Watershed management, is a
holistic approach which aims at optimising the use of land, water and vegetation in an
area to alleviate drought, moderate floods, prevent soil erosion, improve water
availability and increase fuel, fodder and agricultural production on a sustained basis.
There is a urgent need to improve
watershed management and to educate the general public on watershed problems and actions
needed to meet these problems. This issue of the Digest focuses on the
Common Approach/ Principles for Watershed Management, importance of indigenous technical
knowledge, information technology applications in Watershed management and documents
successes across the country.
Common Approach for Watershed Management
The thrust of Indian Agriculture in the post
Green Revolution period was on enhancing agricultural productivity through sustainable
practices. In order to achieve this, the Government of India implemented a national level
programme for the development of rainfed areas through the watershed approach. The
Watershed Approach aimed at augmentation and stabilization of production and productivity,
minimizing ecological degradation, reducing regional disparity, and opening up
opportunities for employment of rural poor in the rainfed areas. A similar approach was
adopted for developing resource poor areas – drought prone, desert and wastelands.
Watershed Development has been taken up under different programmes launched by the
Government of India which include the watershed development projects of Ministry of
Agriculture, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as
several externally aided projects.
Need for a Common Approach
A need has been felt to bring
about convergence and harmonization in the implementation of various watershed development
projects. However, this has not been possible as the aims and objectives of these projects
are different and the watershed approach has been adopted under these projects to achieve
their varied objectives. While some of these projects had a specialized focus resulting in
special norms and delivery mechanisms geared to meet those needs, the six major projects /
programmes, namely National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA),
Watershed Development in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDSCA), Drought Prone Areas Programme
(DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP), Integrated Wasteland Development Project
(IWDP), Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) had elements of convergence and considerable
common geographical area of operation. These programmes also account for about 70 percent
of funds and area under watershed programmes in the country.
The need for unification of the multiplicity
of watershed development programmes within the framework of a single national initiative
was also emphasized by the Union Finance Minister in his Budget speech for 1999-2000.
Consequently, the Planning Commission desired that the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) hold
consultations with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to arrive at a common set of
guidelines for watershed development.
During an Inter-Ministerial Meeting various
aspects of the watershed programmes were discussed. It was agreed that watershed projects
with a specific focus and unique characteristics such as Reclamation of Problem Soils
(MoA), and Integrated Afforestation and Eco-Development Projects (MoEF) would require a
different approach. The major watershed development projects viz. NWDPRA and WDSCA of MoA,
DPAP, DDP, EAS and IWDP of MoRD would be considered for arriving at a Common Approach /
Principles. While the mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture is to enhance production and
productivity of rainfed areas through sustainable agricultural practices, the mandate of
the Ministry of Rural development is development and maintenance of the natural resource
base in rural areas for increased employment generation and improvement of socio-economic
conditions of rural poor on a micro-watershed basis.
A Sub-Committee has been constituted to
formulate a Common approach / Principles for implementation of the selected watershed
development programmes of the two Central Ministries viz. Agriculture and Rural
Development. The mandate of the Sub-Committee is to examine existing guidelines of
Watershed development projects of the two Ministries in order to identify the convergence
and commonalties in approach in respect of specific criteria for selection of rainfed
areas for treatment, programme components / interventions, institutional frame-work and
modalities of implementation.
This Report is currently under
preparation.
Watershed Management through I
ndigenous knowledge
Sustainability in agricultural
production depends considerably upon proper development, conservation and use of watershed
resources at micro-level. It is now widely recognized that many of the available
'exogenous' technologies (emerging from formal research system) for management of
watershed resources are not suitable for the small holding situation in India. Critical
evaluation of watershed development programme implemented during last 2-3 decades in India
has shown that in majority of cases (where such technologies have been used the farmers
have reverted to their earlier practices after the withdrawal of project support.
Realizing the above, a number of researchers have started examining indigenous innovations
to see the role these could play in improving natural resource management.
A case study in Manchal Watershed of Ranga Reddy district
reveals key principles , relevance of indigenous knowledge and their implications.
Underlying Principles behind Indigenous
Technologies
Indigenous Technologies are based
upon different principles and perceptions in order to meet additional requirements which
are specific to small holding situations.
Relevance of Indigenous Technologies
Traditional technologies for
development and conservation of land resource are found to be highly relevant particularly
for small holding farmers as these measures are being implemented and maintained by
farmers at their own cost. The percentage of their adoption is however limited; and the
reason varies from farmer to farmer. Lack of technological knowledge is not the main
reason for non-adoption. Limitation of finance, shortage of labour availability, lack of
proper demarcation of field boundary, lack of proper mechanism for their maintenance,
difficulty in facilitating group action among neighbouring farmers, low motivation etc.
are some of the reasons which are adversely affecting the adoption of these technologies.
Implications of Indigenous Technologies on
future Watershed Programme
New
role for Outsiders. The role is likely to vary from providing
financial and technical support to social support for facilitating group action, conflict
resolution and equity, depending upon the type of measures to be adopted.
Thrust
on Replication of Successful Experiences. Replication of successful
examples and community led success stories, are likely to lead to most sustainable
results.
Investment
of Public Funds on Indigenous Technology. In view of emerging evidence
in favour of indigenous technologies, barrier to invest public funds on such technologies
needs to be removed through appropriate policy and administrative decision.
Attention
towards repair and maintenance of Indigenous Water Harvesting structures. The
current emphasis is only on construction of new water harvesting structures. Attention
towards repair and maintenance of indigenous water harvesting structures may be considered
as a pre-requisite before investment on any new structure is made for water resource
development. This would require both financial assistance from outside and also a high
level of social action among the concerned persons. Formation of a proper institutional
base at the village level and working out a modality for regular contribution by users
towards future maintenance of structures may be considered as a pre requisite for any
external financial investment on these structures
Flexibility
in sequence of implementation. Appropriate flexibility may be
introduced in implementation of the programme. This would not only help in better
participation of people but also in introducing better financial management in the
watershed area.
