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Implementing Vetiver grass-based riverbank protection programmes in rural West Bengal, India

Author

Listed:
  • Sayoni Mondal

    (Presidency University)

  • Priyank Pravin Patel

    (Presidency University)

Abstract

The largely impoverished rural communities of India are unable to bear the costs involved in creating and maintaining substantial structural measures for riverbank protection. The monsoonal nature of the country’s streams and an agrarian economy based on intensive cultivation further heighten the risk posed by annual peak flows and shifting stream courses. Mitigating this requires urgent, sustainable and cost-effective means of conserving valuable farmlands and stabilising channel boundaries. Towards this, riverbank erosion mitigation using Vetiver grass has been a recent development in the country and has been experimented with in a few areas. In this article, we examine how such riparian buffers are created through riverbank modification, planted and nurtured and the effectiveness of the grass in mitigating erosion, taking a small case study from rural West Bengal as an example. We especially focus on the government policies and frameworks and local stakeholder involvements that facilitate such an undertaking, with particular emphasis on the organisational workflow and the ground-level perception of such endeavours, as these are crucial to the success and effectiveness of such schemes. The marked successes achieved through the use of the Vetiver grass in abating erosion and the hindrances encountered in implementing such mitigation projects are outlined, along with the importance of such community-based approaches to river management and monitoring. This case study can be a microcosm for similar such endeavours, particularly in the rural global south.

Suggested Citation

  • Sayoni Mondal & Priyank Pravin Patel, 2020. "Implementing Vetiver grass-based riverbank protection programmes in rural West Bengal, India," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 103(1), pages 1051-1076, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:103:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11069-020-04025-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-020-04025-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dalton, P. A. & Smith, R. J. & Truong, P. N. V., 1996. "Vetiver grass hedges for erosion control on a cropped flood plain: hedge hydraulics," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-2), pages 91-104, June.
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    1. Priscila Celebrini de Oliveira Campos & Tainá da Silva Rocha Paz & Letícia Lenz & Yangzi Qiu & Camila Nascimento Alves & Ana Paula Roem Simoni & José Carlos Cesar Amorim & Gilson Brito Alves Lima & Ma, 2020. "Multi-Criteria Decision Method for Sustainable Watercourse Management in Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-22, August.

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