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Article

Sustainability Challenges to Springshed Water Management in India and Bangladesh: A Bird’s Eye View

by
Sara Nowreen
1,*,
Anil Kumar Misra
2,
Rashed Uz Zzaman
1,
Lalit Pokhrel Sharma
2 and
Md. Sadaf Abdullah
3
1
Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka P.O. Box 1000, Bangladesh
2
Department of Geology, Sikkim University, Gangtok 737102, Sikkim, India
3
Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka P.O. Box 1000, Bangladesh
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5065; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065065
Submission received: 8 December 2022 / Revised: 9 March 2023 / Accepted: 10 March 2023 / Published: 13 March 2023
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Abstract

:
Springshed management across mountainous states, such as India and Nepal, has paved the way for the groundwater recharge process. In contrast, despite introducing several interventions, the Bangladeshi government has never been officially exposed to such sustainable ideas for a spring revival. Therefore, this study aims to diagnose water security for the Himalayan region by applying an environmental security framework. Community perceptions documented through focus group discussions and key informant interviews, as well as water sample testing, helped highlight the existing issues of water scarcity, accessibility, quality, and governance structure. Exemplifying the condition of Bandarban in Bangladesh, notable gaps were found in spring-related scientific understanding. Specifically, the lack of adequate reservoirs, institutional coordination, water supply, utility maintenance, and accessibility hurdles were identified as areas requiring immediate attention. As a recovery route, a six-step protocol of springshed management shows more promising outcomes. However, Sikkim communities in India raised questions over its efficacy due to the improper execution of said protocols. A limited understanding of hill science, including inventory and inadequate inspections before implementation, were found to result in only partial success. Upgrading remains a challenge as maladaptation might increase landslides. Therefore, development plans demand rigorous science-based investigation, consideration of local community knowledge, and (pilot) monitoring before the upscaling of springshed projects can be successfully conducted.

1. Background

Springs are the main—or sometimes only—source of water for the people of the hills of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH). They meet both the domestic and agricultural demands of rural and urban communities [1], and often have cultural and religious significance [2]. However, mountain springs are increasingly facing such problems as perennial flows turning seasonal, drying up, or discharge reduction [3,4,5,6]. The main factors contributing to the drying up of springs are climate change, land use and land cover changes, unplanned infrastructure development, and other socioeconomic transformations, including urbanisation and tourism [7]. Among a large number of climate change factors, the conversion of forests to agricultural land, forest fires, unplanned infrastructure development, declining rainfall trends, and the disappearance of glacier slices in some parts have been commonly found to reduce percolation and increase high run-off activities in mountainous terrain, leading to the degradation of recharge zones [8]. Securing access to water, especially during times of shortages, is the key difficulty in India’s Himalayan area. In Meghalaya, India, high run-off is a problem, which is often exacerbated by mining and such urbanisation issues as deforestation. A spring’s discharge is impacted by the soil’s limited infiltration. Additionally, water catchment zones have been made worse by the changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures brought on by climate change [9].
Springshed management is a suitable strategy for spring recovery. It entails controlling a spring’s entire territory, from its recharging zone to its discharge zone. Designing a spring revival strategy that takes into account aquifers that run into springs can be simplified by applying the knowledge of hydrogeology [10]. In recent years, the notion of building ponds upstream to boost spring discharge or revitalise the springs from below has gained increasing popularity [11]. The efficacy of the replenishing process must be enhanced in order to further improve spring discharge [12]. This can be conducted by identifying the precise location where precipitation immediately recharges the spring’s groundwater aquifer [13]. Then, to increase the penetration of precipitation within the particular zone, several vegetative and structural modifications can be implemented [10]. To rejuvenate springs, this new approach (i.e., springshed management) emerged in the HKH that linked modern aspects of groundwater hydrogeology and people-centred governance. This initiative was implemented in order to reduce run-off and capture more rainwater to percolate to aquifers underneath, thus allowing an increase in the flow of springs [14]. Similar to India’s spring revival initiative (e.g., Dhara Vikas of Sikkim in the NITI Aayog report [15]), various HKH countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan, have attempted this participatory and iterative programme, and their ‘learning by doing’ concept has been greatly appreciated [16]. Figure S1 in the supplementary section shows the full HKH region. It is believed that such learning and experiences can also be copied in any hills of the HKH, such as those pertaining to Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh’s hilly region has never been exposed to such recharge ideas. There is no inventory of springs or dried-up sources, and the significance of spring revival has traditionally been somewhat neglected, despite several structural interventions (e.g., storage reservoirs, distribution) having already been built to address the need of using springs for upland communities. For water supply purposes, electricity and solar energy input have increasingly been used to help maximise the capture of spring discharges. There is a need to understand the science of groundwater in hills, e.g., how to control spring discharge reduction and water quality deterioration [17]. Moreover, a shift is required from top-down development tactics to a local community-based participatory management approach [18,19]. The decision making of the majority of water projects still follows a top-down approach [20], without multicriteria consideration starting from planning to implementation. To a great extent, this results in a lack of accountability in the management of springs, which in turn makes water insecure. Hence, the study addresses water security through a paradigmatic environmental security framework (ESF) [21] based on ethnographic research integrating the human dimensions of water security through studying a total of six spring-fed case studies from Sikkim, India and Bandarban, Bangladesh. While an ESF typically consists of various components, this research emphasises only two: (a) an operational (socio-technical management) framework and (b) frameworks to establish policies for sustainable development strategies. Firstly, the study focuses on three concepts (i.e., availability, access, and quality of water) of ground realities. Subsequently, a second framework for establishing and implementing policies was used for the sustainability of springs. In this regard, the objectives of this study were set to (a) develop and apply an ESF to conduct a societal study (behaviour, attitudes, ownership, deep-rooted issues) related to water security, (b) diagnose challenges for the identification of solutions, and (c) identify key intervention aspects and society-human dimensions (administration, management, distribution, equity, quality control, inspection, and socio-economic sustainability) in the Indian subcontinent for springshed management.