Improving Financial Management
under the Watershed Programme
Considering that indigenous
technologies lead to short term as well as long term gains in productivity and can be
implemented on individual farmer basis or small group basis, this opens up a possibility
of improving financial management in the watershed programme. Aspects which could be
considered on experimental basis include : Higher rate of contribution from farmers;
Fixing ceiling on allocation of funds for each family; introduce the concept of
Incremental rate of contribution from resource rich families; Linkage with credit
institutions for implementing bankable technologies; Modification in the methodology for
preparation and approval of technical plan.
(Sustainable
development of land and water resources through Indigenous ideas, initiatives and
innovations: a case study of Manchal watershed in Andhra Pradesh. Paper presented at the
National Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture Production; Lessons from Traditional
Technologies on 30-31 January, 1999 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi; by N.K.Sanghi,
S.K.Moinuddin, B.Renuka Rani, K.Maheswari and P.Sailaja MANAGE,Hyderabad, India)
Pre-requisites
for Participatory Approach under Watershed Programme
N.K. Sanghi, Director
(NRM), G. Jaya and K. Uma Rani, Assistant Directors, MANAGE
Active participation
of people is undoubtedly crucial for sustainable development of natural resources under
watershed programme.
Most of the earlier programmes
have focussed attention on achieving pople’s participation in our plans. Besides,
their concentration has been on development of physical resources (land, water and
prennial vegetation) with very little time and energy left for development of social
resources.
These efforts have resulted in
passive participation of people in the programme, that too for the period upto which the
project continued.
Based upon past experiences the
strategy has now been reversed, in which focus is on our participation into their plan and
development of social resources besides development of natural resources.
Formal research on participatory
approach is presently in infancy particularly under Indian situation. A number of
organizations dealing with technological, social and management aspects have however been
studying ‘peoples’ participation from their own perspectives. Each of these
organizations have identified specific prerequisites which determine peoples’
participation. An attempt has been made here to integrate them in such a way that they
could provide complementary effects at the field level. An integrated list of the
pre-requisites is given here.
- Organization of community into a new institutional set up at
the village level.
- Use of Participatory Rural Appraisal Tools in project
management.
- Preparation of action plan through written proposal from
the users.
- Flexibility in modification of action plan during
implementation phase
- Contributory approach for each developmental work
- Group action and conflict resolution for community oriented
activities.
- Equity for poor and women for each component under the
project.
- Redesigning of steps and procedures for preparation of action
plan.
- Replication of community led success stories.
- Building upon Indigenous innovations, initiatives and ideas.
- Direct funding for the community against the approved action
plan.
- Small size of unit watershed
- Social auditing and transparency at the village level
Further details about each of the above prerequisites are
proposed to be discussed in subsequent publications.
Watershed
Management in India : Initiatives across the country
This section attempts to give a glimpse of
what is happening across the country in watershed management. Some of the successes in
watershed management and new initiatives across different states of India are documented
here. While some of them are initiatives by Government and Non Governmental Organizations
for better management of water resources, others are attempts made by the community/ rural
population to improve their natural resource base and get more from their land. There are
many such successes in different parts of the country. As it is not possible to give a
comprehensive coverage, an attempt is made here to highlight key issues of a few of the
cases documented in current literature.
Will people take loans for
treatment measures on Private lands in a micro-Watershed? The MYRADA experience
Investments in soil and water
conservation measures in micro-watersheds are being made under several Government
sponsored programmes. In all cases investments are either 100% grants or some contribution
mainly in terms of labour from the beneficiaries. To test the real value placed by people
on treatment measures MYRADA decided to pilot initiatives in several micro watersheds in
1994-95, where people would be persuaded to take 100 % loans for treatment measures on
their own lands. MYRADA gradually progressed towards a 100% loan model on private land.
Three micro-watersheds were selected for this pilot. In all the three pilot micro
watersheds there were farmers who had lands in these but who were members of SHGs in
adjacent villages where they resided.
Given here is an analysis of
progress in three micro-watersheds documented by MYRADA in their report.
Jadetadihalla Micro
Watershed (MYRADA Huthur Project)
In this watershed
farmers have flow irrigation which is adequate for one irrigated paddy crop and with good
rainfall also to support a second crop of cotton flowers or maize. There are 16 farmers in
this micro watershed (MW) who belong to several self-help groups (SHGs). These 16 members
came together to form another Self Help Group (SHG) which also functions as the Watershed
Development Association (WDA).
MYRADA proposed
that the farmers rely on loans for watershed treatment on their private lands rather than
on grants. After several rounds of discussions the SHG agreed. MYRADA agreed to support
all treatment on common lands through grants. It was agreed that MYRADA would provide a
grant to the SHG/WDA which would convert the grant into loans for treatment on private
lands, and fixed the repayment schedule over 5 years. The SHG/WDA decided not to charge
interest on these loans.
The SGH/WDA
decided to begin by treating private lands, which had the highest potential for returns.
Due to the availability of flow irrigation, farmers invested all the loans on terracing
lands, which had the highest access to water. The crops have changed from ragi to paddy
(main crop) which has assured irrigation. Maize, flowers and cotton have been introduced
for the second crop, which depends on the availability of water. Discussions with the
farmers indicate that between 95% to 98% of repayments have come from the increase in
income from agriculture.
G.M. Doddi Micro watershed
In this watershed
lands are all unirrigated except for 3 farmers who have terraced their lands; 2 have sunk
borewells and 1 lifts water from the weir; lands of most of the other farmers are
undulating. There are 54 farmers with lands in this micro watershed (MW) all members of
the Watershed Development Association. Of these, 29 belong to 6 different self-help groups
(SHGs).
When MYRADA
indicated that all treatment on private lands would be on the basis of loans. There was
objection from the people. The SHG members persuaded the others to go in for loans and
pointed out that these loans would be repaid to the WDA and not to MYRADA which would
build up a common fund in the WDA which could later be used for agricultural inputs,
marketing support and for other investments.
