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Sustainable Livelihood Options in Little Rann of Kutch1

1. Introduction

Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) is a salt marshy area located near Great Rann of Kutch in
Gujarat. It is surrounded by around 108 villages and covers an area of approximately 6979
square km. LRK Landscape has arid climate with a temperature range of below freezing
point to above 50 degree centigrade.

It is a unique landscape comprising of saline mudflat, which in monsoon gets transformed

into a very large seasonal wetland proving a haven for the migrant avifaunal and invertebrate
diversity. LRK sanctuary is the only stronghold for the endangered wild equid subspecies
Equus hemionus khur (commonly known as Wild Ass) in Asia which is the ‘Flagship’ species
of the landscape. During monsoon season, the seasonal wetland is charged by freshwater
inflow and ingress of seawater teems with plant and animal life. It becomes a major marine
nursery for the famous endemic “Kutch Prawn” and a feeding ground for numerous fish and
invertebrate species. This large saline mudflat has been the traditional breeding ground for
the lesser flamingo since 1893. It lies in the migratory route of a large number of bird species
and draws a host of waterfowl and demoiselle and common cranes.

The Rann fringes and the bets are the most critical habitats that support good diversity of
wildlife such as Wild Ass, Chinkara, Black buck, Nilgai, Wolf, Fox, Jackal and Desert cat.
Globally threatened Caracal is also reported from the landscape. Small mammals including
Porcupine, Indian Pangolin, Pale Hedgehog, etc. are also found in this landscape.

The entire landscape can be divided into four major physiographical entities as under
1. Saline flat land-the Little Rann (desert region)
2. Sandy or rocky and salt free higher grounds amidst the Rann (Bet region)
3. The saline & sandy transitional area between low laying Rann and the village
uplands
4. Tidal creeks in Gulf of Kutch which get extended up to south-western part of Little
Rann

The area is heavily used by humans and is responsible for the production of 31% of the
country’s inland salt. There are 108 villages with about 52634 families (2.5 lakh human
population) and 2.6 lakh livestock population in this landscape. Salt making, agriculture,
livestock rearing and seasonal fishing are the major economic activities in this area.
Occupational calendar suggests that fishing in seasonal wetlands and salt-making activities
in the Rann area are non-overlapping activities. Therefore, there are quite a large number of
households who are engaged in both the activities. Majority of agriculture is rain-fed.
Livestock rearing is mostly free grazing with some stall feeding from crop residues. Other
than resident livestock population, a large number of migrant livestock and livestock of
migrants (Maldharis) also graze in this area en route better grazing areas in South Gujarat,
than in the Great Rann of Kutch and Rajasthan.

2. Traditional Communities of LRK landscape

The local communities and their livelihoods are inextricably entwined with the seasonal
changes here in LRK. Natural changes, policy level and infrastructural changes have a huge
influence and impact on livelihood of these communities. A brief description about the four
major communities who have a direct linkage with LRK and its biodiversity has been
presented herewith.

1
This case is based on the OTS report of PRM 33. Four participants: Aditi Kumar, Ankit Parikh, Khantil Dixit, and Tarana Agrawal work under the guidance
of Pramod K. Singh. The host organisation was BCRLIP.

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a. Agariya Community
The Agariya Community is one of the most vulnerable social groups in the landscape. They
are involved in salt farming. Their working conditions are very harsh and the family of this
community are the major sufferers.

With the declaration of Sanctuary formation in 1973, salt panning became an illegal activity
as existing issued licences were not renewed anymore. Yet in this unfinished settlement, the
activity continues to be a primary livelihood for them. Bigger merchants lease out their land
to Agariya workers for salt production. Industries like DCW and HSL and many other small
private players also continue to procure salt from individual farmers whose land lease have
expired. But the remuneration earned by these Agariya workers is too less for their
sustenance.

