Floating Market, Dal Lake linking social and ecological systems through architecture

Abstract

Dal Lake is a temperate, macrophyte rich, freshwater shallow lake in the heart of Srinagar. It is bounded by the capital city of Srinagar on south-west and the Zabarwan ranges in north. It is an urban lake of significant economic value, used for tourist recreation, fishing, harvesting of water plants etc. It spreads over an area of 18 km2 taking in floating garden, built-up land masses with human settlements, and houseboat areas within its open waters. The dwellers who have settled in the Dal lake areas form part of the history of the lake. Borne out of long years of practice, their lives have harmonised with ecosystems of nature. Water is a major source of sustenance and It largely defines people’s everyday lives and activities of cultivating food, going to school, production of crafts, the famous shawls, selling and trade etc. The history of Dal landscape narrates a story of adaptation and resource utilisation that faces a threat due to pollution, overpopulation and control of resource through domestication. On the other hand, the proposed technical developments on the lake and rehabilitation of locals, as a service to society, may have detrimental impacts on Lake Environment. An alternative development strategy in such sensitive habitats can be the ‘Ecosystem-based Approach’ that recognises the role of human dimension in shaping and contributing to existing ecosystem processes and dynamics. This may allow dal dwellers to sustainable inhabit the lake (within the carrying capacity of the environment) as well as promote ecotourism that has significantly reduced in the valley. This approach though is an intrinsic part of the philosophy of old kashmiriyat and the idea of ‘wastes from one process can be utilised in another’.