2. Study Area

Three field sites, located in Bandarban in Bangladesh and Sikkim in India, were chosen for detailed investigations (see Figure 1). The Sikkim locations were chosen due to the region having institutionalised springshed management. In Bangladesh, Bandarban has a relatable profile with Sikkim. As a part of spring selections, the following two criteria were prioritised: (a) springs with a large number of people or livelihood dependency and (b) springs that are centred specifically by one or many ethnic groups (chosen in order to maintain a link to diverse unheard voices).
Bandarban in the Chittagong hill tracts (CHTs) of Bangladesh is situated roughly between 92°10′–92°40′ E and 21°20′–21°50′ N with a total area of 4479.01 km2. Its total population of 404,093 [23] includes 179,400 ethnic people, of which the majority earn their living from agriculture [24]. For example, shifting cultivation, locally known as ‘Jhum’, is commonly practised by ethnic groups. Unlike the Sikkim site, indigenous people in the CHTs have been facing a unique set of environmental and socio-political problems for roughly two decades with ‘low-intensity armed conflict’ [25]. The rising number of Bengali settlers have been causing competition over the sustainability of scarce resources and are generally unaccustomed to ‘Pahari’ (hill people) systems. Further to agriculture, Pahari communities engage in forestry and livestock rearing. Natural springs are used as the primary source of drinking water for 59.9% of Bandarban’s ethnic households [1]. While these hills contain an enormous number of springs, only three (Kuholong, Chimbuk, and Plaidoi) were selected for the current study (Figure 1a). The latter two springs were the primary water providers for two different ethnic groups, namely the Mru and Murong, respectively, unique in terms of their culture, lifestyle, language, and religion. The Mru are a self-dependent group, mostly living in remote foothills, and rarely socialise with outsiders other than for market purposes either once a week or month. On the other hand, the Murong of Pladoi are more open to outsides and even work with Bengalis as day labourers. The Murong also allows their children to participate in formal education. Common cultural features of the Chimbuk and Pladoi springs include that the women wear only a short cloth covering the lower half of their bodies, and carry plastic water bottles in back baskets.
According to data from the 2011 census of India, Sikkim has a geographical area of 7096 km2 with 610,577 residents [26]. The majority of these people (i.e., 80% of rural households) are mainly dependent on springs. During the 2000s, spring discharges in Sikkim were reported to have decreased by over 35% [13]. For the purposes of the current study, local community perspectives of Joredhara spring at Tadong (East Sikkim), Perbing village (South Sikkim), and Nagi Lake at Namthang (South Sikkim) were assessed (see Figure 1b). The discharge of the spring in South Sikkim varies from 8 LPM to 130 LPM and follows the rainfall pattern [13]. However, many of the local springs in Namthang are drying up [27,28]. Notably, during the winter, domestic demand in South Sikkim is 410 L per family [29]. Through the initiative of Dhara Vikas in 2008, a six-step protocol [30] was launched for critical spring management. This protocol involves (1) comprehensive mapping, (2) baseline data monitoring, (3) understanding social and governance systems, (4) precise identification of recharge areas, (5) development of management and governance protocols, and (6) measuring impacts.