Vicious cycle
It can be said that the life of an Agariya is trapped in the vicious cycle where they are bound
to work for the merchants. Panning begins in the month of October and lasts till April. During
this period of 7 months their entire family lives in the LRK. To bear the expenses of salt
farming and household, they take an advance from the merchants who generously lends the
required amount subjected to the condition that all the salt produced in the pans are sold to
them at a predetermined rate. Once the panning is done the merchant procures it from the
respective salt pans. He pays off the Agariyas after deducting the earlier advance taken and
the expenses which an Agariya is entitled to bear like additional labour cost etc. Ultimately
an Agariya family receives a minimum amount of Rs. 20,000 on an average to survive on for
off season five months, in exchange of their seven months of hard work for in the toughest
and unfavourable weather conditions of LRK.

Exploitation
Agariya Community is exploited to sell their produce to merchant at very low rates, as they
are dependent on them for loan all throughout the year. Other than this there are
communities like Durbars who charge land rentals within the range from Rs. 25000 to Rs.
50000 per annum. from the farmers for renewing land lease to produce salt. This is an illegal
practice. But since Agariyas are not very aware and these are dominating communities, they
do not question them.

Impact on Health
Health issues occur on account of occupational hazards at the pans, kilns and factories.
These include skin related hazards due to long working hours in the brine and cases of
malnourishment due to limited food variety that people consume while in the pans. Most
infants and children showed symptoms of malnutrition. The vast expanse of landscape (5000
sq. km.) bears a constraint to provide a real impact on health conditions of this community.

Impact of migration on education

Illiteracy is highly prevalent in this community mainly because of their migrant nature which
prevents children from going to school for a very long period during the year. With the
interventions of NGOs like Gantar, SEWA and Anandi recently mobile schools and seasonal
hostels have been trying to overcome this barrier. Yet their scale of operations is small and
awareness is still lacking in the community.

b. Fishermen
Fishing is a seasonal occupation in LRK as it is mainly done in the brackish water which is
formed in the desert region during monsoon season as a mix of water of river flowing
downstream and sea water entering this region through tidal creeks. They search for
different means of employment for rest of the year as no fishing takes place in this region
after monsoon.

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Migration
The families involved in fishing activity migrate to different fishing sites that develop for four
months in a year, July – October. They live in temporary makeshift houses ‘Chapras’ and
remain there for the entire fishing season. Sometimes entire village which are dominantly
inhabited by the fishermen were found vacated as entire household shifts to Dhasis (bets)
located in the interior of Rann. Women have to accompany men to make food and living
arrangements, leaving the children no option but to migrate as well.

Living Conditions
The bets are located in the interiors of Rann with no electricity; no infrastructure like roads,
health facilities etc. Families are dependent on kerosene lamps and torches once it is dark.
There is no source of safe drinking water. Women have to walk atleast 4 -5 kms back to the
village from Dhasis to fill water. Most times rainwater is collected in small vessels and is
utilised for drinking and cooking purpose.

Impact of Fishing on Dhasi/ Bets

This sort of migration exerts immense pressure on the land and ecosystem within Rann as
families clear lands to set up tents, cut available vegetation to meet fuel-wood requirements
etc. Since for the wild life bets are the only habitats during monsoon, the chances of human
animal conflict increases tremendously. This is a major concern for biodiversity conservation
as in these conflicts large number of wild animals and birds lose their habitats.

Education
Children are the worst affected due to migration of entire family. Children of these families
are deprived of education during their fishing season. Also since their Summer vacation
have just ended before the fishing season starts, almost 4 months of their education period
gets affected.

c. Landless labourers
The landless labourers are forced to look for livelihoods for subsistence and in the absence
of better or viable alternatives are forced to access and use biodiversity in an unsustainable
manner. Landless labourers are the most vulnerable community from all the four identified
target groups.

Vulnerability
In a landless household both men and women work as a daily wage labour. The reason for
inclusion of this community in the target group is because of their being the most vulnerable
and unpredictable livelihood present in this region. . They neither have any asset base nor
any skill set and so they solely depend on labour which is the only sources of income that
too is dependent on seasonality. Their livelihood is mainly depended on agriculture, salt
production and salt transportation or any other such labour intensive work.

Agriculture
During farming season, a few landless labourers work on agricultural land on “Batai” system.
In this system, the landless labourer earns either 25% return on total produce with no
expenses incurred on fields or with 67% of total yield produced with all expenses taken up
by labourer themselves. Whereas for the labourers who work in farms as labourers either
for sowing, weeding, harvesting, etc, in a crop cycle of 4 - 6 months, get employment for
about fifteen to twenty days.

