Montenegro: University Seminar Highlights Local Erosion Research

Soil erosion specialist orchestrates an informative seminar
Dr. Velibor Spalevic (a specialist in soil erosion and conservation) of the Biotechnical Faculty at the University of Montenegro had a detailed schedule planned out for my six day visit in September.  We would travel by car from Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, to Bosnia, Croatia, and Albania prior to heading to the mountains of northern Montenegro where he owns a cabin at a ski area.  However, before we left on our road trip, Velibor had scheduled a seminar at the Biotechnical Faculty in Podgorica titled, “Global Problem of Soil Erosion with Special Attention to the Southeast European Region”.  He and I were to speak at the seminar along with Dr. Budimir Fustic, a soil scientist with the Biotechnical Faculty, and Klaas Annys, a geography grad student at Ghent University in Belgium. 

The four speakers at the seminar are seated on the left. 

From left to right: Klaas Annys, me, Dr. Velibor Spalevic, and Dr. Budimir Fustic.

Dr Biljana Lazovic (standing) welcomed the speakers and guests.

In addition to the four speakers, there were about 12 people attending from the Biotechnical Faculty as well as the Montenegrin Ministry of Agriculture and Development and the Ministry of Environment.  There was also a camera crew from the National TV Service of Montenegro and segments of the seminar (including individual interviews) subsequently aired on six national TV channels.  I was learning that Velibor was “very well connected” in Montenegro and was quite adept at bringing people together and making things happen.  I later learned that he had previously worked as a Task Manager for the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro – not surprising given his outgoing and forceful personality.

For the benefit of those who were not specialists in erosion, Velibor led off the seminar with a short but very helpful introduction titled, “What is Soil Erosion?” 

Velibor Spalevic included some dramatic slides
in his introductory presentation on soil erosion.

He followed up with a presentation of research he had conducted with Dr. Fustic titled “Soil Erosion in Montenegro with Special Reference to the Problem of Erosion in the Polimlje Region.”  As part of his doctoral thesis, Velibor had developed a computer model which he named IntErO (an acronym for “intensity of erosion and outflow”).  This program predicts maximum (peak) runoff from 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 year storms for a stream basin and the intensity of soil erosion in the basin. Numerous inputs go into the program which can be summarized as:
- climate factors (including temperature and rainfall)
- geological & pedological (soil) features
- type of vegetative cover and its condition
- physical and geometric parameters of each watercourse and river basin

Location of the Lim River basin (circled in red) in northeastern Montenegro.

Slide from Velibor Spalevic’s presentation.

To demonstrate the workings of the model, it was applied to 57 sub-basins of the northerly flowing River Lim, including a region of 2,158 km² (830 miles²) in northeastern Montenegro.  (Slightly more than 50% of drainage from Montenegro flows to the north to the Danube River, and ultimately to the Black Sea; the remainder flows south to the adjacent Adriatic Sea.)  The results for the 57 sub-basins predicted soil erosion ranging from 37 m³/km²/year (3400 feet³/mile²/year) to 296m³/km²/year (27,193 feet³/mile²/year).  Thus, predicted soil erosion in the latter basin was eight times that of the former. 

Table from Velibor Spalevic’s presentation showing the predicted maximum flows for 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 year storms for each of the 57 sub-basins of the Lim (a "5 year storm" is the largest storm, and resulting peak volume of stream flow, to occur during any 5-year period). On the right, the colored bars indicate the predicted annual soil loss per square kilometer for each sub-basin. The nine red bars represent sub-basins which would experience the most severe soil loss (greater than 200m³/km²/year) as calculated by the IntErO model.

 

Applications & opportunities for erosion control professionals

I can envision some very practical applications for this model.  Land management officials, such as the three extension agents from the Ministry of Agriculture and Development who attended the seminar, can use these results to prioritize their efforts to control soil erosion by working with local farmers where predicted erosion is the most serious.  I could imagine a government program focusing on reduction of soil erosion in the nine Lim sub-basins out of 57 where predicted erosion exceeds 200m³/km²/year.  Such a program would concentrate efforts where they are most needed and would preserve valuable topsoil, improve downstream fisheries, and reduce sedimentation behind hydroelectric dams to the north. 