MYRADA provided
the funds for treatment on private lands as a grant to the WDA, which converted it into
loans to individual farmers. Thirty-five have taken loans in the first round for treatment
of private lands.
Income from
agriculture is the major source of repayment of the WDA loan. The farmers have shifted
from cultivating ragi and pursuing sericulture to maize in the non-irrigated areas and
vegetables in the irrigated plots as sericulture was perceived to be a risky proposition.
Kere Doddi Watershed
Association (MYRADA Hunthur Project)
There is no
irrigation system in this watershed. There are 71 farmers in this Micro Watershed (MW) who
are all members of the Watershed Development Association.. The initiative to treat the
micro watershed and form a WDA was taken by 19 farmers who are members of Self-Help
Groups. Since this programme started after the other two, it was not difficult for the
farmers to accept and to persuade others of the visible and positive impact of treatment
in a neighboring micro watershed. MYRADA provided grants to the WDA, which converted these
into 100% loans for treatment on private lands.
For more
details please contact : Dr. Aloysius Prakash Fernandez, Executive Director, MYRADA, no.
2, service Road, Domlur Layout, Bangalore 560 071.
Community generated
environmental regeneration in Rajasthan
The regeneration of the Arvari
and other small rivers with johads (check-dams), in Alwar district in Rajasthan has
brought about a change to the lives of the people. Johads are small earthen check dams
that capture and conserve rainwater improving percolation and groundwater
discharge.
In the 80s, 700 villages in Alwar
district were reeling from drought. Only 6 per cent of the area was under forest cover;
the topsoil had eroded, only 3 per cent land was cultivable and there was widespread
degradation. 80 per cent of the men had migrated to nearby cities.
Realizing the importance of
johads the Bhaonta village decided to dig out the ancient johad, Once the johad had
water in it, it recharged the groundwater and made the Arvari river, which originates from
there, come back to life. Similar activities were conducted downstream and the river
started flowing through the year by 1995. This initiative has been inspired by the Tarun
Bharat Sangh (TBS) which set up its ashram at Bheekampura and started promoting johads
through their paani yatras. Till date, they have built 3,000 water-harvesting structures
in 650 villages. F or every Rs 100 invested to making johads, the productivity of the
village has gone up to Rs 400 per capita per annum. More than 6,500 square kilometers of
land was re-claimed in 65 villages, wells had water, milk production increased 10
times and those who had migrated came back to build johads. What makes the TBS initiative
different is involvement of the local people. No decision was taken to build anything
unless there was consensus among the villagers. The villagers have elected a "water
parliament’ to ensure that the rivers, and the wells they regenerate, do not dry up
again. During sessions of the water parliament In-depth study and discussions are held
highlighting the villages’ individual problems and finding ways to tackle them. There
are strict rules regarding the use of the river water. The choice of crops is also
monitored by the members of the Parliament. Since the water resources are limited, sugar
rice (paddy) are forbidden. The model has been replicated in other areas of the district.
The result is that 700 villages have water throughout the year.
TBS only contributes 25
per cent of the cost of construction, the rest come from the villagers themselves. This is
termed as the largest ever mobilisation of people in the cause of environmental
regeneration made possible by an effective village level institution. (Grassroots Vol
1(1) 1999).
Indigenous rainwater harvesting system in
Rajasthan
The people of Lapodia village in
Dudu block of Jaipur district, of Rajasthan have regenerated their degraded pasturelands
through an ingenious system called "chauka" which relies on storing rainwater in
dyked pastures. Trenches advocated by the Soil Conservation Department were found
inadequate and ineffective as they do not spread water on pasturelands. The chauka is
divided into two equal rectangles. Dykes 1.5 metres high are built along three sides on
the periphery of the rectangle that lies towards the lower part of the land along the
gradient. Trees are planted on dykes for additional support to withstand rain. Rain that
falls in the chauka is collected towards the lower half that is dyked. As water level
rises it flows into the neighboring chauka and so on. It spreads water evenly over a large
area. The system also promotes recharge of groundwater. The credit for this initiative
goes to Gram Vikas NavYuvak Mandal, an organisation which has emerged from within the
village community. (ASIAN WATMANET March-April 1999)
Women’s empowerment in
managing land and water resources in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh
Three years back, not even a
blade of grass grew on the barrens -now there are lush green fields and hillocks and, the
well and ponds are full of water. Each of the 110 households in Gauraiya village 25 km
from Sagar district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh gets assured water supply through
pipes. Within two years of the project launched by the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Management
Mission the area under cultivation has almost doubled and the average farm produce has
trebled.
Community leaders like Sitabai,
Rajkumari, Malati and Siyarani now head all-women watershed management committees. They
now protect the 5.5 lakh trees planted in the community and government land. Social
fencing by women volunteers has ensured that 90 per cent of the planted trees survive. The
improvement in soil quality and underground water levels has also led to regeneration of
teak and bamboo trees planted by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. The women have
also organised self help groups and are now exploring new avenues to augment their
incomes. Today every woman member of the committee operates her own bank accounts and
keeps a record of the income and expenditure of the group she leads.
This is a story of the change in
gender relations brought about by women’s empowerment in managing land and water
resources. Grassroots Vol. 1(1) May 1999
People’s participation
in Madhya Pradesh
In villages in
Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, community participation in watershed management
programmes has transformed rural ecosystems and is bringing in economic prosperity due to
the efforts of the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Mission.
Water level has
increased, trees have come up on once barren land, wasteland has decreased and the
livestock population and the irrigated area have increased. New crops have been
introduced. The work is being carried out with the help of the panchayats. A combination
of fencing, cattle protection trenches and stone bunds are being used to prevent grazing
in wasteland. Soil and water conservation measures such as gully plugs and staggered
contour trenches have increased soil accumulation and soil moisture.