Salt Production
Similarly during the Salt production season, employment opportunities are available
generally in the first month of ‘paata’ construction and last month of Salt picking and Ganja

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formation and transportation into trucks. They earn wages in a range of Rs 100 – 250 per
day, depending on the activity they are involved in. The wages vary for men and women.
Small number of landless labourers also work in salt processing industry where they were
employed for packaging of salt packs. They earned approximately Rs. 40 per tonne of salt
packing. There are a lot of occupational hazards since no protective equipment or even
shoes are provided to the workers.

Migration
Seasonal migration of labourers to nearby towns such as Morbi, Dhrangadhra, Surendranagr
and even Jamnagar also takes place.

d. Maldhari Community
LRK region has arid climate. The vegetation is scanty on account of low rainfall and the soil
quality. Due to this the pasturelands, grasslands and forest lands have a limited potential.
But these are the only source of supporting the livestock here. Pastoralism is one of the
prominent means of livelihoods here. Locally referred to as Maldharis, this community rears
sheep, goats, cows and buffaloes. Maldharis community of region is keeping small and large
ruminants in bulk irrespective of their productivity which also impacts the economic status of
the community.

Maldhari (with cows/ buffaloes) are mostly associated to dairies, though the efficiency of
these cooperative dairy is poor. Desi breed of cows are reared. The productivity is not very
high A belief prevails in this region that cross breed animals cannot survive in the climate of
this region and hence people are apprehensive of trying. Members of the Dairy are
remunerated on fat basis at the prices set by the dairy cooperative. Cow dung is also sold at
rate of Rs.1500-2000 per tractor which adds to their earning. For Maldhari families, who own
30 - 50 cows/ buffaloes the occupation is remunerative but for families with 2-3 cow/
buffaloes it is just subsistence living.

For Maldhari (Sheep/goat), livestock rearing is the least profitable occupation. The number
of small ruminants was initially higher with around 150-200 goats/ sheep per household. The
revenue generation from their milk or wool is extremely low as the market linkage is not well
developed and they are dependent on local merchants. Sheep and goat’s milk is not
procured by dairy co-operatives. Some people mix the milk of sheep and goat with the milk
of cows and buffaloes to be able to sell the milk. In some villages people make “Khoa” from
milk which is sold at the rate of Rs. 130-140 per kg. Excreta of small ruminants are also
source of income for owners. Large herd of the animals are allowed to stay for 2-3 days in
the farm and the dropped excreta that acts as organic manure and helps to improve the
fertility of the land, is remunerated. Income generation from selling of wool is the least.
Prevailing rates for selling of wool in the area is Rs. 500 per 20 kg. One sheep gives 1 Kg
wool on an average in a year

Rearing practice here involves free grazing. This is supported by fodder and cotton seed oil
cake. Apart from the local livestock, there is seasonally migrating livestock which crosses
this region en-route to Rajasthan. Thus this rampant free grazing is of major concern for the
Forest Department as it exerts tremendous pressure on the LRK vegetation and disrupts
conservation practices.

Common lands have been reduced drastically due to illegal encroachments of lands by big
farmers. This has reduced the overall grazing area for the livestock. Thus Maldharis have to
take their livestock either to some pasture land of forest or sanctuary region for grazing. As a
result of livestock grazing the food available for the wild herbivores is depleting. These
animals in search of food come out of the sanctuary and start grazing in agricultural land.
They often tend to destroy farms leading to human wildlife conflicts.

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After spring season, there is no grass even in the sanctuary which turns completely dry and
turns into desert. Thus the Maldharis with their herds of animals migrate to nearby States in
search of pasture lands. This migratory feature of Maldhari has tremendous impact on their
social lives and education of their children.