3. Methods

Between November 2018 and June 2019, we conducted three extensive fieldworks in each region. Using several participatory tools, 22 focus group discussions (FGD), 3 mobility mappings, and 18 formal and 25 informal meetings (as shown in Table 1) were conducted with local stakeholders, including marginalised ethnic groups, officials of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), the Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB), the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), and the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). Notably, the process of mobility mapping enabled us to gain a clear picture of local water access in terms of distances to water collection points. The Pahari have their own indigenous language; hence, communication was mostly layered through the interpretations of the Headman (local leader). Supplementary Table S2 shows country-wise participation details.
Sikkim contains three ethnic groups: the Bhutias, Lepchas, and Nepalese. These three groups represent a synthesis of three diverse traditions, cultures, and religions in the region. The majority of Sikkim’s residents speak the Nepali language. Thus, the interviews were conducted in Nepalese, especially in rural areas. In Sikkim, we held interviews with two major departments: the Rural Management and Development Department (RMDD) and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). Collected datasets were used for ESF [21] diagnosis. Schematics of the different ESF components used in this study are presented in Figure 2.
An ESF is a prime method with which to ensure the availability and sustainability of water resources in hilly terrain areas. An ESF first seeks to make a water source available to nearby habitation centres. This could be either in terms of a small pond, a reinforced cement concrete (RCC)-based reservoir, or a geomembrane-covered pond. The aim is to ensure that the water source is accessible, sustainable, and of high quality [21]. Experts and local views were considered in ranking the preference scores while preparing institutional maps. It should be noted that the institutional maps here present an overview of power structures and the influence of local institutions related to water security issues. After in-depth interviews, we conducted several reconnaissance surveys of their suggested sites. The primary data collected were focused on the following ESF components:
i
persistent water insecurity problems;
ii
problem of access to or availability of clean water;
iii
water quality impacts on the health of children and women;
iv
community challenges of addressing spring management and natural hazards (i.e., landslides, floods);
v
efficacy of the plausible management systems;
vi
lack of ‘modern’ infrastructure for supply of water, etc.
Subsequently, descriptive statistics of the interview responses helped in diagnosing the ESF. With the eight community leaders, the main points of discussion were the kinds of assistance they received from formal departments and development agencies, as well as an assessment of their perceptions regarding the potential challenges in dealing with springs and handling any issues. We considered the management views of 11 officials, 3 water experts, and 8 local leaders on the outcomes and consequences of spring water rejuvenation initiatives (in addition to the workshops and awareness training programmes they received regarding spring-fed system management) in ranking the preference scores while preparing institutional maps. The institutional performances were rated using a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tool called Matrix Ranking [31]. On the outputs of Matrix Ranking, an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used for normalized relative scores. A checklist with key questions asked during the individual interviews, FGDs with local community members, and meetings with key personnel is presented in Table S1. Note that all ethical issues (e.g., consent from participants prior to applying PRA tools) were carefully considered during the data collection process.
Additionally, in connection with stakeholder concerns, we sought to evaluate the quality of different drinking sources, such as natural springs, spring water collection points (i.e., taps), surface water (i.e., rivers and lakes), and groundwater tube wells, by testing a total of 48 sample kits of 14 locations for both dry (February–April) and wet (June–July) periods. An average of three samples were collected at each site in each season. Descriptive statistics were applied on these water quality sample tests. For the bacteriological sample collection method, (i) prewashed bottles made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were first rinsed with sampling water, (ii) sample bottles were carefully opened to fill to ¾ capacity without touching the inside of the bottle and closed by turning the top over twice (without touching the opening), (iii) the sample was inserted into a cool box to maintain a temperature of 4 °C, and finally, (iv) transported back to the lab for analysis within 6 h. The water quality parameters and corresponding lab analysis methods that followed are presented in Table 2.

4. Results

As per the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), ESFs are various processes of establishing the security of critical environmental factors, such as water, air, soil, biodiversity, vegetation, and climate, which are important components of any area’s environmental foundation [32]. However, ESFs are designed to be area-specific, meaning that one prepared for plateaued areas may not be suitable for such hill terrains as those found in Sikkim or Bandarban. The ESF prepared for the study area focuses on water resources, and includes issues related to the availability, accessibility, quality, and sustainability of water resources.

4.1. Concerns Regarding Water Availability

Several springs in the western and southern districts of Sikkim have completely dried up, resulting in acute water shortages. The majority of the villages are remote from river water supplies and do not have easily accessible roads, meaning that residents are forced to solely rely on springs or rainwater. When the water supply is limited to only certain portions of city areas—wherein water is available for less than one hour only two or three days a week—the situation becomes hugely exacerbated. There are several places where the availability of water is ensured by the creation of small ponds equipped with geomembranes and boulder walls that help hold rainfall and run-off for longer periods than usual. Moreover, some areas have reported discharge reductions for domestic and organic farming.
In Bangladesh, a timeline analysis from all of the respondents demonstrated a continued decrement of spring discharges for years. While respondents in Bangladesh did not have any historical records of discharge or numbers of sources, every community widely admitted to witnessing springs drying up in many locations. For the current study, timeline analysis refers to a PRA method that captures temporal dimensions from the historical perspective as recalled by local people. According to a few tribal respondents in the villages of Pladoi and Chimbuk, migration and internal displacement have already started due to a lack of perennial sources of water in a few remote villages. Such an unavailability of water was pointed to as a potential threat for future generations. Some respondents attributed it to anthropogenic factors associated with the increase of deforestation, the cutting of hills, illegal Jhum cultivation, and other developmental projects besides the impacts of climate change. However, we found the Pahari people to have compassion for Jhum cultivation. In the words of Mr Oga Pru, an ethnic group representative:
It is a common culture for hill owners/kings to allow ethnic groups to practice Jhum cultivation for few years out of compassion. In return, those Pahari replace erstwhile jungles with fruit plants to benefit hill kings out of courtesy before leaving the land.
In addition, tourism has prompted many Bengali job seekers to settle in peri-urban areas (e.g., Headman Para of Bandarban, Bangladesh) surrounded by perennial springs and with a town’s relative proximity to major tourist attractions, hence resulting in an increased water demand.

