River Valley Development Research Articles

Rock avalanches and the pace of late Quaternary development of river valleys in the Karakoram Himalaya

We discuss the implications of a set of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) ages on blocky, cross-valley deposits of large rock avalanches along upper Indus streams. The dated deposits are key to understanding late Quaternary events that play a major role in landscape evolution in the Karakoram Himalaya. The landslides occurred between 3 and 8 ka ago, challenging existing chronologies of events along Indus streams. The TCN ages may support a mid-Holocene climatic role in preparing slopes for failure, but the balance of evidence suggests that large earthquakes triggered the landslides. Each landslide dammed the Indus or a major tributary and controlled base level and sedimentation for millennia. They produced landforms long regarded as characteristic of the region, including extensive lacustrine deposits, flights of river terraces, epigenetic gorges, and sediment fans. Until the 1990s, most of the landslides were interpreted as moraines; related lacustrine and other sediments continue to be attributed to glacial damming, and stream terraces to tectonic processes. Generally they were seen to originate tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years earlier than the new ages require. Instead we argue that they record interactions among different geomorphic processes in landslide-fragmented valleys during the Holocene. Rather than being geomorphic markers of tectonic and climatic events, the landslides have buffered or redirected climatic and tectonic forcing. In such an active orogen, millennia-long episodes of zero net bedrock incision at each site are surprising. However, rates of sedimentation above landslide barriers and erosion controlled by their breaching are close to today9s high measured rates for geomorphic activity. We propose that landslide-fragmented rivers may, in fact, characterize interglaciations and future patterns of upper Indus landscape evolution at time scales of 10 3 to 10 4 years.

Damming the Mahanadi river: The emergence of multi-purpose river valley development in India (1943-46)

Nehruvian mnnumentalism has often been described as the most significant driver for large dam construction in independent India. Political and popular imagination has, until recently, not only largely hailed the pursuit of multi-purpose river valley development (MPRVD) as heralding the nation into the modern moment, but, more signifecantly, the latter has been celebrated as a part of an apolitical consensus for national development. This article argues that MPRVD schemes were introduced in India in a political context where Indian capital and the colonial state were constituting a new rhetoric and paradigm for rule.

Environmental Overview of the Sardar Sarovar Project

An overview of the various studies conducted to assess the environmental, ecological and social impacts, both positive and negative, of the Sardar Sarovar Project is presented. These studies have generally attempted to enhance the positive impacts, and to reduce the negative ones. The Sardar Sarovar Project is by far the most studied water project in the developing world, especially in social and environmental terms. The river Narmada and its numerous tributaries are a part of a very diverse system. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the river valley development is a complex task. The intricate interactions between various parameters, many of which cannot be definitively predicted, make EIA studies extremely difficult. The success of this project depends on how fast and how efficiently the various governmental agencies can work together with the NGOs, academics, the general public, and of course the politicians and policy makers.

River Basin Management: A Case Study of Narmada Valley Development with Special Reference to the Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat, India

Intra-basin and inter-basin transfer of water have become a necessity in view of severe regional imbalances in availability of water and drought conditions in India. This paper addresses the fundamental issues of river basin management in a multi-objective framework with a unique case study of Narmada River Valley Development, and demonstrates that the socioeconomic needs of the people override the rest of the working objectives. In inter-state water allocation, even a non-riparian state is considered when looking at the needs of the people. This paper focuses on the Sardar Sarovar Project on the river Narmada and highlights its rehabilitation, environmental and social aspects, and concludes that the project is a lifeline for people in western India.

Modeling longitudinal-profile development in response to Late Quaternary tectonics, climate and sea-level changes: the River Meuse