3. Occupational pattern in LRK Region

Inhabitants of the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) are primarily involved in Salt Farming, Livestock
rearing (goat, sheep, and cattle), Fishing and Farming. While grains are produced mainly for
subsistence purpose, production of Cotton, Guar, Cumin and Groundnut is done for
commercial purpose.

a. Salt Farming
Salt farming is one of the key economic activities in Little Rann of Kutch. Here salt is
produced through solar evaporation method. It involves a large part of population who reside
on the fringes of this area. These people generally belong to the Koli community. It fulfils
approximately 30% requirement of nation’s salt demand. This area is famous for producing
inland salt. Unlike sea salt, here salt is cultivated in the core desert of Rann.

Salt production cycle

The cycle of salt cultivation from collection of salt water to collection of salt crystals lasts for
a span of 8 months starting from October till May-June, before onset of monsoon. Initially as
the month of October approaches, the Agariya families begin with the preparation of shifting
to the Rann. These include:

i. Cleaning and repair of the diesel motor.

ii. Procurement and packing of essential items required for living in the desert.

Once the Agariya reaches the Rann, first they dig a well to draw sea water out of it. The
depth of these wells depends on the availability of brine. It varies from 15 feet in Maliya
district to 150 feet in Satalpur district. After this water is drawn out using water pumps which
run on diesel. Since 10-12 years, farmers have been using generators which have increased
the usage of diesel. Often 3 pumps are run using one generator.

At the same time, they start preparing salt pans (locally known as patas) for collection of
water drawn. These are square plots of land which may vary in sizes. These plots are filled
with brine which is drawn from the wells. This saline brine ranges from densities 4 to 16 BC
(Brine Concentration) at this stage. These pans are connected with each other. The bed of
the pan is trampled to make it compact to prevent seepage. This process requires close
monitoring. Gradually as the water evaporates, the brine gets more concentrated and seeps
into the next pata. It is exposed to fractional crystallization using solar energy. This process
continues till the brine reaches a density of 24-25 BC. At this stage, salt precipitates in the
form of crystals.

During this process, the salt farmer begins to run a wooden rake (locally called dantaara)
through brine solution and thus the salt crystals formed. This activity is performed once on a
daily basis. This is done to prevent the crystals from sticking with each other and maintaining
its quality. At the same time it is smoothened using paavdi. Now the water is removed from
salt for drying and is heaped on both sides of the pan.

After this entire process of salt making now the salt is lifted and transported to storage sheds
called ganja. They are located in areas which are in close proximity with rail and road.
Marine salt which is highly mechanized is the main competitor of the Agariyas in this region.
They are also adversely affected by the price fluctuations at which the merchants procure
their salt.

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Existing Value Chain in LRK region

Agariya who are the salt workers get approximately Rs. 240 per tonne of salt produce. This
rate varies based on the amount of water obtained by digging a well in the desert. Also this
value varies based on the salinity and type/purity of salt produced. The salt produced is
collected near the pit with either hep of other family members or by getting daily wages
labourers at work. The heap of salt is then taken up by the merchants with help of labourers
and is then transported to nearby processing unit.

Figure 1: Existing Value Chain in LRK region

Packaging unit Transportation

(Cost + Profit) to urban city

Product after
basic process
Rs 1100 Final Cost=
+600+400 Rs.3400
= 2100
Sold at
Rs 1100

Transportation Processing losses

Unloading to
to Processing due to washing
Processing Unit
Unit of raw salt

Rs.70 for Rs.20 for

transportation unloading to
Almost 50% of Product after
from stockyard processing
overall adding free flow Packaging unit Transportation
to Halvad unit agent
quantity lost (Cost + Profit) to urban city
(Approx.
Rs.300) Sold at
Rs 1800 Final Cost=
Rs 1800
+600+400= Rs.4000
2800

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Once the processed salt is obtained, it is packed into different packaging which are then
forwarded through transport to major cities or towns. A predefined deal is set by the
wholesaler and the processing unit on the rates of salt. At the end of this value chain finally
the processed or refined salt reaches the end customer at rate of Rs. 20 per kg. Figure 1
indicates tentative cost incurred in value adding processes and profits that are earned by
various middle men in this entire chain.