4.2. Concerns Regarding Accessibility

In Bangladesh, gravity-flow system (GFS) tanks are capable of storing spring discharges from far-off sources. However, without taking seasonal flows into account, governmental (GO) and non-governmental (NGO) organisations typically only invest in constructing GFS reservoirs connected to perennial springs only. During peak lean season, Pahari women and school-going children from far off sources continue to carry drinking water (often in plastic jars or small flasks) in small baskets on their backs on a daily basis. Contextually, it is a matter of concern that female Bengali settlers find it risky to carry these containers due to the steep terrain becoming slippery during the monsoon season. In particular, the back pain of Bengali women settlers was commonly reported as an effect of carrying water. Indeed, as Anna Purna, a local housewife, commented:
Since I got married and moved to this hilly zone of VangaMora village, I have been carrying 10 kg containers on my waist collecting water from 40-ft steep foothills at a rate of a minimum 4 times a day on average. Pains in the back, knee, and joints have become common for Bengali married settlers like I who had no previous experience of climbing up and down on slippery steep hills. This is likely to appear just within 2–3 years of moving into this mountainous region. We have been fighting to cope with such regular pains and believe in having no cure other than being adaptive.
Furthermore, the Pahari often collect water from a few points with minor water discharges along the roadside.
In South Sikkim, the majority of water supply sources come through pipelines passing along the road network. Most villagers use personal plastic PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) pipes to supply water to their own homes. Otherwise, domestic water is fetched in ‘gagris’ (small pots) and jerrycans, and is stored on a daily basis [33]. Traditionally, women’s thoughts and opinions are routinely ignored when it comes to the state’s policymaking for water provision [33]. Moreover, the aforementioned pipelines are often damaged due to landslides and can take months to repair, resulting in a suboptimal water supply. Furthermore, the distribution of water is unequal, with houses nearer to the spring enjoying a greater supply. Cases of water theft are also documented; hence, end users often suffer the most.

4.3. Concerns Regarding Water Quality

Water quality, in terms of the safety of drinking, is also a major concern [34,35]. In both countries, most villages experience waterborne diseases generally twice a year: (1) during the monsoon, when rain flushes faeces that into springs, thus polluting the water, and (2) during the prolonged dry period when faecal coliform (FC) increases due to poor maintenance of the existing reservoirs of dwindled springs. During the monsoon season, all springs also become muddy and turbid [4]. For instance, in Sikkim, the quality and quantity of spring water have deteriorated, causing such health problems as gastrointestinal illnesses and kidney-related diseases [35,36].

4.3.1. Microbiological and Chemical Properties of Water Specific to Bandarban Sites

Local stakeholders of Kuholong spring were found reluctant to use water for drinking purposes. The people of this area reported their intentions to initially collect water from underground sources, despite it being muddy and having iron problems compared to the water found in springs—due to Kuholong Lake’s spring being currently used to culture fish. Local residents reported being confused that the water could not be treated for the medicines (i.e., factory-made aquafeeds) used as food for fish. However, the issues of Plaidoi and Chimbuk villages were different from those of Kuholong. In the former villages, the spring water was contaminated with leaf litter and animal excreta, creating various waterborne diseases.
The laboratory test results of the water samples (as shown in Figure 3) indicated that the reservoirs had the highest pH values (7.7) in comparison with the other drinking water sources. A limit of 6.5–8.5 has been set by the Bangladesh Drinking Water Standards (BDWS). Groundwater is rich in iron (Fe). The analysed groundwater occasionally exceeded the acceptable Fe limits (0.3–1.0 mg/L) set by the BDWS. The water with high solids, i.e., total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS), indicated the presence of highly mineralised water. High TDS can occasionally lead to gastrointestinal irritation. However, the range of TDS concentration (i.e., 31–417 mg/L) was within the limit (1000 mg/L) prescribed by the BDWS.

4.3.2. Chemical Properties of Water Specific to Sikkim Sites

The water quality results for the Sikkim sites are illustrated in Figure 4 and were found to be within the permissible limits of the Bureau of Indian Standards. However, for the Joredhare Spring, Gangtok site (Figure 4), very low (i.e., 57 and 70 mg/L) TDS were observed in the spring as compared to the river (i.e., 256 mg/L), owing to the least rock–water interaction. This suggests that the main source of water for Joredhare Spring is precipitation, not snow or glacial meltwater, due to which significant seasonal variation in spring discharge in Joredhare was evident. Notably, TDS in river water is usually high in low altitudes or plain areas, as the water has more time for rock–water interaction owing to low to very low river flow velocity. However, in high altitude areas with steep to very steep slopes (as in Sikkim and Bandarban), the rivers flow at a very high velocity, meaning less rock–water interaction time and, consequently, low TDS.
Sustainability 15 05065 g003 550
Figure 3. Microbiological and chemical properties of water for the study sites in Bandarban, Bangladesh, where TH = Total Hardness, TDS = Total Dissolved Solid, EC = Electrical Conductivity, FC = Faecal coliform, and Fe = Iron.
Figure 3. Microbiological and chemical properties of water for the study sites in Bandarban, Bangladesh, where TH = Total Hardness, TDS = Total Dissolved Solid, EC = Electrical Conductivity, FC = Faecal coliform, and Fe = Iron.
Sustainability 15 05065 g003