I suspect that part of the problem in these nine sub-basins is poor agricultural practices (such as those shown in the photo in southern Serbia in my last blog post).  However, there may be other culprits as well such as failure to re-vegetate highway cuts and fills in the mountainous terrain, mining scars, forest clear-cutting, mountain recreational development, or commercial/industrial projects.  I’m speculating since I have not visited these sub-basins or discussed specifics with Drs. Spalevic or Fustic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top photo: Normal flow on the River Lim at the village of Rudeš in February 2011.

Bottom photo: Same location two months earlier with the river at flood stage.

Photos by Velibor Spalevic.

Off the top of my head, I see an opportunity for a SOIL Fund project in this area of Montenegro. Spalevic and Fustic’s data identifies nine sub-basins with relatively severe erosion problems.  Some of these problems may lend themselves to the kinds of solutions with which IECA professionals have experience.  What if an IECA professional were to visit some of these impacted sub-basins under the direction of Spalevic and Fustic, identify sites that would lend themselves to erosion control through bio-engineering or other erosion control BMPs (Best Management Practices), and propose treatment plans?  With these plans in hand, we could approach European manufacturers of erosion control BMPs to see if they would be willing to donate materials or supply them at a reduced cost in return for free publicity.  The IECA professional in charge could then return to Montenegro and work with local contractors and volunteers to carry out treatment plans.  Faculty and students at the University of Montenegro could also be involved.  Of course, we would need to find funding to pay contractors and the expenses of other people involved. 

Obviously, this needs more thought and up-front collaboration with Spalevic and Fustic.  I would suggest that a “working vacation” in Montenegro with its rugged mountains, dramatic coastline along the Adriatic, and hospitable people could be a very rewarding experience for one of you readers!                       

Other seminar presentations

Velibor Spalevic also gave a presentation on the IntErO program explaining the theoretical background including the mathematical formulas used by the model and the data inputs.  He also discussed the advantages of IntErO over other mathematical models for calculation of runoff and erosion.

From 2002-2004 (following the Polimlje study), Fustic and Spalevic were funded by the Montenegrin Ministry of Science to study erosion in several river basins along the Adriatic Coast.  Dr. Fustic presented the results to us in Montenegrin (the other presentations were in English).  Again, the IntErO model was used to process and analyze the data. 

Slide from Budimir Fustic’s presentation

showing severe gully erosion near the Adriatic coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m presenting the results of my evaluation of erosion problems in a mountain community

in Ecuador while Valibor Spalevic (to my left) translates from English to Montenegrin

(a dialect of Serbian).   Photo provided by Dr. Milic Curovic of the Biotechnical Faculty.

 

I discussed the results of my reconnaissance of soil erosion problems in the Malingua Pamba community in the Ecuadorian Andes (a joint project of the IECA SOIL Fund and Engineers Without Borders).  Finally, Klaas Annys gave a nicely photo-illustrated presentation on the geomorphology of the Durmitor Mountains in northwestern Montenegro.  Klaas is doing research in this mountain range for his Master’s thesis specifically focusing on Montenegro’s only glacier.  In a future post, I will report on my hike with Klaas to this little glacier which sits in a narrow valley nearly surrounded by jagged limestone peaks.



Klaas Annys standing at the foot of Montenegro’s only glacier

located in the Durmitor Mountains.

The Biotechnical Faculty at the University of Montenegro publishes

the bi-lingual (Montenegrin and English) journal Agriculture and Forestry.

It is available on-line at http://www.agricultforest.ac.me

 

India: Erosion Control Incorporated into Planned Community

Some Background on My Visit
During the February 2012 IECA conference in Las Vegas, I spoke with C.R. Devaraj, President of IECA’s Indian Chapter. Devaraj is the Managing Director of Charankattu Coir Mfg. Co. located in the state of Kerala in southwestern India and he was attending the conference to promote his company’s erosion control blankets made from local cocoanut and jute fibers.