Constraints of Salt farming

Financial Constraint
Major constraint in developing market-led value chains is the lack of access to financial
services. Due to this majority of Agariyas are perpetually trapped in debt cycle. Agariyas’
income in a crop cycle of one year is just about enough for four months (June - September)
when salt production activity stops. Other than that, they have no savings to incur house
expenses for the other eight months, leave alone bearing salt production expenses. They
usually borrow money (average Rs 15,000 a month) from local bigger merchants to
undertake production and for household expenditure from October to May. Hence they get
tied up for selling their produce at very low price to them. From here begins a vicious cycle of
dependence and exploitation year after year.

No access to markets
Inaccessibility to financial services also results in inability to reach markets. The cost of
transportation of salt is very high. Once the salt is produced it is collected. The formation is
called ‘Ganjas’. The merchant gets the salt picked from Ganjas and transports it to the
market in a truck. Since Agariyas cannot afford the transportation cost, they never try
reaching the market. Besides, they are unaware of the rates or the actual physical points
where there produce is sold. They have immense lack of exposure which keeps them
uninformed of the prevailing trends in the salt industry. Hence, they fail to capitalise on the
opportunities and remain backward.

Inadequate Support and extension services

The community seems to have inadequate support and extension services. No value-
addition takes place at the primary producer level, leading to the transfer of entire chunk of
produce in the raw form. Value addition activities are generally taken up by local merchants
with high capital base. In spite of being aware of the processing means, they fail to imply
those due to lack of infrastructure and entrepreneurship among the community members.
They fail to foresee the benefits which can be derived if they consider value addition as the
next task right after production which shall also ensure a regular source of livelihood all year
round.

No self-empowerment
A lot of hesitation is prevalent among the members of the community. They are hard-working
yet not very enterprising. Despite facing harsh working conditions and being aware of the
exploitation by the merchants in terms of prices, the community members have rarely tried to
engage in other business/income generating activities. Their low skill-sets results in their
under-confidence and hampers their risk taking abilities. Besides, most of them consider the
merchants to be generous enough for they are a ready source of finance for more than half
an year. Lack of farsightedness has chained the community of the initiatives which could
have thus been taken up by the community. They have become too dependent and are more
of a taker than a doer now.

Lack of skills and awareness for other jobs

Low level of education due to migrating patterns of Agariya workers and their families has
resulted in low awareness and skill set. They are forced to continue the traditional

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occupation as it is the only way of living they know of. They are more focused on the
activities which only manual and require labour than skills. As mentioned earlier, they remain
aloof from the world and its dynamism for about two thirds of a year, which keeps them un-
informed and backward. For the rest of the year again they are least bothered of what other
activity can be done as they are bound by the debt of the merchant. Hence, they fail to learn
new skills or explore other options for an alternate livelihood.

b. Seasonal Fishing
The brackish water formed due to the mixing of rain water and sea water is a suitable
nursery ground for a particular type of prawns—M. Kutchenis. Good rainfall ensures large
scale immigration of prawns in their post larvae stage to LRK waterlogged areas from the
Surajbari Creek, where under estuary conditions they grow. Rainfall ensures low level of
salinity and sufficient availability of food for these to grow. Out of the four months the
average number of prawn fishing days in a season is only about 25 – 30 days.

According to the survey of GEER Foundation conducted in 1998 there are about 6500 active
fishermen in the LRK landscape engaged in prawn fishery, out of which 4800 are local. The
remaining fishermen migrate from surrounding regions. Efforts are being made to ascertain
the current magnitude of the fishing operations. Fishery Department records suggest that
earlier in 1950’s licences were given for fishing and revenue was collected for the same.
Currently old licences are continued within families and there are informal rights of fishing
space. Spread of fishing area captured by a family is occupied on the basis of mutual
understanding.

Technique and tools

Fishermen in these area use barrier nets for concentrating prawns into their fishing space.
Setting up these nets is a specialised job for which they put sticks on which the net is tied
before the water floods the LRK region. Thus they migrate in July to start the required
preparations. To catch prawns fishermen walk in a fashion so that net form a V-shape that
are instrumental in driving the prawns into the trap. These nets are locally known as
‘Goonjas’. Prawns are generally nocturnal and move in shoals. Thus the maximum catch is
during the night. During the day they rest at the bottom and their movement is restricted
thereby reducing the catch.