4.4. Concern about Sustainability of Water Resources

Sikkim receives nearly 5000 mm of rainfall annually, which is more than sufficient for the Sikkimese and those from adjoining states. However, owing to the hilly topography, most of this water is lost in run-offs and moves to downward areas instead of recharging groundwater resources. Sikkim is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as landslides and earthquakes, which increases the dangers of locating reservoirs close to major habitation centres. The majority of the people in East, West, and South Sikkim depend on the springs for their domestic and irrigation water requirements, but the availability of water in springs during non-monsoon seasons is either low or non-existent. In order to increase the sustainability of springs, recharge pits have been built on the top of the hills, which have partially helped in some areas of South Sikkim by making springs perennial. Such springshed management under the Sikkimese government’s Dhara Vikas programme has created some hope for dying springs within the region. Figure 5 shows recharge pits in Sikkim’s Perbing village.
In the Bandarban area, the majority of the water demand is met through spring water, groundwater, or the supply of water either drained or pumped from local lakes filled during the monsoon. Groundwater resources are limited owing to existing geological conditions. Efforts by government agencies in the management of lake water and springs are a continuous process in Bandarban. Creating small water reservoirs near all major habitations in the area will make available water resources more sustainable.

4.5. Institutional Framework Related to Springs

4.5.1. Structures and Mechanisms for Bandarban

Table 3 illustrates the institutional bodies currently involved with spring utilisation and their working performances for Bandarban. More specifically, in Bandarban, mainly three GOs (DPHE, CHTDB, and BADC) and many NGOs have contributed to structural interventions for a large number of springs which, unfortunately, have been poorly maintained. We found that CHTDB received more appreciation from local communities, especially from those in more remote areas. However, we found that NGOs tended to maintain connections with villages, even after the culmination of projects. People can easily communicate with NGOs, often directly, although the extent of their work (in terms of the number of beneficiaries) tends to be lower than that of GOs. DPHE has long been working with GFSs to reach millions of people, including many ethnic groups residing in hill tracts. Notwithstanding, many community demands for GFSs have not been met. Indeed, some communities’ applications are under process and the elite capture of certain already-built GFS structures has resulted in poor maintenance. These lowered the ranking of DPHE to 3 (Figure 6a). Notably, the illegitimate capture of GFS in Kuholong by the elite groups created a managerial conflict between DPHE and local stakeholders. LGED and BWDB received the lowest score (Table 3) for having no visible or direct association with local communities.

4.5.2. Structures and Mechanisms for Sikkim

In Sikkim state, two GOs, namely RMDD and PHED (as seen in Table 3), primarily contributed to the development of a springshed management programme and the maintenance of springs, respectively. Here, RMDD was found to have a greater influence than the other organisation. PHED mainly contributes to springshed management through two activities: (a) water supply and maintenance and (b) water quality monitoring. As shown in Table 3, water quality (relative score = 2.88) was being compromised by oversupplying water and maintaining the supply lines (relative score = 3).

4.6. Status of Water Security

Our study on the status of water security for Bandarban shows that water resources were available to ~60% of households of the study area with accessibility for only approximately 25% of people (Figure 7a). Drawing insights from Kuholong of Bandarban, it is apparent that the suffering caused by the inadequacy of the reservoir facility contributed to existing maintenance hurdles during the monsoon along with accessibility difficulties due to the geographic locations of springs. Among the immediate issues in Bandarban, the lack of institutional coordination around the management and supply of water cannot be overlooked. Last but not least, water quality issues (mostly pertaining to faecal matter or E. coli) have already become a major issue for ensuring sustainability.
Water scarcity is severe in South Sikkim, with availability for 40% of major habitations of the study area and accessibility to 35% of residents (Figure 7b). The majority of Sikkim reported health problems connected to severe stomach-related diseases either due to drinking water from poorly maintained reservoirs or from unprotected recharge sources becoming contaminated during the monsoon with leaf litter and animal excreta. Hence, springs are in dire need of effective and sustainable revival strategies. Figure 7c shows the major water security issues common to both countries and points out general solutions proposed by stakeholders.