I had one question for C.R. Devaraj:  “Were I to visit India this year, could you recommend any projects I could see which are successfully employing erosion control techniques and products?”  He immediately replied, “Yes, Lavasa.”  He told me a bit about the project and I looked at its website where I learned that Lavasa is a planned community in the Western Ghats, a chain of low mountains east of Mumbai (Bombay) and near the city of Pune.

C.R. Devaraj provided me with contact information for Lavasa and I eventually secured an invitation to visit the community from Krunal Negandhi, Lavasa’s Assistant VP for Projects (Environment).  I later learned that two IECA members had been directly involved with the project.  C.R. Devaraj had supplied the erosion control products used at Lavasa -- the first time he had actually provided products for an Indian project.  Also, Doug Wimble (Managing Director of Spraygrass in New South Wales, Australia and the new President of IECA’s Region 2) had provided consulting services for Lavasa’s erosion control efforts.



When I visited Lavasa in August 2012, Krunal Negandhi and his associates bombarded me with a wealth of interesting information regarding the philosophy behind the project, its objectives, progress to date, specific erosion and sediment control measures, various other environmental measures, and other important information about the community.  They also took me for several site tours to give me a first-hand look at the results of their efforts.  It would take many pages to describe their initiatives with regard to sustainable native vegetation, solid waste management and recycling, sewage treatment, renewable energy, education, health care, light industry using local materials (bamboo) and tourism.  I’ll focus on erosion and sediment control but first here is a summary of how Lavasa got started and what the project hopes to achieve.

Central pedestrian area in Lavasa with scores of condos and homes (most under construction) in background.

 

Krunal Negandhi, Lavasa's Assistant VP for Environment and a view of Warasgaon Lake on a foggy morning.

 

Members of Lavasa’s environmental team pose in front of some of their successful reclamation work.  From left to right:  Aalam Tamboli, Pramod Pokharkar, Sunil Habade, and Satish Killare   Photo provided by Krunal Negandhi.

 

A Very Brief History of Lavasa

In 1998, the government of India initiated a new Hill Station Policy to encourage the development of planned communities accessible to, but separated from, huge chaotic, unplanned, and relatively dysfunctional cities such as Mumbai. The idea for Lavasa was conceived by Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, the Chairman of Hindustan Construction Company.  He envisioned a community which would integrate living, working, and playing in harmony with nature. 

 

Construction of Lavasa started in 2002.  It is the first open (un-gated) community initiated under the Hill Station Policy.  It is also India’s first city built and governed by a private corporation.  The developers are trying to achieve environmental sustainability based on principles of the UN Environmental Program.

 

Lavasa has had its share of problems.  Construction was shut down for a time because clearances had not been granted by all the necessary departments of the notorious Indian bureaucracy.  A July 2011 article in Atlantic Magazine criticized Lavasa for constructing housing that is too expensive for the average Indian.  True enough, but I was shown modest low-cost apartments that are being provided for construction workers and other laborers.  It seemed to me an improvement over communities like Aspen and Vail, Colorado, USA where workers can’t afford local housing and have to commute to work an hour or more from trailer parks or crowded apartments where land is cheaper.  Lavasa may not be perfect but they are trying to provide an innovative model for future urban development in India.  We’ll have to check back in a few years to see how well they are succeeding.

 

Erosion and Sediment Control at Lavasa

When work started at Lavasa in 2002, erosion and sedimentation had significantly degraded the mountainous landscape where slash and burn agriculture was the norm.  Addressing these problems had been integrated into the community master plan.  For example, there would be no construction on slopes greater than 1:3 (33% or 18.4^o).  Existing green cover would be preserved where possible.  Reforestation with indigenous species was planned for steep, denuded slopes.  Measures would be introduced to raise the water table providing needed moisture for re-vegetation efforts.  Vegetated buffer zones would be created or maintained around streams to minimize sedimentation. 

 

I saw a number of sites where these elements of the master plan have been implemented.  Following are examples of some of the specific erosion and sediment control measures employed.

 



 

This steep soil dump (fill) slope above the city center has been transformed into a stable green carpet of trees and plants.  Here’s how they accomplished it:

- First, they graded the slope into the undulating surface shown in the above photos

- A jute bag toe wall was constructed at the base of the slope.  The jute bags were filled with excavated (reused) soil and wrapped with geo-mating. 