The size of the net varies as per the economic condition of the fishermen varying in the
range of 20 kg to 100 kg. The market price per kg of net is Rs 400 per Kg. Some fishermen
use ‘Kaatarjal’ net particularly used to catch prawns. Other than this, using ‘Chatti’ net is a
common practice, which is the common mosquito net. Using these nets is much easier than
using goonja nets. Lopside being that it does not even allow the smallest prawn to escape.
As small prawns also gets trapped the scope for catching bigger prawns or further prawn
breeding goes down. Thus for short term benefit, fishermen usually engage in such
unsustainable practices without understanding its long run impact.

Catch:
Prawn is the main catch of LRK. There are 22 types of prawns found in this region of which
Kutchi prawns generates a very high demand and has a very huge export market. Other
prominent catches are Palla (Local name for Hilsa), Choddi, Katiya, Sheriya, Khagi, Fafat.
The quality and quantity of catch varies during the entire season. The daily catch also varies
quite significantly. It has obvious correlation with the amount of total rainfall, inundation and
drying up patterns of Rann. The maximum catch during a day of fishes may range in
anything 5 – 10 kg. Prawn catch may vary in the range of anything between 25 and 200 kg.
Variance in prawn catching occurs on account of the following factors:

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Table 1: Reasons for Variance in Prawn Catch

Factors Description
Natural Rainfall, tidal currents, mixing of tidal water and freshwater, life cycle stage
of prawn, wind speed (low to moderate is ideal)
Tidal effects Pur (high tide period) and bhang (low tide period) determines the
movement of prawns. During pur prawns move towards the creeks.
Anthropogenic Reduced freshwater flow (up-stream consumption), food consumption,
catch effort, fishermen selling to other trader, consumption, change in
number of fishermen every year
Fishing tools Net size, mesh size, net type, net depth ( 3 -4 feet is ideal)

Remuneration earned
Most of the fishermen are linked with one of the few merchants who buy their prawns at a
predetermined rate. The price of good prawns with size (atleast 3 inches) is Rs 30 per kg.
The merchants trade these prawns at around Rs.150 - 250 per kg to Veraval, Porbandar or
Morbi port for export. In case of prawns of lesser size are caught, they are boiled and then
dried and sold at a price of Rs. 150 per Kg. For producing 1 kg of dry prawns, 5 kg of fresh
prawns are utilized. Due to indiscriminate catching practices, the prawn catch is declining
every year, fishermen are dependent on other sources of fish to earn their living. These are
sold in the local market or used for self consumption. They fetch the following prices
approximately.

Table 2: Approximate selling price of other local fishes

Fish Species Price (Rs.)
Choddi 40
Katiya 20
Palla 20
Sheriya 40 – 50
Khagi 20
Fafat 30

Constraints of Seasonal Fishing

Lack of access to the market

The financial stance of the community limits there outreach and access to markets. Trading
is conducted only at the middlemen level (established merchants) who procure the prawn
catch and sell it to export markets through Porbandar and Veraval ports. Further the
practices are also extortionist in nature. The fishermen sell their catch to the merchants not
on account of standardised weights but old practice of filling a ‘Parle-G tin box’ in exchange
for Rs 250 – 300 irrespective of the size of the prawns. The market value for the same is
evaluated by size of each piece.

Lack of cold storage

This restricts their accessibility to markets as having cold storage units requires heavy
investment. Currently the merchant sends his ice trucks close to the bets and procures the
prawns. With the fear of rotting and spoilage fishermen continue selling their catch to the
merchant on his terms and prices.

Unsustainable practices
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The problem with this existent practices is that the net size and fishing technique being used
does not allow the little prawns to escape. Consequentially the size of prawns caught is
smaller which has both - an ecological impact and price impact at the end of the value chain.
The immediate consequence is the ecological impact – the prawn production declining as
baby prawns do not get to grow and further breed.