Most watershed
villages have become self sufficient in fodder and forage. Agricultural productivity has
increased with many farmers cultivating cash crops like soybean and cotton. Ground water
table has increased .The cropped area and area under rabi (dry season crop) has increased.
The project has also led to the empowerment of women with formation of women’s thrift
and credit groups. The changes have produced employment opportunities and brought down
migration from these villages. Green file Vol.No.135 March, 1999.
Watershed management in
Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh
The watershed
schemes being implemented by the central and state governments in Kurnool district have
resulted in greenery everywhere, increase in the number of wells and the water-level in
them. The watershed schemes were aimed at developing the ayacut areas by preventing soil
erosion, preserving fertility and groundwater and developing the forest area. Under the
scheme, checkdams, rock-fill dams, stone bunds, percolation tanks were constructed
throughout the district. In the S.Rangapur watershed in Kurnool district, the water table
substantially increased enabling cultivation of double crop through irrigation wells.
Despite drought in the area the crop yield in this village had gone up during the current
season.
Before the
implementation of the scheme, all the 65 families in the hamlet were economically poor.
Today the number of wells have increased and water is in abundance even in summer due to
the construction of check-dams. Groundnut yield has doubled. Growth in income per head is
36 per cent according to official estimates. The villagers have started a forest
development programme under the banner ‘Ashokavanam’ and have decided to avoid
using wood for cooking and were planning to generate biogas. The women in the village have
formed four thrift societies. Women in Lakshmipalle of Done mandal are also representing a
watershed committee, which has become an example for others to follow. (Newstime
15.1.99)
Village-level planning in
watershed management in Kakannur, Andhra Pradesh
Kakannur village,
in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, is an example of what successful village-level
planning in watershed management with the help of the local community can achieve in a
short span of time. Assisted by a non-governmental organisation called VASORD, it has
successfully stopped migration of people even during the non-harvesting season.
The village has
doubled the yield of its principal crop castor seeds and has also added 300 acres of land
under cultivation, besides adding to income generation in terms of higher wages and higher
crop productivity. The watershed development programme has ensured that water is now
available at 70 ft below the ground, where three years ago the groundwater was not
available even at 150 ft.
The process began
with the formation of "Kakannur watershed association" which worked towards
contouring, bund making, creating check dams and ‘gully’ controls. The National
Remote Sensing Agency also helped in providing data with the help of satellite imageries. (Newstime
11.11.98).
Water
Harvesting
Lack of emphasis
on water conservation has led to acute shortage say experts on water management, who
advocate harvesting of rainwater to tide over the crisis. It is estimated that just one
per cent of annual precipitation all over India is sufficient to take care of its domestic
water requirements. Mizoram in India has been traditionally harvesting rainwater. Chennai
has also enforced this practice and it is mandatory for all building plans to incorporate
rainwater-harvesting structures.
Farmers in very
dry areas have developed – and are developing – a number of systems for
conserving soil and water which enable them to make the most of limited and unpredictable
rainfall. These systems are often highly effective, well adapted to local ecological and
social conditions, and often outperform methods based on modern agronomic knowledge.
Indians, over centuries, have developed a range of techniques to harvest water. Some of
the indigenous practices and recent initiatives are documented here. These have been
discussed exhaustively in "Dying Wisdom", published by the Centre for Science
and Environment, New Delhi.
In the western and central
Himalayas, diversion channels called kuhls or guhls were built to draw water
from hill streams or springs. The length of these channels varied from 1-15 km, and
carried a discharge of 15-100 liters per second.
In Meghalaya, a 200-year-old
system of tapping stream and spring water for irrigating plants by using bamboo pipes is
prevalent. About 18-20 litres of water enters the bamboo pipe system, gets transported
over hundreds of metres, and finally reduces to 20-80 drops per minute at the site of the
plant, like a modern drip irrigation system.
Kunds,
Karnataka has been a forerunner
in managing traditional water harvesting structures, like arakere, volakere, devikere,
katte, kunte and Kola. The maximum number were tanks – 40,000 tanks still
exist today.
Khatri is a unique way of water
storage in various parts of Himachal Pradesh. These are hand-hewn caves located on both
sides of the road beneath huge rocks. Once these khatris are carved out they are provided
with an iron gate and locked. The water seeps into these reservoirs from the rocks and is
collected inside and is sufficient for daily use. Two types of khatris are found: in one
rainwater is collected from house roofs in tins and stored in reservoirs. In the second
type, only seeping water is collected and is used as drinking water.
One-third of the irrigated area
of Tamil Nadu is watered by ancient tanks called eris, which have played an
important role in maintaining ecological harmony – flood-control, preventing soil
erosion, reducing wastage of runoff and recharging groundwater.
Some tribals of Nicobar Island
make extensive use of split bamboos in their water harvesting systems. The split bamboos
are placed along a slope with the lower end leading into a shallow pit. These serve as
conduits for rainwater which is collected, drop by drop, in pits called jackwells. (Agarwal
, Anil and Narain, Sunita. Dying Wisdom. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.)
Himachal Pradesh makes Rain
water harvesting mandatory
Himachal Pradesh
(HP) has taken an important decision for spreading the message of resource conservation by
introducing an important amendment in its building bye-laws. In order to meet the chronic
water scarcity, the installation of a rainwater harvesting technique structure in all
buildings in the urban areas of HP has been made compulsory by the state government.
Building designs would not be approved if they do not include rainwater harvesting as part
of essential service. Under the new scheme, all commercial and institutional buildings,
tourist and industrial complexes, etc, existing or coming up and having a plinth are of
more than 1000 square metres must have rain water storage facilities commensurate with the
size of roof area.
The Himachal
Pradesh Government has organised a number of training camps for the people of various
parts of the state to orient them to rainwater harvesting schemes in towns.(Tribune
17/4/99)
National water harvesters’ network
A national water harvesters’
network has been set up by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE’s) water
harvesters’ advisory committee in New Delhi.
