Sharing water in Zanskar

25th of December, Karsha's monastery (Zanskar valley - Indian Himalaya) and no snow around me. The last 3 years have already lacked for snow, which is seriously threatening the local agriculture and so the food reserve in the most exposed villages. Kumi village for instance, that no glacier river is crossing could not cultivate its fields during those years of little precipitations. The government had to supply elementary needs such as rice, wheat and grass.

Ladakh and Zanskar, at the south-east extremity of the Tibetan plateau, is indeed influenced by the same arid climate that the occidental part of its big neighbour. The main precipitations fall during winter, since in summer, the monsoon clouds arrive almost dried, bringing only 15 to 20 mm of water in august and 50 to 100 mm per year in Leh. The rare natural pastures are usually to be found above 4000 meter, where the precipitations are more important. People bring their animals during the 3 / 4 months of summer, but to live there would be too hard during winter.

The local agriculture is therefore based on irrigation systems specific for each village and depending on water and land available. Earth or stone canals bring the water by gravity to the fields, sometimes from many kilometers away. The fields are organized in order to allow a distribution without any excess. At the beginning of spring, people spread earth on the fields to accelerate the melting process and help the melting snow to penetrate the earth. In summer, it is the irrigation water that is doing its work even though the evaporation is very high due to strong sun radiations. Winter snow is then very important and when decreasing, the fragile balance that links men and nature is broken.

So what is going on? Climatic changes? Of course, the olds remember their childhood when the snow was reaching the roof of their homes. One's saying is rather expressive: "Today, there is no winter anymore, there is no snow!". But it is difficult to make any theory. Thirty-five years ago, two dry years had forced the inhabitants of Karsha village, a particularly sunny area, to ask for water to the neighbour village of Tungri, where the river is more important. Tungri had then accepted to share its water. According to Sonam, lama at Karsha's monastery, the government had then given some credits for the construction of a canal bringing by gravity water from Tungri to Karsha. Sonam, then 8 years old, had himself taken part to the opening ceremony supervised by the monastery according to the traditions. But 2 years later, the winter precipitations were again important and sufficient to the villager's needs. The canal never reached Karsha. "The inhabitants forgot to ask for the credits left and the end of the construction was abandoned" said Sonam.

Today, the history comes back but the situation has evolved. In Tungri, even though the cultivated area has not really increased - new constructions being built on private lands- the government is using an important surface for wood plantations. The river is still sufficient for the village but could not be shared anymore. Moreover, it seems that the flow is decreasing: "The water is sometimes dark, bad, while it was always clear before" confirms one old person from Tungri, aware that natural resources are diminishing but convinced that the glacier giving water to the village can not disappear! Anyway, the old canal has lost its interest for Karsha.

But, climatic changes and difficulties, population growth, an increasing tourism and the evolution of life style have raised the needs for water and have updated the construction of a canal. This would be a bigger project, the first ever that big in Zanskar, but considered as part of the area's development and financed by the government of Jammu and Kashmir. It would be about 10 meters large, maybe 25 kilometers long in order to bring by gravity water from the river Stot. This canal would cross arond 10 villages and so their lands.

If the difficulties are nor technical neither financial, they are simply human. Indeed, if Karsha is not requiring Tungri's water, it needs some of its land. The compensations proposed by the village are rather honest: double of land on Karsha's territory in addition to the government compensations (115% of the land cost according to the Tasildar, judge in Zanskar). But in Tungri (as well as Rantaksha), skepticism is strong, especially in elder's minds that are reluctant to give up their fields. "This canal would take about 2/3 of our best lands". "This canal is dangerous for our children and animals that will fall into it". These are some sayings I have heard in Tungri. Moreover, a canal not well built on the other river shore and never used is strengthening the doubts.

One delegation gathering some people from the village and mainly lamas from the monastery was created in Karsha in order to give better comprehension for this project and to help finding a solution. "To give more importance and respect" told me Sonam when I asked him about the role of the lamas in this delegation! Meetings are hold in the villages, the delegation is offering butter and Kataks (white scarf) for best luck. But the chief of Karsha regrets that his neighbors are not making enough efforts: " The chief of Tungri did not even come to the meeting and doesn't seem to take any decision for his village!" regrets Toukstan, conscious that the government can make the last decision and get by law the required lands. "A friendship solution is much better, we want to live in peace and good neighbours in the future? But what to do if they refuse?"

Hope for this canal may come from politic, since Sonam Namgyal (from Karsha) was elected councellor by the people of Zanskar. "He will be able to find a solution and compensations for the most reluctants" said Puntsok Tashi, director of the PWD in Padum.

Zanskar, a small valley that traditionally always lived in peace and harmony with its environment? But the world is changing and this example of sharing difficulties because of water needs proves that nobody shall escape the coming difficulties.