Unaware of extension services

There are various Government schemes for support of fishermen community under the State
Fisheries Department. But there is no awareness amongst people on the subsidies and the
provisions available.

c. Charcoal Making
Charcoal making is another occupation that engages many people in this region. There is
abundant growth of Prosopis which serves as the raw material for making charcoal.
Moreover, the ban on cutting this shrub has been lifted which has enhanced the activity even
further. One can observe several villagers cutting their branches and carrying them in tied
bundles on both sides of the road. This practice takes up high pace during the monsoons as
the availability of the shrub shoots up then. The activity is commonly performed by the
landless labourers who work in the agriculture fields and salt pans as a secondary activity.
Besides, farmers also practice it using the vegetation that grows around their fields. It is so
actively performed in the area primarily because it involves low investment due to high
availability of its raw material.

In 15 days 20-30 kg of coal can be prepared. This coal is sold to the local merchant at the
rate of Rs.130 per 20 kg. Hence, one earns approximately Rs.7500 per month out of this
activity. These middlemen or merchants sell it further at a minimum rate of Rs.400 per kg in
the market.

d. Livestock Rearing
As mentioned in Maldhari Community section this livelihood focuses mainly on rearing goat,
sheep, cow and buffalo to sell their milk and wool and to earn their living.

4. BCRLIP Society for LRK Landscape

The BCRLIP (Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project)

Society entrusted with developing and promoting new models of conservation at LRK
landscape for mainstreaming biodiversity conservation through enhanced capacity and
institution building.

BCRLIP has the following twin objectives:

i. Conservation of the very unique landscape of LRK which is a habitat for a large
variety of different species of animals and birds.
ii. To help the various traditional communities develop alternate livelihood to bring
about lesser pressure on the ecosystem of LRK and thus preserve the biodiversity of
the region.

The very objective of this project brings inherent contradictions and challenges for its
implementing agency i.e. Forest Department, Wild Ass Sanctuary. First and foremost, the
extent of Departments jurisdiction and the simultaneous process of making the communities
Stakeholders have inherent challenges. It is a challenge to identify to what extent the
Department should curb the existing occupational practices in order to conserve the local
ecosystem. Strengthening present livelihoods of the local communities at the same time
would lead to obvious pressure on Sanctuary resources.

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For wxample, issuing lease for Salt farming has been stopped by the administration. Despite
of this settlement of land rights has not been completed. Thus the occupational community
‘Agariyas’ cannot just be simply displaced by imposing bans without a fair Re-settlement.
This has resulted in salt pans still being functional without lease within the LRK. Apart from
this the community has its own socio-economic characteristics due to which they are
exploited.

As shown above, another conflict that emerges is in context of grazing rights and nurturing
Maldhari community. There is mix of categories in the landscape or the project area i.e. Wild
Ass Sanctuary, reserved and protected forest and private land. It is quite unclear whether
the land has been allotted for grazing purpose. Thus clear demarcations of the sanctuary
region has not been done which is essentially required to successfully implement the project.
Heavily regulated regime for pasture and tree on private land has created an environment of
conflicts.

5 LRK Ecosystem at the Crossroads

BCRLIP is a project on biodiversity conservation of Little Rann of Kutch region, initiated by
Ministry of Environment and Forests in collaboration with World Bank. Its main focus is on
reducing biotic pressure on Little Rann of Kutch that has been growing due to traditional
occupational practices of the Agariya, Maldhari and Fisherman communities. These
communities are dependent on Forest resources for their daily requirements and to earn
their livelihood.

Agariyas manufacture salt in the deserts of LRK by using either underground brine water or
using sea water. Maldharis are traditional pastoralists who are dependent on the LRK
grazing lands and pastures for rearing their cattle. Fishermen migrate to the land that
emerges upwards during the rains, locally known as ‘Dhasis’. This is usually at the fringes of
LRK where famous Kutchi prawns, particular only to this region are found. This variety of
prawns M. Kucthenis are created only due to formation of brackish water which is a
combination of fresh water from various rivers which pour into LRK and influx of sea water
from the tidal creeks during high tide.

Since LRK is a very unique landscape, its conservation plays a very important role. Wild ass
sanctuary has a huge variety of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. A huge number of
migratory birds come to LRK region during period of August to February which is also their
breeding season.