5. Key Findings

Springs in the HKH region have long been the centre of attention in the exploitation of domestic and irrigation resources. Similar to the Sikkim site, easy access (by roads or pipeline services) to more water collection points and safety are common concerns for the local tribal groups of Bangladesh. In the current water system, there is little scope for users’ participation, multi-stakeholder involvement, and linkage establishment among independent policies in the dimensions of governmental structures. Poor GO performance often results in propositions for community maintenance being rejected (Figure 3). Poor maintenance of the existing GFS reservoirs of Bangladesh springs aids in faecal growth, which results in stomach pains and, in some cases, problematic diarrhoea in children, especially during the monsoon season. Bangladesh has never officially attempted to recharge or revive its springs. Until now, the total absence of science in the Bangladeshi process has not been overcome.
On the other hand, the Sikkimese government has emphasised the understanding of spring dynamics both in a scientific and traditional manner. Various programmes (e.g., Dhara Vikas) have been initiated in order to study the linkage of springs and geographic settings. In some cases—particularly in Perbing village—they have been met with some success in reviving spring discharge. Specifically, local communities of Perbing and Namthang have claimed to have benefitted from the enrichment of biodiversity, though no visible increase in spring flow has thus far been perceived. In fact, the efficacy of improved recharge is limited in terms of conclusive evidence as per community perspectives. Furthermore, gastrointestinal and kidney-related diseases [35] linked with deteriorated drinking water sources have been identified in Sikkim. In line with such concerns, it appears that the six-step protocols proposed in the practitioner’s manual [30] on spring revival and improvement are a comprehensive process. However, many challenges exist in implementing these protocols. Details on key sustainability challenges are as follows.

5.1. Lack of Information and Data

Unfortunately, along with a lack of manpower to collect data, there is no inventory of springs for Bangladesh. In order to minimise such problems as the difficulty of long-term planning, GOs have assigned the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) to conduct the spring inventory-cum-management plan (source: CHTDB interview).
India, on the other hand, is gradually overcoming the lack of information collection by engaging hydro-geologists and stakeholders, as well as by developing an instrumental setup. The requirement of a database that shows spring conditions is worth mentioning. In this regard, according to Buono [37], India must shift from gross estimation to more rigorous and detailed surveys on the total number of springs with the people dependent on them in order to derive spring density numbers more precisely.

5.2. Knowledge Gap

Sikkim respondents raised concerns over practically following the scientific protocols of springshed management. According to Seidler et al. [28], the demand for detailed investigative research is an unquestionable issue as the wrong location for the recharging process can increase landslide risks through saturating the soil with a reduction of friction. Accordingly, experts have suggested avoiding areas with slope gradients of over 50°.
In the case of Bangladesh, other than afforestation and the construction of staggered trenches along contour lines, no physical, biological, or management measures have ever been considered for spring recharge. For reviving springs, there are few or no awareness programmes.

5.3. Lack of Experienced Hydro-Geologists

The biggest challenge is to understand the hydrogeology of hills. Few respondents in Sikkim raised the issue of less experienced hydro-geologists causing the springshed management system to completely fail. To tackle this issue, locally collected scientific detailing, such as expensive isotope signature analyses [38], was attempted in Nepal [39] and India [40,41,42] as a part of clarifying unknown technical questions on aquifers. However, Seidler et al. [28] later claimed that certain studies (e.g., Dhakal et al. [40]) have failed to detect a conclusive recharge area and map the underlying linkages.

5.4. Lack of Multi-Stakeholder Governance Coordination

From the meetings with key personnel, we found there to be an absence of multi-institutional collaboration among GOs, NGOs, and local community leaders in Bangladesh. In the case of most donor/fund-driven spring-related projects, local stakeholders play a receiver’s role. Community ownership is largely absent for GO projects, which leads to neither taking responsibility over maintenance or waiting for GOs to conduct structural repairs. Even in Kuholong spring, a newly constructed GFS reservoir could not be handed over to the community due to a conflicting situation initiated by the elite capture. Resolving multi-stakeholder issues may improve such persistent conflicts.
In the case of Sikkim’s initiatives (i.e., Dhara Vikas), Sen et al. [43] highlighted the existing complex power dynamics in multi-stakeholder processes that influence springshed management. The study identified (1) some crucial but curtailed missing actors; (2) a shift in decision making to non-state and local actors; and (3) the necessity of exchanging information for effective policy implementation. A lack of comprehension in the diversified interests of multiple stakeholders may result in the failure to build a stronger interdisciplinary and inclusive knowledge network.

