Ridge to Valley - A Holistic Watershed Perspective

Our environment is progressively getting degraded because of overexploitation of natural resources. In a degraded landscape with little or no tree cover, and subsequently little soil cover, rainwater is not able to percolate into the ground. We lose rich top soil with this running water, which flows away into the streams. It is a vicious cycle -- no top soil, no vegetation, increased run off of water and further erosion of top soil. Holistic watershed development is the answer to break this vicious cycle.
This video film explains the importance of the 'Ridge to Valley' approach. It explains the various area treatments in non-arable waste land, cultivable land and also speaks about drainage line treatments. This video film highlights the technical and social components and the reasons why watershed work should start from the ridge and progress downwards towards the valley.

[@FreeTheTree_Vadodara]

Good documentary

[@mrMacGoover]

Is it just me or did anyone else take notice of the fine English vocabulary and well spoken nature of the east Indian woman narrating this documentary?

[@somap8380]

Indian Women and not East Indian Women. Thank you.

[@FreeTheTree_Vadodara]

Vocabulary was never an issue, the non acceptance of India development is the reason, also its only the accent(so called thick, or MTI mother tongue influence)rest all was all good n better than west😊

[@sharadchate8499]

Extremely enlightening video. Keep it up.

[@vrrmbabu5387]

Please add English subtitles so that the Good work is appreciated by the World

[@ms.dentist]

That ganga example was amazing

[@sanketjahagirdar7921]

Important Treminologies- WAT - Water Absorption Trenches CCT- Continuous Contour Trenches Stone Bunds Gully Bunds Loose Boulder Structures Nala Bunds

[@b_uppy]

Excellent stone masonry. Actually any time you can slow water runoff, you are harvesting and sequestering water into the soil.

[@quadrim.a.2816]

when nature waters the earth everyone is sleeping and escapes as waste product . Rainfall pattern has drastically changed in last 50 years from 1500 m.m. to 500 or less m.m.. More and more cares and planning is needed by repairing the existing structures & tapping additional resources on priority basis. Bin pani Sab soon ( Shoonya)

[@theskatinglife]

this needs to be reposted in high res

[@ciceroaraujo5183]

I love your mind

[@dyllos7]

Yes, very well explained! Can I ask if this work has been influenced by permaculture or been an influence to permaculture? 1970 something was mentioned in the video - has this great work being going since then? Best regards

[@lubovlang]

Мне интересно, что сейчас на этой территории. Ведь прошло уже много лет как все это было построено.

[@allanegleston4931]

interesting . is there any regard for the fish populations in native streams ? i e migration to spawning grounds and migration both to and from the ocean?

[@grakkerful]

Most of these water harvesting structures work on seasonal streams which would get bone dry during the dry season, and still often go dry, but he increased groundwater makes all the difference.

[@xyzsame4081]

If anything watershed work and water retention work ensures that smaller streams run throughout the season, or the creeks of the past start running again (they are charged by the groundwater, that is recharged by the rain) so people can fish and have clean water. These creek beds are usually not the same as runoff beds for very temporary streams of the rain sason, because those creeks (that almost always existed in the past) were fed year round by ground water and that comes at certain points to the surface in form of wells. Runoff streams only exist during the short rainy season and they have other paths because their origin is different. One can see such dry ravines also in the Sahara, and people have drowned when they camped too near such Wadis and were surprised by a once in 5 or 10 years torential rain (that was upstream, maybe there was some blockage by uprooted shrubs, and when that "dam" is finally broken, water comes as a flood wave and very fast and not much warning time. People sleeping during the night certainly could be surprised.). Regenerating the land by funneling the rain into the soil so that it feeds creeks w/o rainfall (again) also worked in Australia. See Mulloon Ranch, and the work of Peter Andrews. I agree with user Benjamin the runoff streams carry away the short but torrential rain, maybe cause flooding downstream. After the wild but short rainy season, there are many months w/o any rain. The water flows so fast that it also is of little value to the land downstream, it goes into the ocean within days, and the sediments fill up water retention or slowing structures downstream (with the valuable soil from upstream that is lost). When it is deposited it is not soil anymore, so it is not even of much use downstream. It is bio mass to a degree but most of it are the minerals that are part of soil (sand, silt, clay - and stones), but it is not soil anymore. Soil is a complex made of the mineral components and carbon rich materials plus all the microorganisms and tiny animals. Usually the humid acids and complexes = the carbon part of soil are washed out. Carbon complexes (humus) makes soil dark and gives structure, pores and water retention capacity, holding soil together while it stays soft, moist and permeable for water, air, roots and soil life. The microorganisms (bacteria and fungi, and other tiny tiny critters, do not live / reproduce in the fast moving brownish water, they need the pores, air, moist but soaking wet habitat, they cannot live when being covered by water, let alone fast moving water. All the worms etc are washed out as well. What is left and deposited is clay, silt and sand. The water is brown because a lot of the humus is washed out and diluted.