We present a forward-modelling case study for the development of the longitudinal profile of a basin–marginal fluvial system (River Meuse, NW Europe) responding to Late Quaternary tectonics, climate and sea-level changes. Modelling results show that river reaches in different tectonic domains will respond differently to isochronous events of climate and sea-level change. Climatic change dominates river–valley development in the long-term uplifting upper and middle Meuse reaches (NE Paris Basin, Ardennes, terrace flight area). An alternation of stadial depositional and interstadial erosional phases causes net aggradation of the river valley during glacials, but the river valley considerably degrades during interglacials. The long-term trend in these upper and middle reaches is river–valley degradation. Continuous aggradation leads to long-term deposition during glacials in the subsiding lower Meuse reaches, including the greater part of the Venlo-Block area, the western Roer Valley Graben and the southern part of the West Netherlands Basin. However, decreasing sediment supply combined with increasing discharges at the start of interglacials favours discharge-controlled (kinetic) incision in these net-depositional areas. Post-glacial sea-level rise and the subsequent interglacial highstand strongly influence the subsiding graben areas and the southern West Netherlands Basin. Rising sea level generates a zone of gradient-backfilling that migrates upstream with time. Consequently, the terrace intersection migrates upstream too and a coastal prism is built up during the interglacial highstand. The present case study indicates that the Meuse terrace intersection may migrate to at least 113 km upstream from the modelled coastline. The model also suggests post-interglacial incision of the Eemian highstand coastal prism during the subsequent relative sea-level fall in the Early Weichselian.

Malaria and the Narmada-river development in India: a case study of the Bargi dam

The largest river-valley development to be proposed in India is that in the Narmada valley. The building of the Bargi dam, a multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric project, in Jabalpur, in central India, formed part of the first phase of the development of this valley (1974–1988). Many villages and several hectares of land in three districts were submerged as the waters rose behind the dam, the worst affected area being the catchment area of the primary health centre (PHC) at Narayanganj, in Mandla district. Until recently, cases of malaria were relatively rare in Narayanganj. However, an epidemic of malaria in late 1996 claimed hundreds of lives in the area and the outbreak spread, during 1997, to new villages in the region. A review of the records collected by the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP) not only indicated that the slide positivity rate (SPR) for Narayanganj increased > 7.45-fold between 1979 and 1997 but also that the slide falciparum rate (SFR) increased > 32-fold over the same period. The NMEP data available for Mandla district as a whole indicated a doubling in mean SPR and SFR between 1979 and 1997. There is no evidence that a new species of vector has established since 1979. In fact, indoor-resting densities of anophelines and of the most established vector, Anopheles culicifacies, have fallen since the dam was built, but densities of another vector, An. fluviatilis, have increased.

Malaria and the Narmada-river development in India: a case study of the Bargi dam.

The largest river-valley development to be proposed in India is that in the Narmada valley. The building of the Bargi dam, a multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric project, in Jabalpur, in central India, formed part of the first phase of the development of this valley (1974-1988). Many villages and several hectares of land in three districts were submerged as the waters rose behind the dam, the worst affected area being the catchment area of the primary health centre (PHC) at Narayanganj, in Mandla district. Until recently, cases of malaria were relatively rare in Narayanganj. However, an epidemic of malaria in late 1996 claimed hundreds of lives in the area and the outbreak spread, during 1997, to new villages in the region. A review of the records collected by the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP) not only indicated that the slide positivity rate (SPR) for Narayanganj increased > 7.45-fold between 1979 and 1997 but also that the slide falciparum rate (SFR) increased > 32-fold over the same period. The NMEP data available for Mandla district as a whole indicated a doubling in mean SPR and SFR between 1979 and 1997. There is no evidence that a new species of vector has established since 1979. In fact, indoor-resting densities of anophelines and of the most established vector, Anopheles culicifacies, have fallen since the dam was built, but densities of another vector, An. fluviatilis, have increased.

Technology transfer from Asia to Africa sets the stage for public- and private-sector collaboration in new technology in Senegal

In the early 1990s, the productivity and profitability of irrigated systems in the Senegal River Valley began to be questioned. The Senegal River Valley Development Authority (known as SAED) found that harvest and postharvest constraints were very important, both in costs and in grain quality losses. SAED agents therefore turned to research, specifically to the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute (known by the French acronym ISRA) and to WARDA to help find alternatives.

Collapse of riparian poplar forests downstream from dams in western prairies: Probable causes and prospects for mitigation

Although historically abundant, the riparian poplar forests of the western prairies are now endangered as a result of the damming and diversion of rivers in this region. Recent reports have described substantial declines of riparian poplar forests downstream from dams in Alberta, Canada; Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona, USA. The present report analyzes the forest and hydrological conditions reported previously in order to clarify the causes of the downstream forest decline. Dams were found to contribute to forest failure by (1) reducing downstream flows and/or (2) altering flow patterns to attenuate spring flooding and/or stabilize summer flows. Reduced flows are reported to induce drought stress, which is particularly lethal to seedlings and very old poplars. The artificial moderation of spring flooding may inhibit the formation of seedbeds essential for seedling replenishment. Increased river valley development involving cattle grazing, agricultural clearing, and direct harvesting of trees also contributes to forest failure. Potential methods for mitigating the impacts of dams on downstream forests include downstream flow schedules that (1) retain occasional spring flooding, (2) taper off rather than abruptly drop downstream flow, and (3) provide adequate flows throughout the summer. Poplar forest stabilization and recovery can be further promoted by fencing to protect trees from livestock grazing and trampling, or artificial site preparation such as cultivation or scarification to encourage poplar regeneration.