6. Recommendations

Problems in mountainous areas are often systemic and rooted in an approach to water security by local governments that pay little consideration to spring-based management systems. As believed by over 75% of local residents of the HKH, climate change (including anthropogenic and external factors) is causing springs to dry up or become seasonal [44,45]. Springshed management and practitioner manuals [30] can play a vital role in inaugurating recharge plausibility. However, a workable and realistic development plan initially needs an inventory of springs, followed by the establishment of monitoring through a combination of community action and data loggers. Inventories should also have geologies, flow estimations, community profiles, and water quality sampling. Without understanding the science of groundwater in hills, any plan or intervention will likely result in failure. The aim of water security in the HKH region, as in Bandarban and Sikkim, can be achieved by implementing important components of the ESF, for example, by ensuring that water resources are available to at least 40–60% of households and accessible to 65–75% of residents. Here, water accessibility has become a major issue owing to its presence in (highly) remote and inaccessible terrain. The transfer of water to residents’ pipelines from such water bodies may be neither easy nor economically possible. Further rainy season landslides damage water supply pipelines, which can take months to repair. Providing small water reservoirs near habitations can address such problems in the Indian subcontinent. Along with structural development, there is a need to shift to a participatory management approach. Specifically, local communities in Bandarban scored institutional performance a 2.5 out of 5, for which they blamed the lack of institutional coordination. Furthermore, during the monsoon, a growth in faecal matter of up to 160 CFU and turbidity above the acceptable limit (>10 NTU) have been found to cause gastrointestinal illness in Bangladesh. Similarly, the Sikkimese reported the low maintenance of reservoirs as a major issue behind the presence of faecal matter or E. coli that requires immediate attention. However, our study was limited to three water sample tests per site per season and two case studies per country. More intensive surveys with a greater representative area coverage may more accurately reflect the situation in the HKH region.
As a part of a sustainable solution, in parallel to hydro-geological mapping, indigenous traditional knowledge could aid in devising site-specific management strategies [46] for the protection of springs. Further to the community or the management of local government institutions (LGIs), capacity-building programmes [45] and pilot studies on rehabilitation should be incorporated. Further study [16] from various angles is necessary before scaling up. For example, analyses on water dating, stable isotopes (e.g., δ18O, δ2H, δ3H), water chemistry (e.g., nitrate, calcium), and physical properties (e.g., electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, TDS) could also aid in understanding the sources of springs. Larger-scaled and more detailed isotopic studies on a series of samples at regular intervals along an elevational slope above the spring may overcome these shortcomings [28]. In general, the science of spring revival is still in a developmental stage. Therefore, upgrading remains a challenge as maladaptation without adequate study could well result in increasing the potentiality of landslides.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/su15065065/s1. Table S1: A checklist of key questions used in Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools; Table S2. Country-wise participatory tool distribution of (22) focus group discussions (FGD), (3) mobility mapping, (18) formal and (25) informal meetings; Figure S1. The study area positions in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) region [47].

Author Contributions

S.N. and A.K.M. conceived the investigations and led the interpretation; R.U.Z. led the data visualization and formal analyses; M.S.A. performed the data formatting; L.P.S. made related contributions. S.N. wrote original draft paper; S.N. and A.K.M. contributed in review. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The study makes use of primary data collected through a collaborative research project titled “Diagnosing Water security in hard to reach mountainous areas with an environmental security framework” under HUC-SDC Focus Grant 2018 of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The basic research grant that the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh, gave to the first author will pay for part of the publication fee.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) (Letter No. Estt./Ta-4/R-6322 dated 20 February 2023).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Raw data are available in the native language only.