In some of the villages Agariya as well as landless labourers were dependent on Jaydeep
Salts, Maharaja Salts and few on Dev salts. But the remuneration that is earned by the
workers in this industry is very less as compared to the normal salt-pan workers. All of these
three major salt players are situated on boundary of Surajbari creek which is heart and vein
of sanctuary of LRK.

Table 3: Large Salt Company Details

Compa Year of Production Expansion Plan Free Flow Area Location

ny Estb. Capacity Salt
Name Capacity
Jaydeep 1980 5 Million 9 Million Tonne 1.26 Lakh 4000Acre+ Vavaniya, Near
Salts Tonne/Annum PA Tonne PA 5000 Acre navlakhi port
Dev 1989 1,50,000 1 million tonne PA NA 7000 Acres Haripar Village
Salts Mts./annum

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Figure 1: Map of LRK

Haripar
Village (Dev
Salts)

Vavaniya
Village
(Jaydeep
Salts)

Mechanised Production Process

The salt water that is needed to manufacture salt is obtained from the tidal creeks. During
high tide when the water flows towards LRK region, this water is stored and collected by
these companies in huge reservoir created near the marking shown in Figure 2. For this
purpose, these companies have created a dam sort of structure of a height of 4 mts which
restricts the water from tides and more water gets stored in reservoir. This water is allowed
to flow in salt pans which have been permanently been constructed. Same traditional
method of salt manufacturing is used, just with the exception that manual labour has
reduced drastically as most of the things are done with help of machinery. Removal of salt
from pans is done through Hitachi bulldozer, no machinery is used for stirring the water and
use of JCB for movement of salt from salt pans and loading on trucks.

During the same process gypsum is also formed at 17 degree which is supplied to cement
industry. Bromine is also produced from the brine that is left over if left to reach at 30 degree.
But this brine solution is highly dangerous and leads to destruction of water creatures if
allowed to flow in sea. The processing of this brine solution is both this plant is not known.

Thus with modernization and use of high tech machinery, the livelihoods of lot of people
have been affected. Not just that the high degree brine solution that is formed is also
creating a huge menace for the creatures of sea and nearby region of sanctuary.

Impact on LRK Landscape

With restriction of tidal water, brackish water formation is hindered. Thus favourable
condition for prawn nursery is not available. This will lead to dramatic reduction in the
prawns produced. This in turn will lead to scarcity in food availability for few migratory birds
who feed only on prawns and their remains. Not just animals and birds, but more than 1000
families who settle in sanctuary region for fishing purpose will not get their only livelihood
(prawn catching), thus leading to very high level of unemployment.

1. The brine solution formed after salt manufacturing process may or may not be disposed
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of in a safe manner. This might create dangerous repercussions on lives of wildlife.
2. With restriction of tidal water in LRK region, the salinity of water getting in LRK region will
reduce. This in turn will lead to reduction in salinity of ground water. Since, most of
Agariya workers use underground brine (salty water) for salt manufacturing process,
there will be gradual decrease in the salinity. Agariya will then have to mine deeper for
this solution thus leading to increase in their production cost and thus making their
livelihood worse.
3. Reduction is salinity of this region would also change the entire landscape in long run.
Landscape will turn lush green and this might tempt a lot of residents to expand their
agricultural land. This in turn will reduce the grazing land for the wild herbivores living in
the sanctuary.

Thus, unrestricted expansion and irresponsible supervision of these industrialists will

gradually lead to destruction of this unique landscape which is one of its kinds on entire
planet.

6 Points to Ponder

How to achieve the twin objectives of ensuring conservation of LRK ecosystem and
livelihood security of
i. Agariya community, involved in salt farming
ii. Fishermen, involved in seasonal fishing
iii. Maldhari community, involved in livestock rearing
iv. Landless labourer

Organogram of BCRLIP
The overall Implementation Arrangement set-up for BCRLI (Biodiversity Conservation and
Rural Livelihood Improvement) Project is developed from the perspective implementation
and monitoring of the project from the national, state, landscape, and community level. The
Implementation arrangement at all levels has focus on implementation of planned project
activities, financial management and procurement functions and project monitoring, learning
and reporting.

Figure 3: Organogram

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