Retrogressive slumps, debris flows and river valley development in icy, unconsolidated sediments on hills and mountains

Retrogressive slumps, debris flows and river valley development in icy, unconsolidated sediments on hills and mountains

Habitat Use by Columbian White-Tailed Deer

Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) were studied to provide information for management of habitat essential to this endangered subspecies. Vegetation was assigned to major community groupings of rush, thistle, grass, horsetail, and forest. Coverage of 85% of the 790-ha study area provided information concerning utilization of the plant communities by these animals that have adopted a diurnal activity pattern. Communities providing both cover and forage were more heavily utilized than were communities providing cover or forage alone. Communities providing forage alone were used most near adjacent cover. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) provided cover in summer and allowed deer to utilize previously unused areas. Browse was not used. Green forage was available throughout the year. Restricting visitors to periphery roads allows continuance of the diurnal activity pattern of the deer and aids public enjoyment. Establishment of patches of permanent woody cover where absent would aid in dispersion of the population throughout the refuge. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 43(3):610-619 This study provided information on habitat use by an endangered ungulate. Published information concerning the Columbian white-tailed deer documents only its discovery (Douglas 1829; Thwaites 1905, vol. 4:209-210; Douglas 1914) and subsequent decrease in numbers (Jewett 1914, Bailey 1936). Douglas (1829) reported white-tailed deer along the lower Columbia River and along the Cowlitz and Willamette rivers in Washington and Oregon, respectively (Fig. 1), and provided the original description of the subspecies. Brushy lands in river valleys and surrounding low foothills from the south end of Puget Sound in Washington to Roseburg, Oregon, were the historical habitat and range of the subspecies (Bailey 1936:91, Cowan 1936). The population was extirpated from most if its range by 1900 (Jewett 1914, Bailey 1936) during clearing and agricultural development of river valleys (Crews 1939:2). Jewett listed a small concentration of white-tailed deer near Roseburg in 1934 (Cowan 1936:203). Scheffer (1940) reported 500700 white-tailed deer along the shores of the lower Columbia River and on islands near Cathlamet, Washington and Westport, Oregon. A more recent estimate places the numbers from 250 to 300 along the lower Columbia River (Office of Endangered Species and International Activities 1973:266). Suring (1974) estimated between 200 and 230 deer on the Washington shore in 1973. The survival of the Columbian white-tailed deer in this area prior to 1940 and to the present implies that favorable habitat conditions exist. Description of the habitat utilization by the deer on the newly created Columbian White-tailed Deer National Wildlife Refuge (CWDNWR) was considered essential to provide a basis for management of this remnant population and possible reestablishment of this subspecies on portions of its former range. 1 Study supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuges and the Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State University, and the Wildlife Management Institute cooperating. Technical paper 4406, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis, OR 97331. 2 Present address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 3530 Pan American Highway, Albuquerque, NM 87107. 3 Present address: Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74074. 610 J. Wildl. Manage. 43(3):1979 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.155 on Tue, 07 Jun 2016 06:29:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms HABITAT USE BY COLUMBIAN WHITE-TAILED DEER* Suring and Vohs 611 We acknowledge D. A. Fisher, former manager, CWDNWR, and the personnel of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge who gave assistance throughout the study. Funding was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Refuges, through the Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. T. A. Gavin, R. L. Linder, E. C. Meslow, J. A. Bissonette, and F. L. Knopf provided helpful comments on the manuscript.

Hydropower Developments in India

India is quite rich in her hydroelectric resources but little of it was exploited till 1950. There is an urgent need of power for rapid industrialization and economic development. The Ministry of Irrigation and Power was created in 1952 to formulate a national policy on river valley development schemes. The total hydro-power potential of the country has been evaluated to be in the region of 41,000,000 kw. The growth of hydroelectric power from a mere 74,441 kw in 1920 to an estimated 5,100,000 kw in 1965-1966 is outlined. The interesting aspects of four major river valley development projects—Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley, Hirakud and Rihand—are described. The plans for present and future hydro power developments are examined.

