Tinau River is one of the major river of Rupandehi district. The river originates from palpa district and enters to Rupandehi from butwal municipality and touches many VDCs and finally enters to India covering approximately 60 kilometer. The width of river ranges from 200 meter to 700 meter. Water from Tinau River is the source for drinking and irrigation. Riverside cutting and flooding are the major problem created by this river. Since few years silts in the river are cleared in every year by the local communities. Stones and sand from the river bed are removed by the communities. By such works the bed of river became deeper and at some place it reaches up to 10 meter deep as a result the rainy water could not come out from the river. At the same time water from agricultural land flows towards the deep river and the agricultural land become drier. 1767 households from 37 toles are directly affected by Tinau River. Encroachment of land on the area left by river, by the squatter settlements is on the rise.

Before 27 years (1981 AD) there was a big flood in this River. This river was very cruel at that time. About 70 people killed and billions of property destroyed by the flood. A lot of forest and plain land was destroyed by the river. Drinking water and sanitation problems are outburst at that time. Last year a flood in the Tinau River swept away 300 houses. Experts say if efforts aren´t made to conserve the river, it will see a fate similar to that of Koshi.

Tree plantation has already started in Anndaban, Motipur and Semlar VDCs since 2043. Initially plantation had been done on the gravel lands of Tinau River and the process is still continuing. Mostly planted species are Babur, khair and sisoo. Gradually soil is developed on that gravel land and new regeneration of different species of plant also seen. Bamboo trees are planted on soil developed area. Forest developed along the riverside is handed over as Comminity forest for the local communities. Wildlife like deer, blue bull, leopard are also seen on the forest area. There are total 8 community forests on the riverside on this VDCs. People started to collect Forest products like firewood, pole, khar and grass to fulfill their basic needs. Description of community forests are as follows:

Riverside plantations are important for preventing floods, conserving water, regulating the flow of water in rivers, and keeping soil moist and fertile. Some examples of plants which are useful riverside trees include khair, sisoo, neem, Eucalyptus, simal, imli and fruit trees. If horticulture is developed along the banks of rivers, the rivers will never dry up. Fibrous roots gather water near the surface and benefit neighbouring plants and trees. Imli is a good riverside plant because it retains water and checks soil erosion. It has an extremely fibrous root system. Riverside plantations stop soil erosion, nourish the top soil and assist in providing a steady supply of water throughout the year.

Trees are important along the river and streams because:

• Helps to develop soil in the gravel and sandy area through retaining soil comes from flood.
• Their root systems help to stabilize the river bank and so help resist erosion.
• They reduce surface run-off relative to other vegetation types because their larger surface area, for example compared to grass or heather.
• Teaves and associated insects provide a source of organic matter into the river system
• Trees provide regular water source on the river.
• They provide shade which helps the fish population. Riverside trees and woodlands are an important habitat in their own right.
• Trees and other vegetation filter out pollutants generated by crusher industries and other sources, and act as a buffer against noise.

Green Belt concept is proposed along both side of the the river corridors which are visually and environmentally enhanced by landscaping, tree planting, or other green elements. There are many areas where river lengths are considerable. The ground on either side of the river is partly within the reach of the high level of water during the period the rivers are in flood. Beyond this level - and on the fringes of the agricultural land, strip plantation can be established to produce wood, fuelwood and fodder. It is proposed to continue the plantation along the riverside up to India boarder. The main features of the greenbelt development are:

• Development of green belt all along the corridor, on either side, so as to promote a healthy and green environment.
• Recharge and maintain the natural flow of river
• Reduce inflow of water from agricultural land to river in dry season
• Promote the natural ecosystem of the river and its territory by giving due emphasis to the growth of biodiversity in the river and along the corridor in terms of fish, plants, wildlife etc.
• Enhance the livelihood of the area through forest product supply.
• Create interesting landscape along the corridor so to promote a pleasing aesthetic environment along the corridor.

Figure: A conceptual design of Tinau greenbelt

For the development of greenbelt apart from the water way a minimum 200 meter width is considered for plantation. The land ownership of riverside is different. Some are communal land that is left by river course while most of the lands are privately owned comes from river cutting. It is proposed that the tree planted in communal land should go on community property and finally handed over to community forest where as the tree planted on privately owned should be private property like private forest. The road can be developed between greenbelt and agricultural land from Butwal to Lumbini road. It will help to reduce traffic on Butwal-Bhairahawa road.

References:

1. http://demo-menris.icimod.org
2. http://www.worldproutassembly.org