- Cocoanut coir mats were anchored to the slope above the jute bag wall.

- Vetiver (the tall grass in the photos) was planted at the base of the slope and immediately above the jute bag wall. Vetiver is famous for its long roots which counteract surface erosion.  It is unable to reproduce itself so it does not spread to areas where it is not wanted.

- The hillside was hydroseeded with a mix containing paper mulch, wood fiber, water, seed of indigenous species, and guar gum binder with rice husks.  It was seeded right after the monsoon rains started in the spring.

- Native trees were planted in scattered locations.

- A drip irrigation system was installed to help the plants and trees survive and thrive through the four month winter dry season.

 

 

Reclaimation work is underway on this hillside.  Note the jute bag wall with jute netting above on the steep hillside.

 

 



Biodegradable bamboo staples are used to anchor mats to the hillsides.

 

 

 



Horizontal PVC pipes with filter media extend 0.9 meters (about 3 feet) back into a jute bag wall to permit ground water drainage. 

 



On hillsides, water absorbing trenches (WATs) (1 meter wide and 1 meter deep) and continuous contour trenches (CCTs) (0.6 meters wide and 0.6 meters deep) trap rain water and promote infiltration.  Each trench has a maximum length of 3 meters (about 10 feet).  In areas where the trenches have been excavated, groundwater levels are rising.  They also use CCTs that drain to natural swales.



Artificial ponds and structures have been constructed along existing drainages.  These features reduce erosion by slowing down storm water runoff.  They increase infiltration, retain some water in these intermittent streams during the dry season, and enhance the aesthetic character of landscape.

 



A gabion bandhara and loose boulder structure covered with wire mesh has been constructed across an intermittent stream in the valley below a steep hillside.  Note the sediment which has collected above the dam.  Previously, the sediment would have reached Warasgaon Lake in the valley bottom.



 

Lavasa’s “leisure trail” winds along a steep mountainside which was an eroded, barren wasteland prior to reclamation four years ago and is now covered by a dense and diverse young forest.  The pathway was constructed with soil jute bags wrapped with geo-mats and covered with gravel.  The path is “stepped” to cut down on erosion.

 

 

Initially, the project team tended to rely on more traditional methods for slope stabilization such as this gabion wall next to a street.  In recent years, they have been switching to more aesthetically-pleasing, environmentally-sustainable bioengineering techniques.

 

 

Bio-diversity enhancement:  Approximately 600,000 indigenous trees and 700,000 stumps and shrubs have been planted.  The aim is to create a diverse canopy structure of trees, shrubs, and grasses.

 

Lavasa hires local people to do the planting by hand.  Farm yard manure and local mulches are used.  Some areas also require geo-mats or coir mats depending on slope and other factors.

 

In the photo above, the left side of the stream is reforested Lavasa property.  The right side is owned by local farmers and has been cleared (slash and burn) for grazing.  The grazing land is green because the photo was taken in the middle of the rainy season.  A close look reveals evidence of erosion on the recently grazed hillside. Lavasa personnel are working with local farmers to steer them away from slash and burn practices.

 

 

Lavasa has its own nursery where ornamental plants as well as native species for reforestation and erosion control get their start.  Photo provided by Krunal Negandhi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

India: An Important Role for Erosion and Sediment Control in Community Development

In 2011, more than a year before I departed on my around-the-world trip for the SOIL Fund, I learned about a watershed management project in India sponsored, in part, by a Colorado Rotary Club.  I found out from Irv Buck, a Rotarian from Parker, Colorado, that the project included erosion and sediment control measures that played an integral part in the improvement of agricultural productivity, groundwater resources, and water quality. 

The project is located in a rural community in the Thane District a few hours north of Mumbai (Bombay), and I hoped to visit it while in Mumbai at the end of August.  Irv put me in touch with Arobina Sinha Roy of the Rotary Club of Bombay Midtown.  Mr. Roy, (better known as “Arrow”), a retired advertising executive, doubted I would be able to visit the community.  The problem was the timing of my visit during the monsoon season.  Roads into the community would be in poor shape after being pounded by monsoon rains for the three months before my visit.  As a result, the Mumbai Rotarians generally only went there during the dry season.  However, Arrow was interested in meeting me, and I had the pleasure of having lunch with him during my visit to Mumbai.

