Mountain hazard susceptibility and livelihood security in the upper catchment area of the river Beas, Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Natural hazards have had significant impacts on life, livelihood and property in the mountain regions. Hazards identification in high mountain areas involved intensive and lengthy fieldwork and mapping with the interpretation of landforms and its related hazards, compulsion of increasing intensity of land-use and careless application of technology leading to further land degradation. Frequent occurrences of hazards such as landslides, snow avalanche, floods and other types of mass wasting are becoming common features in mountainous regions. Himalayan watershed has undergone a most dynamic change in land-use owing to the rapid increase in the population. The change in biophysical systems posed the direct bearing on the hydrological regime of Beas River. The peoples’ perceptions regarding origin of hazards and techniques of control to the hazards showed that indigenous and lowland communities are more susceptible to hazards. Deforestation, slope cutting, construction of roads and heavy rainfall were high responsible factors resulting frequent landslides and soil erosion. Hazards cannot be avoided, however their disastrous pursuits can be lessened through pro-active uses of a variety of planning measures, infrastructure and risk transfer mechanism. Afforestation, embankment, better drainage techniques on slope, check on urban sprawl, and ecotourism are effective techniques to offset the local hazards and livelihood vulnerabilities. Owing to the typical geomorphic setting such as high relief variations, thick forest cover, presence of glacier and glacial lakes along the higher reaches, the Beas River is prone to cloudbursts, flash floods, forest fires, landslides and mass movement. The sustainable livelihood of Beas River may best be bestowed by enhanced land-uses aided by technologies of bio-engineering, denaturalization of degraded mountain geosystem and resilience for changes.