A hydro-electric project threatens Keibul Latnjao, the world's only floating sanctuary
ONLY one of their kind in the world, the
future of Manipur's floating islands is
threatened by a power project in Loktak
Lake at Keibul Lamjao. The area was
declared the world's only floating national park in March 1997 and is the lone
habitat of an endangered deer species.
A few years after it was declared
extinct in 1951, the Sangai or Indian
dancing deer was spotted in the floating
islands of the Loktak Lake at Keibul
Lamjao sanctuary in Manipur. All was
well for the dancing deer until 1984.
Their population had risen steadily
mainly due to the conservation efforts
of the state forest department. Their
habitat was protected. And they continued to enjoy the luxury of being left
alone to adjust themselves with the
changes in the landmass brought about
by the changes in seasons.
But now their nemesis has come in
the form of the Loktak Hydro Electric
Project. Commissioned in 1984, the
adverse impacts of the project to the
unique ecosystem were not taken into
consideration during the planning
stage. Now, the construction of the
plant threatens the fragile ecosystem.
The disappearance of 20 aquatic species
has been reported since the inception of
the project. The population of migratory birds and waterfowls have dwin-
dled. And the Sangai is facing the greatest threat of all: its only habitat is on the verge of being destroyed.
Located in Bishnupur district of
Manipur, the national park covers an
area of 40 sq krn of the southeastern part
of the Loktak Lake. It is unique in many
ways. The Sangai (Cervus eldi eldi) is
only found in Manipur, It is well evolved
and adapted to the phumdis (local name
for the floating landmass). Its hooves are
wide, and pasterns are hairless and
horny, thus providing great manoeuvrability. The phumdi is no ordinary
swamp. It consists of a thick mat of soil,
humus and dead vegetation in different
stages of decay, upon which reeds and
grasses grow up to a height of five
metres. The thickness of the mat varies
from a few centimetres to about three
meters. It is a porous and spongy biomass capable of floating due to buoyancy. The phumdis house a large number
of aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial
flora and fauna. But, more than this,
there is a unique phenomenon associated with the phumdis which makes the
Sangai habitat unparalleled in the world.
In the dry December to February
months, the phumdis sink to the floor of
the lake, and gather nutrients from
there. After the rains, they resurface
again. The Sangai is well tuned to this
rhythmic rise and fall of its habitat.
When the phumdis start sinking, the deer
moves to the upper reaches of the park.
The planners did not take the complex drainage pattern and the fragile
ecosystem into account. Half-way
through, the engineers realised that the
lake did not have depth to generate
power. As a result, they had to commission a barrage, known as the Ithai
Barrage, further down the Manipur river.
The Loktak project had promised
to generate 105 megawatt of power;
irrigate 24,000 hectares of land; earn
Rs 20-30 crore as state revenue; and
enhance economic development. All
this is turning out to be an environmen-
tal disaster. It inundated cultivable land
more than twice the area it proposed to
irrigate, uprooted and deprived about
10,000 people of their livelihood. It has
only been able to provide employment
to 500 people directly and 2,000 people
indirectly. Most importantly, with
the construction of the barrage, the
high level of water in the lake is flooding
the surrounding areas. As a result,
the rise and fall of the phumdis has
been adversely affected. They no longer
sink, are deprived of nutrients, and
are dying.
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