Members suggested that a regional
network be initiated in Tamil Nadu to promote rainwater harvesting in Chennai. The state
government is also willing to promote water harvesting to counter the problem of acute
water shortage. Professor M S Swaminathan, provided office space for the network unit in
Chennai and Prof. A Vaidyanathan agreed to chair the group.
The Tamil Nadu
unit of the national water-harvesting network was launched in April 1999. The network is
meant to: (i) provide an opportunity for individuals and institutions actively engaged in
water harvesting, in Chennai, to share their knowledge and experience and promote free and
open interaction among them; and (ii) to reach out to a wider public in the city and
outside to propagate the role of urban rainwater harvesting in terms of technology,
experience and its potential contribution in meeting urban water needs. The network plans
to expand to rural water harvesting in future.
Catching rainwater in Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE)
CSE has made sure that every
raindrop that fell on its roof and in its compound would be captured. Before the monsoons
could arrive in Delhi, CSE constructed various water harvesting structures in its office
complex. The rooftop water on the northern side of the building is used to recharge ground
aquifer through an abandoned borewell and also in 11 shallow (about 30 feet deep)
borewells dug in the campus.
The runoff water from the ground
(paved and unpaved areas) are utilised for recharging the ground aquifers. At the gate, a
trough has been made and three borewells dug so that all the water that flows from the
paved scooter parking area is used for recharging. In the unpaved areas, three checkbunds
have been made, to allow for groundwater recharge.
In order to reduce the volume of
stormwater, the height of seven stormwater drains have been raised. The water that would
fall on the car shed has been directed through a split bamboo into a small storage tank
for immediate use.
Greening
Insitutional Land - through Watershed Strategy at MANAGE
A.K. Goel, Director
General MANAGE
MANAGE is a
premier institute for Agricultural Extension Management in India under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperation. The institute has a 42 acre campus in Hyderabad. Topography
is undulating with light red soils and the area is dotted with mini-hillocks coupled with
deep gullies indicating heavy runoff during uncertain season with a few rainy days. Annual
rainfall is 750 mm. Building blocks have come up along with a few garden patches here and
there during last 4 years. But for these green spots, the remaining landscape presents a
barren picture for major part of the year.
One of the areas
of interest in MANAGE is ‘watershed management’. In fact, guidelines to
operationalize the Hanumantha Rao Committee report on Watershed Development were
formulated in MANAGE. An idea struck us sometime in January, 1999 as to why the same
watershed concept should not be applied to our own campus itself? Why could each and every
drop of water not be conserved whenever it fell in our campus premises? An area of 42
acres of land with 750 mm rainfall amounts to 12.6 hectare meter volume of water or 1.26
lakh cubic meter of water being received perennially. If every drop is conserved, perhaps
MANAGE campus could be converted into a lush green garden with trees, creepers, flowers
and water bodies with microfauna over a period of 5 years.
The idea was
infectious and very soon, everyone was talking about it. That was the time when Mr.
Hanumantha Rao – the author of ‘Four waters concept’ took a brainstorming
session in February, 1999, with faculty members. He perambulated the length and breadth of
the campus. The visit was a reeducation to us when we discovered the hitherto unknown
features in our campus – like an ancient aqueduct, an old archbridge, an old well and
the like. We sat around the contour map once again and shared the dream of conserving
every drop of water.
During March,
1999, all the water harvesting structures were put on the map and located on land as well.
A contour trench around mini hillocks, a series of sunken ponds along rills interspersed
with mini-percolation tanks around ridge, a series of stone dams along gully to harvest
soil, water trapping structures along road ribbon and redirecting it to avenue trees
through graded trenches were some of the things to be done before arrival of rains. The
civil engineering wing was responsible for executing the works, and the watershed faculty
was made responsible for covering the entire developmental process. Both the wings have
risen to the occasion.
Works have
already commenced in right earnest. Monsoon arrives in Hyderabad in June and lasts four
months. We expect that the entire rainfall in the campus during the monsoon to be
conserved within its boundaries without letting even a drop of water escape. There are
three major exit points for runoff water. We have decided to monitor them immediately
during and after a heavy downpour. Even if a drop escapes, we have failed
but we fervently hope to succeed.
This line of
thinking in MANAGE gives rise to the concept of ‘Water Budget’. An institute
with X Acres of land with Y millimeters of annual rainfall receives a quantity of X-Y
units of water perennially. A major portion of it goes waste as on today. But with proper
planning, it can be conserved within the campus with minimal expenditure on appropriate
soil water harvesting structures. Once water stops, wealth sprouts and over a period of
time, it multiplies not in a linear manner but exponentially like compound interest
-–year after year. That wealth rightly belongs to the institution eternally.
In our country,
the total number of such institutes number a few thousands. There are 29 State
Agricultural Universities – each with a few thousand acres of land. Then we have
regular universities, Institutes of Technologies, Engineering and Management,
Post-Graduate Centers and Degree Colleges, Central Public Sector undertakings with huge
extents of land around them, Agricultural Research, Extension and training outfits, Animal
Husbandry, Horticulture, Sericulture and Agriculture Institutes, Secretariat Buildings,
Commissionerate, Collectorate and subordinate office outfits, residential bungalows, state
public sector outfits, etc. All this adds upto 2000 to 3000 units with around 2 lakh acre
of land. Responsibility to account for this ‘water receipt’ on an annual basis
would rest with the CEO of the institute/office. They have adequate funds, authority and
manpower. What is perhaps needed is just a spark to set their imagination on fire. They,
after all are professionals. With the click of a button, they can communicate with any
part of the globe through satellites. They would love to communicate now with mother earth
– through the five forces of nature – also called "Panchabhutalu".
Information Technology and
Watershed Management
Cyber Management of Natural
Resources
MANAGE has initiated a Project
which proposes to connect the Manchal watershed with MANAGE and DPAP office through a
computer and communication network, using dial-up connectivity. This network is expected
to empower farmers who are part of watershed management and facilitate them to do their
own data analysis and generate reports to be submitted to the DPAP office. Farmers can
contact the officials or send queries to the DPAP or PIA officials to solve their problems
in the village itself.