Acknowledgments

The main information for this study came from a collaborative research project called “Diagnosing Water Security in Hard to Reach Mountainous Areas with an Environmental Security Framework,” which was funded by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The authors gladly recognize the basic research grant provided to the first author by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh, which contributed to the payment of a portion of the publication price.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Location of (a) three field sites of Bandarban in Bangladesh and (b) three sites of Sikkim (modified from [22]) in India where springs and villages are studied.
Figure 1. Location of (a) three field sites of Bandarban in Bangladesh and (b) three sites of Sikkim (modified from [22]) in India where springs and villages are studied.
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Figure 2. Schematics of the Environmental Security Framework (ESF) with its different components used in the methodology.
Figure 2. Schematics of the Environmental Security Framework (ESF) with its different components used in the methodology.
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Figure 4. Microbiological and chemical properties of water for the study sites in Sikkim, India, where TH = Total Hardness, TDS = Total Dissolved Solid, EC = Electrical Conductivity, and FC = Faecal coliform.
Figure 4. Microbiological and chemical properties of water for the study sites in Sikkim, India, where TH = Total Hardness, TDS = Total Dissolved Solid, EC = Electrical Conductivity, and FC = Faecal coliform.
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Figure 5. Recharge pits at the top of the hills at Perbing village.
Figure 5. Recharge pits at the top of the hills at Perbing village.
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Figure 6. Institutional mapping based on local community perceptions related to the spring water management for the study sites in (a) Bandarban of Bangladesh and (b) South Sikkim of India. Here, the organizations from Bangladesh are Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). The organisations for Sikkim of India are Rural Management and Development Department (RMDD) and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED).
Figure 6. Institutional mapping based on local community perceptions related to the spring water management for the study sites in (a) Bandarban of Bangladesh and (b) South Sikkim of India. Here, the organizations from Bangladesh are Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). The organisations for Sikkim of India are Rural Management and Development Department (RMDD) and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED).
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Figure 7. Status of Water Security in relation to Water availability, Water accessibility, Water Quality and Risks and Challenges for (a) Bandarban sites in Bangladesh, (b) South Sikkim, India. Panel (c) shows major environmental security issues and their solutions that are common for any springshed operation in both Bangladesh and Indian hills.
Figure 7. Status of Water Security in relation to Water availability, Water accessibility, Water Quality and Risks and Challenges for (a) Bandarban sites in Bangladesh, (b) South Sikkim, India. Panel (c) shows major environmental security issues and their solutions that are common for any springshed operation in both Bangladesh and Indian hills.
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Table
Table 1. List of personnel approached for in-depth interviews.
Table 1. List of personnel approached for in-depth interviews.
DesignationOrganization
1. Executive DirectorArannayk Foundation (i.e., local NGO), Bangladesh
2. Executive DirectorTahzingdong (i.e., local NGO), Bangladesh
3. Principal Scientific OfficerSoil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), Bangladesh
4. Assistant EngineerChittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB), Bangladesh
5. Sub Assistant EngineerDepartment of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Bangladesh
6. Executive EngineerBangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC)
7. Assistant EngineerBangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB)
8. Senior Assistant EngineerLocal Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh
9. Assistant Conservation of ForestForest Department, Bangladesh
10. 8 Local community leaders (locally known as Karbari in Bandarban and as Gram Pradhan in Sikkim)Karbari of Plaidoi Para, Vangamora Para, Headman Para, and Chimbuk Para of Bangladesh.
Gram Pradhan of Tadong, Perbing and Namthang of India
11. Officer on Special Duty (OSD)Rural Management and Development Department (RMDD), India
12. StaffPublic Health Engineering Department (PHED), India
13. Program ManagerThe Mountain Institute (TMI), India
14. Senior Watershed Management SpecialistInternational Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
15. Executive DirectorAdvanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM)
Table
Table 2. List of water quality tested parameters and analysis method.
Table 2. List of water quality tested parameters and analysis method.
Water Quality ParametersAnalysis MethodLaboratory in Charge
pHpH MeterDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Total Dissolved Solid (TDS)MultimeterDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Iron (Fe)Atomic Absorption SpectrophotometerDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Electric Conductivity (EC)EC MeterDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
HardnessTitrimeticDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Coliform (Faecal)Membrane DPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Coliform (Total)Membrane DPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
TurbidityTurbidity MeterDPHE (Bangladesh), PHED (India)
Table
Table 3. Relative performances of existing organizations from community perspectives on spring governance in Bandarban, Bangladesh, and Sikkim, India. It is on a scale of 0 to 5, 5 being ‘Very favorable’, 0 being ‘No linkage’, and ‘-’ being ‘Not applicable’. Here, from Bandarban, Bangladesh, the organizations are CHTDB = Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board, DPHE = Department of Public Health Engineering, LGED = Local Government Engineering Department, BADC = Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, BWDB = Bangladesh Water Development Board. From Sikkim, India, the organizations are RMDD = Rural Management and Development Department, PHED (a) = Public Health Engineering Department (Water supply and maintenance), PHED (b) = Public Health Engineering Department (Water quality monitoring).
Table 3. Relative performances of existing organizations from community perspectives on spring governance in Bandarban, Bangladesh, and Sikkim, India. It is on a scale of 0 to 5, 5 being ‘Very favorable’, 0 being ‘No linkage’, and ‘-’ being ‘Not applicable’. Here, from Bandarban, Bangladesh, the organizations are CHTDB = Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board, DPHE = Department of Public Health Engineering, LGED = Local Government Engineering Department, BADC = Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, BWDB = Bangladesh Water Development Board. From Sikkim, India, the organizations are RMDD = Rural Management and Development Department, PHED (a) = Public Health Engineering Department (Water supply and maintenance), PHED (b) = Public Health Engineering Department (Water quality monitoring).
AspectsIssuesBandarban, BangladeshSikkim, India
CHTDBDPHENGOsBADCBWDBLGEDRMDDPHED (a)PHED (b)
Legal
Dimension		Project initiation Fund for GFS553151132
Scope for user participation425201224
Policy
Dimensions		Performance in project selection425301342
Linkages with other policies351101235
Accountability and Regulatory mechanisms504302122
Administrative
Dimensions		Quality of Work5345--323
Spring inventory data availability for planning-52101234
Science and technology application regarding GFS55355-553
Degree of
Alignment		Acceptability to Community525100431
Average (Relative) Score5342112.5532.88
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Nowreen, S.; Misra, A.K.; Zzaman, R.U.; Sharma, L.P.; Abdullah, M.S. Sustainability Challenges to Springshed Water Management in India and Bangladesh: A Bird’s Eye View. Sustainability 2023, 15, 5065. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065065

AMA Style

Nowreen S, Misra AK, Zzaman RU, Sharma LP, Abdullah MS. Sustainability Challenges to Springshed Water Management in India and Bangladesh: A Bird’s Eye View. Sustainability. 2023; 15(6):5065. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065065

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nowreen, Sara, Anil Kumar Misra, Rashed Uz Zzaman, Lalit Pokhrel Sharma, and Md. Sadaf Abdullah. 2023. "Sustainability Challenges to Springshed Water Management in India and Bangladesh: A Bird’s Eye View" Sustainability 15, no. 6: 5065. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065065

APA Style

Nowreen, S., Misra, A. K., Zzaman, R. U., Sharma, L. P., & Abdullah, M. S. (2023). Sustainability Challenges to Springshed Water Management in India and Bangladesh: A Bird’s Eye View. Sustainability, 15(6), 5065. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065065

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