[@brandonmusser3119]

We need an update

[@user-xh1eu4uu2j]

Good

[@bhaskarbhaskar1154]

How to control water spend expenses but how will come rain what is the reason only tree but why not putting tree

[@sophiemahonya519]

There is no planet B, we need to take care of the environment

[@bhaskarbhaskar1154]

Rain water purpose doing but why putting plant in near farrst areas waste land will make gardens

[@Gustav4]

It is much better to try and make the water infiltrate where it falls.

[@brooksanderson2599]

? The video IS about rainwater harvesting or capturing rainwater close to where it falls. I don´t understand your comment.

[@xyzsame4081]

The small structures (that can be as modest as a crescent of stones laid one layer high, small hand dug trenches, or branches rammed into the earth and more twigs woven into the "wall") can slow down the water where it falls. BUT that only works with moderate slope. In steeper hills some water will come "rushing" down, the goal then is to slow it down as much a s possible, and to tackle it when the water reaches less steep terrain. In steep terrain they cannot build a water retention basin, not even modest and small trenches, that would not be possible. Even if it could be built it would be unsafe, water is heavy, sooner or later the whole hill would come down in a mudslide. On a steeper slope water creates its pathway downwards (if possible one could see to it that it meanders, but water likes to take short cuts so that only works with massive obstacles or very well established trees, but once it arrives at more gentle slopes it has to be slowed down again (could also be combined with producing electricity, but the construction would need to be low cost, because it would only work a few months a year, until such hillside creeks stop flowing. Ideally that bed meanders and they can try to slow that down as well - but at certain slopes a runoff creek is inevitable. That is O.K. The more slope the larger and more sturdy the structure have to be in the less steep area (= more labor or more costs) to be able to withstand the force of water and to be able to catch it (ponds, dams) or to slow it down. As soon as the land has less slope there should be structures to take out some of the force. Not allowing the water to accumulate force and volume, to become a very hard to control destructive force.

[@Gustav4]

@@brooksanderson2599 What I mean is improve the water infiltration rate of the soil so that rain infiltrates the soil better where it falls and doesnt run of an becomes a flood. This is the real problem that the good people in this video faces, degrading soil that can not infiltrate water. You always have to address the problem and no the symptoms if you want long lasting solutions.

[@brooksanderson2599]

@@Gustav4 o.k. I understand. Thank you!

[@mightyfraserriver977]

If they don't over graze this setup could last for so long

[@pratapdas1113]

Don't cut tree

[@moji6625]

Which 21 people dislikes this 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@PingDoofus]

"Haters" shouldn't be the term for these dislikers. Much worse than that.

[@dustinkrejci6142]

...

[@shahidfarooqful]

Everything is ok i appriciate all this but degrading treatment with women was shame ful every other person except women having chair ...and women were on the ground...every one should be treated equally

[@ripscuds4467]

The guy talking at 18:12 is very selfish and ignorant.

[@rhoddryice5412]

At 19:05 he said that he was wrong. Admitting when you are wrong and understand why is a good quality.

[@howardchambers9679]

As he said, once it was explained to him he understood why it had to be from top to bottom.