The objectives are to:
- Establish a three way connectivity between Manchal Watershed,
MANAGE and DPAP office.
Add value-added services to the
village computer service, such as prices of agricultural commodities at Market Yards in
Andhra Pradesh, and vegetable prices in the Ryuthu Bazaar, on a daily basis.
The project is targeted to be completed by December end,
1999.
Planning and Management of watersheds in
rural areas
The People’s Research
Organisation for Grassroot Environmental Scientific Services (PROGRESS), Hyderabad, has
initiated a project on design and development of software for Planning and Management of
different types of watersheds in rural areas. The objectives are to design and develop a
software that could assist in Resource assessment, Planning and Monitoring in Watershed
Management Programmes.
A Database covering
socio-economic data; natural resources data and monitoring data on water levels, land use,
soil moisture, stream flow, physical activities, financial progress, thrift and credit has
been established for these watersheds. A monitoring network has been set up to assess the
impact of the watershed treatment.
The software has been developed
in three modules viz. Database module, designing module and mapping module, that could
work independently as well as a single system when integrated together.
Current status
- Implementation of activities in watersheds is at different
stages from 2 to 3 years
- Resource information and climatic data has been collected and
there is regular inflow of data from the monitoring network
- Collected data has been taken into the database.
- Structural designs are ready for use
- Mapping is under progress
- Base maps and resource maps of all watersheds are completed.
In the following months PROGRESS
proposes to finalize the design models and mapping module; and test run the modules with
PROGRESS watersheds and with watersheds of other partners.
For further details please
contact the Project Coordinator at PROGRESS, 12-13-626, Nagarjunanagar, Tarnaka,
Hyderabad- 17. Phone:91-040-7172408, Fax- 7172471. E-mail: progress @hd2.vsnl.net.in.
Watershed Management over the Web
Watershed analysis and management
are developing as tools of integrated ecological and economic study and decision making at
the regional scale. The new technology offered by the advent of the Internet and the World
Wide Web (WWW) is complimentary to some of the paradigms of watershed analysis. The
Internet offers a unique opportunity to deliver information to stakeholders and provide
for most of the needs of the watershed management concept say Alexey Voinov and Robert
Costanza . The authors explore how some of the methods and tools provided by the Internet
can be used for regional studies at the watershed scale and how this presents additional
challenges for the specific types of web tools to be developed.
Regional management implies close
interaction and linkage between different agents in the region. Efficiency of this
interaction depends on the information that is shared among all stakeholders. According to
the authors, the web offers a number of features and tools to improve watershed management
that make it an important tool for watershed analysis.
The WWW is:
- Open: provides
information across geographical, administrative, social and economic boundaries; is
relatively cheap and can be accessed by all the stakeholders in a watershed
- Interactive. The
user can interact with the provider of information and with other stakeholders.
- Fast. Once the
information is updated on the server it becomes immediately available for further use and
processing. The feedback can often be handled automatically.
- Spatially distributed.
The nodes on the Internet can represent the spatially distributed data of different
stakeholders on the watershed and outside.
- Hierarchical.
The hierarchical structure supported by the Web design allows organization of the data in
logical ways.
- Flexible. Data
can be processed by the user himself according to his own goals and interests.
- A watershed management web page
can be considered as a problem oriented web page that contains data and methods for
decision making in a particular geographic region of a watershed.
Conceptual structure of a
watershed management web page
A watershed landscape model
brings together the geographic, ecological and socioeconomic data about the watershed and
its subsystems and helps identify the gaps in information available.
The stakeholders and interest
groups on a watershed can represent themselves in separate web pages giving a brief
summary of their activities and concerns that will be placed on the root page. The
immediate benefits of this are: all discussions are documented and filed; they are open to
the public; participants do not need to travel to meetings. The results are immediately
posted on the web and made available for discussion and decision making. The web serves to
integrate the knowledge and data available at different institutions and sites, and to
offer it to the user.
The
three major components of watershed analysis linked by the Web
-The framework developed can be replicated for a variety of watersheds.
-It provides data and insight for
educational purposes at all levels and serves as a tool for building consensus and public
involvement.
-By sharing the data and concepts
over the Web potential users are invited to collaborative research and analysis of the
future trends of watershed development. The interactive and flexible system that the Web
tools offer may serve for analysis and decision support.
(Voinov, Alexey and Costanza,
Robert. Watershed Management over the web)
Selected Abstracts
Ahluwalia, M. Presenting communities: the case of a community-based
watershed management project in Rajasthan, India. In Community-based sustainable
development consensus or conflict? IDS Bulletin (1997) 28 (4) 23-34
This paper focuses on a
community-based watershed project in Rajasthan implemented by Seva Mandir. The tools of
environmental entitlements analysis are applied in a project evaluation mode to explore
the effects of social difference on project experience and impact.
Seva Mandir has successfully
facilitated ‘community’ identity and action, across caste, class and gender
differences, in the context of local political struggles. Yet natural resource management
remains an area of conflict: while certain stakeholders have benefited from soil and
moisture conservation activities and the enclosure of commons, others especially
pastoralists and women have faced high costs to their livelihoods.
Rajasekaran,
N. Farmers, sustainability and watershed programmes. Economic and Political Weekly (1997)
32(26) A55-A61
This paper analyses the need for
and significance of sustainable development programmes of India’s dry regions and the
role of participation in sustaining the development process. The data show how increases
in yield per hectare, reduction in farm income inequalities and improved environments have
resulted in such areas. Discussions emphasize the point that socially acceptable living
can only be attained by resorting to watershed development programmes.
The empirical results indicate
that training contact farmers from both genders can lead to the formation of groups,
possibly headed by charismatic leaders, to achieve wholesome participation. Local resource
users should be involved in the formulation, implementation, maintenance and evaluation
stages. As the benefits of the programme are not tangible in the short run, participation
can only be ensured through decentralization of decision-making and raising levels of
consciousness says the author.
