ASSIGNMENT(ENV)

Question -1
Write a document about the Catskill Mountain watershed management
program and how ecosystem service helped to supply pristine nature
water to millions of people instead of installing a water treatment plant.
ANSWER:
The New York City Watershed is one of the largest unfiltered surface
water collection and distribution systems in the world. The watershed
covers almost 2,000 square miles. Ninety percent of New York City’s
water comes from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains; the remaining ten
percent comes from reservoirs east of the Hudson River in Ditches and
Orange Counties. As part of New York City’s comprehensive watershed
protection plan, watershed farmers agree to work with the Watershed
Agricultural Program to develop and implement whole farm
environmental plans. New York City funds the whole farm planning effort
under contract with The WAC contracts with agencies to provide the
technical expertise needed to develop and implement the plans. Cornell
Cooperative Extension Delaware County is proud to be a partner of the
Watershed Agricultural Council through agricultural and educational sub-
contracts.

Ecosystem service helped by Offering something for nearly everyone, the

City’s watershed plan soon became the darling of environmentalists and
economists alike. Now, with this novel scheme reaching its maturity,
experts are examining whether the City’s ecosystem approach actually
proved to be the more economic choice. And, with so many competing
priorities, many wonder also whether the watershed program has a
future others can emulate. From the perspective of William Harding, a
biologist and executive director of the Watershed Protection and
Partnership Council, a state agency offering a forum for the varied
partners, the ecosystem solution could last indefinitely, “as long as the
watershed doesn’t make the same mistakes as others have, believing they
could adequately attenuate the effects of over-development.”
IT is likely to be far less costly to provide safe drinking water by
protecting watersheds, thereby maintaining natural processes, than to
build and operate a filtration plant. Further, protecting watersheds to
provide clean water also enhances provision of other ecosystem service.
As discussed throughout this report, such ecosystem services are
arguably far harder to value economically. Since this value of protecting
watersheds for the provision of clean water, which is the preferred
option even without consideration of these additional values, it is not
necessary to establish a value for these services for the policy purposes.
Thus, protecting watersheds can be justified on the basis of the
provision of clean drinking water alone.
Finally, it should be emphasized that the value of providing clean
drinking water is only a partial measure of the value of ecosystem
services provided by the watershed and replacement cost is rarely a
good measure of the value of ecosystem services. Even if water quality
benefits alone did not justify watershed protection, such a finding would
not justify abandoning efforts at watershed protection. To make that
decision would require a broader effort to measure the value of the
wider set of ecosystem services produced by Catskill watersheds.it is
less clear the estimates to answer this broader question are sufficiently
precise to provide policy-relevant answer replacement cost methods can
be used as a measure of the value of ecosystem only when there are
alternatives ways to provide the same service and when the service will
be demanded if provided by the least cost alternative. Replacement cost
does not constitute an estimate of value of the service to society, it
represents the value of having the ability to produce the service through
an ecosystem rather than through an alternative method.

QUESTION-2
TAKE ANY INDIAN WATERSHED AND SEE WHETHER A SMILAR
APPROACH CAN BE USED TO SUPPLY WATERTO URBANISED AREAS
OF INDIA.
ANSWER:
my view of ganga watershed supply water to urbanised areas:
Large scale emigrations from rural areas to urban areas and population
growth have been uninterrupted and accelerating phenomena in parts of
Ganga basin, where urbanization is increasing at an unprecedented rate.
Urban agglomeration is causing radical changes in groundwater recharge
and modifying the existing mechanisms. Majority of the cities are sited on
unconfined or semi-confined aquifers depend upon river water and
groundwater for most of their water supply and disposal of most of their
liquid effluents and solid residues to the rivers and ground. There has also
been an inevitable rise in waste production. Water tables are declining at
approximately an average of 0.20 m per year in many parts of the basin and
there is a trend of deteriorating groundwater quality. The demand of water
has been increased many folds and most of the areas are highly reliant upon
the groundwater to meet this increasing demand for water, but
unfortunately degradation of groundwater both in terms of quantity and
quality has deteriorated the situation. In densely populated Ganga basin
urban drainage consumes a high proportion of the investments into urban
infrastructure and needs integrated approach for the sustainable
development of water management, water education regarding
conservation and pollution caused by urbanization. Urban water-supply
systems are increasingly burdened because of increase in
population, economic growth, lifestyle changes and urbanization.
Climate change puts additional pressure on the already stressed
“urban water systems” by aggravating the challenges of water
scarcity and water quality deterioration.

QUESTION -3
DESCRIBE WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES
IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT.
ANSWER
CHALLENGES:
• The religious sentiment of people and cultural practice like
disposing of various non-degradable material in ganga as part of
customs and tradition.

• Waste water from drains flowing into the river which pollutes the
river.

• Untreated municipal sewages.

 • The absence of urban planning, waste treatment integrated plants,
of house waste.

• House hold waste directly draining into river

ADVANTAG:
Ganga truly is uniquely different from other bodies of water. with these
powerful and unique scientific implication, we can see that there is still
much to learn about ganga .it is a tragedy that ganga distinctive nature is
quickly deteriorating. Ganga is believed to possess are not purely faith-
based belief, but rather have now been supported by much scientific
evidence and research.

BBA, 4TH SEMESTER

GOLI SOWMYA SRI
AP20311130018