 

Rotary’s watershed development project
is located 115km (70 miles) north-northeast of Mumbai.

Arrow brought along his laptop to our lunch meeting, and I was treated to a photo-illustrated PowerPoint presentation.  I learned that there are 672,000 villages in India where 70% of the population lives.  About 50% of these villages have no support systems.  The government has built poorly-conceived water impoundment dams in many of these villages but they often silt up and become useless within a few years partly because there are no erosion and sediment controls upstream.  Government corruption and local “mafias” impede village improvements and most people have no legal recourse because the courts are hopelessly clogged.

Thane District Watershed Development Project

Thus, the Rotary Club of Bombay Midtown decided to bypass the government and start to attack rural Indian poverty in the local region.  Their first project involves 672 hectares (1680 acres) in the villages of Potkhal and Baste.  It was conceived in 2005 and most of the work has now been completed.  Rotary chose this poor community because the local residents had some education, a common culture, and a lack of political problems.  Furthermore, women were already involved in community decision making.

Several Rotary Clubs from India, the USA,
and Switzerland have been involved with the project.

The original objective was to improve the community’s drinking water system.  The water table had been dropping about two feet per year meaning that the community well went dry earlier and earlier every year once the dry season set in.  As a result, women had to walk 2 to 3 miles just to find water in ponds where cattle also drank.  The community economy was stagnant because lack of water limited the farmers to one crop per year.  Furthermore, 65% of the people were landless and in debt.



Village women used to walk 2 or 3 miles to get drinking water from this foul pond. 

It soon became apparent to Arrow and his colleagues that providing better drinking water was a starting point but much more was required.  The landscape had been denuded by deforestation some of which was caused by crooked timber companies who had purchased land cheaply from poor villagers who needed cash.  Problems in the community required a holistic approach which would enable the local economy to grow rapidly and address other essentials such as health care and education.  With the Bombay Midtown Club taking the lead, a $137,000 grant was obtained from the Rotary Foundation for a Watershed Management Project.

Role of Erosion and Sediment Control BMPs

Use of standard erosion and sediment control best management practices (BMPs) like check dams and infiltration trenches played a large role in the project.  As Arrow explained it, they had to “teach the rain to walk”.  By slowing down or impounding runoff, groundwater recharge improved and the water table is now rising.  Wells now dry up in May (near the end of the dry season) instead of February (middle of the dry season).  Women no longer have to haul contaminated drinking water from distant locations.  Improvements in recharge will eventually result in a year round supply of well water.

If you look closely, you can see newly-constructed check dams
in the drainages of this deforested hillside.
 

Infiltration trenches constructed along the contour not only slow down runoff
but also help with groundwater recharge.
 

This more reliable water supply has enabled farmers to improve crop yields by 20% and raise two or three crops per year.  As a result, they now produce surpluses providing them a cash income.  An associated reforestation project provides a sustainable supply of timber for local use and for sale outside the community.  80,000 saplings have been planted on more gentle slopes while vetiver grass is used to stabilize relatively steep slopes.  These revegetation efforts help to enable rain water to “walk” down the slopes and improve infiltration.

 

Community boys planting saplings.  After 2012, ¼ of the trees grown for firewood will be harvested annually and new saplings will be planted to replace them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reduction of soil erosion in the community and sedimentation in local streams and reservoirs are secondary benefits of the watershed management program.  However, I find it very significant that the BMPs we use to control erosion and sedimentation on construction projects in “Western” countries, can play a central role in providing potable and irrigation water to rural communities in developing countries.  

My thanks to Irv Buck of the Parker, Colorado (USA) Rotary Club for providing all the photos used in this story.



A build-up of sediment behind this new community dam will still be a problem
but erosion control BMPs in the watershed above the dam will extend its life.
 

Surplus water is enabling community women to plant “kitchen gardens”.