Fernandez,
A.P. Self-help groups in watershed management. ILEIA Newsletter (1998) 14 (1) 12-13
Examines MYRADA’s
involvement with watershed management in Gulbarga, India, and the associated PIDOW-MYRADA
project, which was a partnership between Government, the Swiss Development Cooperation and
MYRADA. Its objective was to enable the users involved to emerge as a fourth partner and
progressively control watershed resources. MYRADA’s role was to ensure that process
of planning and implementation would help people acquire the skills, confidence and
organizational expertise to manage the resources within their watershed. Initiative in
Gulbarga spread rapidly to other MYRADA watered projects. The paper discusses what has
been learned about the role of Self-Help Credit Management Groups
Shah,
Amita. Moisture-yield interaction and farmers’ perceptions: lessons from watershed
projects in Gujarat. Artha Vijana (1997) 39 (4) 457-472
Recent watershed projects in
India have promoted vegetative barriers, which though technologically more sound and
environmentally conducive, might bring only limited economic gains. The paper examines the
yield impact of vegetative bundings and farmers’ perceptions about moisture yield
interactions in Gujarat. The analysis is based on responses from a sample of 197 farmers
from two watersheds, Vatrak and Narmada, comprising both those who had, and those who had
not adopted the vegetative barrier. The analysis suggests that; (1) traditional bundings
are not only widely prevalent but also considered very important for higher yields under
‘normal’ rainfall conditions: compared to this, yield impact of vegetative
barriers is low and uncertain; (2) given the indigenous practice of soil-moisture
conservation, fertilizer is the most important factor for obtaining higher yields; and (3)
a strategy to provide stability in yield would require large scale investments in the form
of water harvesting structures and irrigation. What is needed is to improve net returns,
hence farmers’ paying capacity rather than large-scale subsidies spread over a large
number of watershed projects in the dryland regions.
Pande, V.
C et al. Farm resource development — a case study of watershed management in
Semi-Arid Tropics of Gujarat. Indian Journal of Soil Conservation (1998) 26 (1)
52-56
Integrated Watershed Management
programme not only strengthens the resource base but also brings equity in distribution,
sustaining the growth process. The vicious circle of underdevelopment, which revolves
around poor resource base, in the Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) can be broken through an
integrated watershed development approach, say the authors.
The present study was taken up in
two SAT model watersheds of Gujarat, India, to examine sustainability and equity issues.
The results revealed that net returns not only increased but also had fair distribution
across the community. Watershed Management also resulted in higher investment on farm
assets, with better distribution in the post project period as compared to pre project
period.
Datta SK.; Virgo, K. J. Towards sustainable watershed development through
people’s participation: Lessons from the lesser Himalaya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Mountain
Research and Development (1998) 18 (3) 213-233
The paper reviews experiences of
the Doon Valley Integrated Watershed Management Project in Uttar Pradesh, India, with
emphasis on the evolution of a participatory ‘process orientated’ approach aimed
at developing community capabilities to sustain the increased natural resource production
systems introduced by Project activities. The focus is on promoting convergent planning
and strengthening the skills and institutional capacities of the rural communities, as
well as of the government agency responsible for implementation. Conclusions are that
human resource development should precede external technical watershed management
activities and under the participatory approach, external implementers need to be
encouraged to merge their technical skills with the indigenous skills of villagers in
order to achieve a convergent approach.
The initial focus of watershed
management project should be on communities and the adjacent areas under their influence,
rather than on the physical aspects of watersheds. Women proved to be most receptive and
capable of forming cohesive groups to manage natural resources. The project produced
initial improvements in living conditions and in local involvement by people in managing
natural resources. This was supplemented by physical soil and water conservation measures
and community – managed grass and fodder tree plantations. Reduction in pressure on
intervening forest areas is expected to favour natural eco-regeneration. Increased
environmental awareness and involvement of the villagers in expected to facilitate
protection of afforestation programme beyond the village limits.
Agarwal
Anil and Narain, Sunita. Dying Wisdom: rise, fall and potential of India’s
traditional water harvesting systems. New Delhi, Centre for Science and Environment, 1997.
State of India’s Environment; a Citizen’s Report 4.
Looks at India’s traditional
water harvesting systems and the millennial tradition that expertly met people’s
drinking water and irrigation needs. Looks into India’s 15 ecological zones and their
localised water harvesting systems and argues for revival of local water harvesting
systems.
Rhodes,
Robert. Participatory Watershed Research and Management: Where the shadow falls.
IIED Gatekeeper series no. SA81.
A popular
investment by development agencies and international donors has been the funding and
establishment of participatory watershed research and management projects says Robert
Rhodes.
A number of
people-oriented research and development projects have been implemented throughout the
world which aim to look at multi-objective, diverse stakeholder issues within the contexts
of multiple scale settings (e.g. watersheds, catchments, landscapes, river basins).
Concerns of conventional watershed projects are addressed with a participatory component
which assigns equal weight to people’s perceptions and needs along with hydrological
and other biophysical processes.
However, despite
the logic behind such an approach, there is concern about practical accomplishments. There
are few published impact studies on whether the participatory watershed approach actually
works. A few early evaluations of watershed projects indicate they are not yet living up
to expectations. Some innovative projects have reverted back into the top-down, sectoral,
component which do not address local people’s needs.
Robert Rhodes in
this paper critically examines some of the central conceptual and operational issues and
recommends positive, practical steps for the future. Four questions are explored in the
search for lessons learned and new directions gleaned. These pertain to the comparative
advantage of combining participation and watersheds? Evidence that the participatory
watershed approach is viable; reasons for ‘landmines’ along the road of
participatory watershed management? And how the participatory watershed initiative can
succeed?
