Waterworks India: Chewang Norphell
Global warming is taking its toll on the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. Mountains that were completely decked with snow are now barren. Glaciers are disappearing fast and the decline in winter snowfall has caused severe water scarcity in villages across the region. Burgeoning demands of unregulated tourism and a growing population have exacerbated the problem further. To overcome the crisis people have even started digging borewells.
It is not that the people of Ladakh are not water prudent. Their whole way of life revolves around sustainable and limited use of the precious commodity. The main problem here is an ecological limitation to the availability of water. Ladakh is located in a rain shadow area. The monsoon does not reach this cold desert and precipitation is less than 50 mm a year. The winters are long and whatever water is available for irrigation and drinking purposes comes from glacial melt. And now with the glaciers disappearing at an unforeseen speed that option too is no longer available.
Yet one man, Chewang Norphel, has devoted his life to providing water for the people of Ladakh by employing a simple traditional technique of creating artificial glaciers.
CSE discovered Norphel and his innovation twelve years ago in 1998, quite by chance, while working on its State of India Environment book 'Dying Wisdom'. His work was significant. Through his artificial glaciers, villagers were able to irrigate their crops at the most crucial time of the year - the two summer months. The book proved to be instrumental in instigating a revolution in water conservation and Norphel's work received great acclaim and recognition. Later Norphel also featured in CSE's award winning film 'Four Engineers and a Manager' and received the Great Indian Engineer award from the President of India.
Today the world knows the 72 year old Norphel as the 'Glacierman' and his accomplishments as a water engineer are being rediscovered in the context of climate Change.
See also
Global warming is taking its toll on the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. Mountains that were completely decked with snow are now barren. Glaciers are disappearing fast and the decline in winter snowfall has caused severe water scarcity in villages across the region. Burgeoning demands of unregulated tourism and a growing population have exacerbated the problem further. To overcome the crisis people have even started digging borewells.
It is not that the people of Ladakh are not water prudent. Their whole way of life revolves around sustainable and limited use of the precious commodity. The main problem here is an ecological limitation to the availability of water. Ladakh is located in a rain shadow area. The monsoon does not reach this cold desert and precipitation is less than 50 mm a year. The winters are long and whatever water is available for irrigation and drinking purposes comes from glacial melt. And now with the glaciers disappearing at an unforeseen speed that option too is no longer available.
Yet one man, Chewang Norphel, has devoted his life to providing water for the people of Ladakh by employing a simple traditional technique of creating artificial glaciers.
CSE discovered Norphel and his innovation twelve years ago in 1998, quite by chance, while working on its State of India Environment book 'Dying Wisdom'. His work was significant. Through his artificial glaciers, villagers were able to irrigate their crops at the most crucial time of the year - the two summer months. The book proved to be instrumental in instigating a revolution in water conservation and Norphel's work received great acclaim and recognition. Later Norphel also featured in CSE's award winning film 'Four Engineers and a Manager' and received the Great Indian Engineer award from the President of India.
Today the world knows the 72 year old Norphel as the 'Glacierman' and his accomplishments as a water engineer are being rediscovered in the context of climate Change.
See also
Waterworks India
[ Octo. 15, 1998 ]
Read full story
A social force called water
[ Octo. 15, 1998 ]
Read full story
A Himalayan Village Builds Artificial Glaciers to Survive Global
Warming
Dying Wisdom (download pdf)
The day of a Ladakhi Stream