slopes.”

He said that heavy rain this year has affected agricultural land of some farmers in the gewog. “In the past, a few farmers lost land to erosion but they were given land replacement.”

Gelephu Mangmi, Sonam Dakpa, said that adopting measures such as grass plantation, which is suitable for his gewog, will encourage farmers to cultivate multiple types of cereals in one season, further benefiting them.

The project will provide financial incentive of Nu 1,500 per check dam and Nu 8,000 per acre of stone bunds. The government will provide free grass seedlings and training.

The action plan will be completed by June 15.

Initially the government provided farming tools and financial aid to farmers to develop land through the Soil Conservation Programme. The agriculture land development programme, now known as SLM, began in the 1960s.

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