Current water crisis issues and impacts of decreasing forest cover in Indian highlands: Case study from a Himalayan state of India

The Himalayan states of India are biologically rich with various natural resources, yet due to various anthropogenic or natural causes, the resources and inherited services are getting reduced day by day, at a larger scale creating different threats to the lives of local people. The current study assesses the inter-connections between the changes in the vulnerable ecosystem like forest cover and increasing water scarcity in Himachal Pradesh, a Himalayan state in India. The survival rate of floras is reported to be decreasing at a very alarming rate, directly causing severe water crisis in Shimla, the famous tourist destination of India, and other villages of Himachal Pradesh. Apart from finding out different natural causes for this crisis, a financial review has also been carried out in this study to analyze the State Government budget for Himachal Pradesh for different schemes and strategies related to Forests and Water Resources. The review results show climate-relevant expenditures for forestry by State Government is 27% compared to 66% in the water sector. Finally, our study shows that increase in the Government budget for expenditures in the forest sector will help to curb the water crisis to certain extents in the highland states of India. The findings would be applicable to many other countries with similar geographical parameters as well.

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