Environmental Hazards in Arunachal Pradesh

Environmental hazards are associated with the severe or extreme physiographic, geologic and climatic events that occur naturally or coupled with human induced causes. These refer to all atmospheric, hydrologic, and geologic phenomena that have the potential to affect humans, their structures, their activities and overall environment adversely.

The Indian subcontinent is highly vulnerable to natural hazards. The figures related to hazard vulnerability in India show that about 57 % of land is vulnerable to earthquakes, 28 % of land is vulnerable to drought, 12.7% of land mass falls under the landslide-prone hazardous zone, 12 % of land is vulnerable to floods, and 8 % of land is vulnerable to Cyclones.

Earthquake, Landslide, Cloud Burst, and Flash flood are the common hazards in Arunachal Pradesh. Forest Fire is another hazard that is common in the State. Being a part of mountainous Himalayan territory, all these hazards become more destructive in Arunachal Pradesh. It is, thus, essential to understand the status, causes, level of severity and conservation/mitigation measures related to these hazards in context of Arunachal Pradesh.

The present paper seeks to examine the three important environmental hazards- Earthquake, Deforestation, and Landslides in context of Arunachal Pradesh. The unique geological set-up and the geo-environmental make-up of the state have been assessed as the background of the study.

There is an urgent need of sensitizing all stake holders to make them aware of risks and vulnerabilities about these hazards. A large number of developmental activities, e.g., hydroelectric power projects, development of infrastructure, etc. are under progress in Arunachal Pradesh. A holistic view has to be taken of all the developmental activities, considering the location of the State in High Seismic Zone and highly fragile ecosystem.