Administrative Aspects of River Valley Development. By Henry C. Hart. Under the Auspices of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. vii, 112. Index.

Administrative Aspects of River Valley Development. By Henry C. Hart. Under the Auspices of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. vii, 112. Index.

Administrative Aspects of River Valley Development. By Henry C. Hart. Under the Auspices of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. vii, 112. Index.

Administrative Aspects of River Valley Development. By Henry C. Hart. Under the Auspices of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961. vii, 112. Index. - Volume 21 Issue 4

RIVER VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: PROBLEMS OF EVALUATION AND SOCIAL COSTS

KyklosVolume 12, Issue 4 p. 589-604 RIVER VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: PROBLEMS OF EVALUATION AND SOCIAL COSTS1 K. William Kapp, K. William Kapp Brooklyn College, New YorkSearch for more papers by this author K. William Kapp, K. William Kapp Brooklyn College, New YorkSearch for more papers by this author First published: November 1959 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.1959.tb01819.xCitations: 2 1 The author spent nine months in India as a Fulbright Research Professor at the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics in Poona during the academic year 1957/58. He gratefully acknowledges the stimulating discussions with his colleagues at the Institute. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume12, Issue4November 1959Pages 589-604 RelatedInformation

Flood Control Benefits and the Tennessee Valley Authority

Probably the best known and most comprehensive river valley development program of the federal government is the Tennsesee Valley Authority. A government corporation chartered in 1933, the TVA has, among other less specific objectives aimed at fostering regional development, a principal goal of developing the Tennessee River and its tributaries for navigation, flood control, and electric power purposes. The core of the TVA operation is a series of thirty-two major dams-nine in the main stream, the remainder in tributaries-which were either constructed or acquired by it. Designed and operated to function as a single unit in the accomplishment of the triad of purposes, they provide a navigable channel along the 630 mile course of the main river from Knoxville, Tennessee, downstream to its juncture with the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky. The dams control flooding on the tributaries, the mainstream, and the lower Mississippi River, and harness the energy of the falling water, converting it into hydro-electric power. Representing a significant expansion of the sphere of government action far beyond the more limited area of flood control, the TVA has been widely acclaimed as an outstanding economic success, as a model of efficient governmental endeavor that might well be emulated elsewhere. The success of and justification for the enterprise depends in substantial part on the magnitude of flood control benefits that it has created, the value of which is not easily determined. Nevertheless some estimate is essential because justification of this phase of the Authority's program inevitably rests upon an assumption that flood control benefits compare favorably with the costs involved in their provision. The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the claims concerning the magnitude of such benefits in order to assess their value as guides to social economic endeavor.

Zur spät- und nacheiszeitlichen Entwicklung einiger Flußtäler im nordwestlichen Deutschland

Zur spät- und nacheiszeitlichen Entwicklung einiger Flußtäler im nordwestlichen Deutschland

Solifluction, a Component of Subaërial Denudation

According to the theory of river development, as it has been worked out in its full modern form by a number of eminent American morphologists, the occurrence of narrow v-shaped valleys in a region indicates that the region in question has passed only the very first stages of the cycle of erosion. This type of valleys, considered by older European geologists as the most important feature of river-action, is, according to the modern American school, only an immature stage in the development of river valleys. In the course of time the blocks of land left between the principal valleys will be dissected by secondary streamlets, the valleys will be broadened, and their slopes will get more and more gentle. At last, if the subaerial denudation has time enough to fulfil its work under unaltered conditions, the hills are wholly consumed, the region is base-leveled, and the land once deeply dissected is turned into a slightly undulating plain with broad and shallow, faintly insected river valleys. Not till then has the process reached the final stage of its cycle, the "peneplain." This theory of subaerial denudation is based upon the premise that river-erosion works all over the areas, and not only linearly, as was supposed by an older school of geologists. This assumption looks at first somewhat startling. Evidently the main stream and the principal tributaries of a river form only a branching system of erosive lines. Only when the innumerable rivulets and feeders, all the transient small waters washing hillsides and slopes at rainfalls and snow-meltings, are taken into consideration, does the erosive system present a network so close that it can be said to cover all the area.