Protecting springs must be central to climate change adaptation for the sake of the poorest and most isolated.
In a Himalayan village in India’s Pithoragarh district, springs that once gushed have shrunk to trickles. Women queue with jugs, children carry water far rather than playing after school. The loss of perennial springs is not just environmental, it’s deeply social.
A spreading regional crisis
Natural springs (known variously as naula, dhara, bowdi, paniyar, mool, chashma) throughout the Hindu-Kush Himalaya—across eight countries and supporting over 100 million people—have long been core sources of clean water for rural communities. But many of these springs are now drying up, becoming seasonal or disappearing. Nearly half of perennial springs in India’s Himalayan region have already degraded. Similar trends are noted in Nepal and Bhutan.
The poorest, remotest settlements suffer first: without piped water, unable to use tankers, lacking storage or pumps, they face the worst impacts. Underlying causes include erratic rainfall due to climate change, deforestation, poorly planned infrastructure, and the neglect of traditional water management practices—all damaging recharge areas (including hidden aquifers) that feed springs. Reduced spring flow exacerbates inequalities: women walk farther, children lose schooling or play, families lose livestock or must migrate.
How communities are bringing water back to life?
“Springshed management” is emerging as a promising, low-cost, community-led approach to adaptation. It involves protecting and restoring recharge zones—areas that collect and channel water underground to springs. Methods include hydrogeological assessments; mapping springs with local participation; studying flow and water quality; digging structures like ponds and trenches; replanting vegetation; preventing soil erosion and pollution. Also essential are gender-aware governance and ensuring women and marginalised groups participate.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has developed a six-step protocol for springshed management in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya. Supported by international donors, projects in Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, and Bhutan are already reviving springs, some within two to three years. In Uttarakhand’s Moldhar village, the Upala Shivani spring—serving ~80 households—doubled its discharge during lean months after locals dug over 700 toe trenches in the recharge zone. Results include less time fetching water, better fodder availability, and enhanced women’s leadership and community trust.
Why are springs missing from the global water agenda?
Despite successes, springs are largely absent from national climate action plans. They are typically omitted from water budgets, receive sporadic funding, and are dismissed as “too small scale” for climate finance or infrastructure projects—even though many rural and semi-urban water systems depend on them. Government capacity, political visibility, and technical awareness are often insufficient. Because spring rehabilitation is decentralised, slow, and low-profile, it does not attract political attention in the way dams or reservoirs do. Ignoring springs risks ecological harm and deeper social injustice.
Source: Sanjeev Bhuchar
Date: Sep. 5, 2025