The paper makes
an argument that it is time to address potential pitfalls in the comceptualisation and
operationalisation of such projects. Eight ‘landmines’ are discussed which
include; Scale confusion and scale wars; The participatory methodology fetish; Social
underdesign of projects; Re-invent the wheel syndrome; Great expectations; Tragedy of the
participatory commons; Duplicating management structures; Stakeholder complexity and
competition
Abernethy,
C. L; Wijayaratna C. M. Evaluation of the impacts of projects to reduce
human-induced soil losses in watersheds. In Modeling soil erosion, sediment transport
and closely reigned hydrological processes. Proceedings of an international symposium,
Vienna, Austria, 13 to 17 July 1998 edited by Summer; et al. UK;
Watershed management projects,
especially in developing countries under pressure of rising populations, present
challenges in design and evaluation. Efforts to reduce human-induced soil losses, without
displacing the relevant communities require time and persistence, because such efforts
must involve persuasion, rather than direction, of the communities towards both different
styles of socio-economic behaviour and new land-use practices. Several successes have been
reported in tropical and sub-tropical environments in community based projects. Such
projects address multiple goals: reducing soil loss; increasing dry-season flows; reducing
floods; and improving the economic value of land and livelihood of people. Therefore, such
projects must be multidimensional and multidisciplinary, and these considerations have
time and cost implications. Developing better insights into the benefit-cost effects of
the various characteristic components is valuable, and the identification and
quantification of intermediate benefit targets desirable. This paper discusses the
methodologies of monitoring and evaluation programmes that focus primarily on measuring
the physical results that are due to promoting socio-economic action and adjustments of
land-use behaviour within the community.
Iyer R.R.
Water resource planning: changing perspectives. Economic and Political Weekly (1998)
33 (50) 3198-3205
Examines the changing
perspectives in India on water resources planning. It is noted that in the recent past
this has meant large-scale irrigation development through big dam projects. There have
been several movements against such projects. The paper considers the negative
consequences of large-scale dams, and discusses some of the successful local initiatives
in watershed development and social transformation which suggest that there are
alternatives to dams. Some recommendations are also, presented to reorient the approach to
water resources policy.
Samra,
J.S.; Mishra, A S. eds. Participatory rural appraisal for watershed management
(case studies). Dehradun, India; Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training
Institute (1998) v I- 178 pp.
This book documents participatory
rural appraisal (PRA) watershed management exercises carried out by different teams of
multidisciplinary facilitators in different agro-ecological settings in India. The PRA
cases documented were carried out in the some villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab), Western
Ghats, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
The cases present the results of
the PRA exercises, covering rapport building, social, resource, soil and hydrology
mapping. Seasonal analysis, transect walk, preference ranking for crops and/or animals,
matrix ranking, triangulation, indigenous technical knowledge, and problem identification.
Hinchcliffe,
Fiona et al, eds. Fertile Ground; the impacts of Participatory Watershed Management.
London, I.T. Publications, 1999.
Presents the findings of in-depth
research into the impacts of participatory watershed management in a range of
agroecological and socio-economic settings in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America.
The twenty-three case studies in this publication present a picture of the problems,
achievements and challenges faced by conservation professionals and farmers around the
world. They provide evidence of the importance of local people’s involvement in
natural resource planning and management. The collection provides an analysis of the
biophysical, socio-economic and institutional impacts of development and management
practices and points to practical and realistic ways forward for both governments and
external support agencies.
Pangare,
Vasudha Lokur. Gender issues in Watershed Development and Management in India (AGREN Paper
88a, London, ODI.)
This paper reviews a number of
government and non-government projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Argues that unless we progress from a view of women as a ‘disadvantaged group’
to a point where they are treated as integral members of the community, development
efforts will continue to sideline women’s concerns. Increasing women’s
participation in watershed projects is critical to the long-term sustainability of
development efforts. There is a need to sensitize policy makers and staff of project
implementing agencies to the core issues affecting women’s participation in
decision-making processes and the distribution of benefits between men and women. Unless
women are involved in the decision-making process, watershed development projects will
remain welfare oriented as far as women are concerned.
The paper gives suggestions on
how to strengthen women’s involvement in watershed activities. An assessment of the
interface between livelihoods and resource base can help to identify the key issues
related to the economic survival of women resource users and ensure that their interests
do not become sidelined. Stronger guidance on the number of women to be appointed to the
watershed committees is needed as current recommendations (of one or two women) have
resulted in tokenism. Project implementing agencies must take responsibility for
facilitating women's participation by setting up support systems and providing training.
Training in gender issues and technical training especially for women will strengthen
women’s roles in the decision-making hierarchy. Emphasises the need to ensure that
watershed development activities are compatible with women’s livelihood strategies.
D’Souza,
Marcella. Watershed Development - Creating Space for Women (AGREN Paper 88 b,
London, ODI)
Looks at a German-funded project
in Maharashtra and advocates the need for a sectoral approach to meeting women’s
needs. While watershed development does initially lead to an increase in women’s
workloads, it can also offer them unique opportunities to improve their economic situation
as well as enhance their status in society. Watershed development has a notable impact on
employment and income opportunities, food security, fodder, fuel and water availability
and access to credit. Socially, impacts relate to migration rates and the status and
self-confidence of women. The degree to which impacts are positive varies in time and the
extent to which development plans allow for women’s empowerment.
This paper focuses on some
options for mitigating the negative impacts of watershed development and to enable women
to become more self-reliant and more self-confident. It addresses two key issues: viz How
to capitalise on the opportunities offered and mitigate some of the key problems arising
from watershed development activities; and the approach, the organisational framework and
mechanisms adopted by the Indo-German Watershed Project to create space for women in
watershed development.
Watershed Manuals
Venkateswarlu, J. Technical Manual on Watershed Technologies. MANAGE,
Hyderabad.
The technical manual enlists
technologies relevant to different agro climatic regions in India. Focus is on people
friendly, low cost technologies, which are simple and easy to operate and maintain and are
based on local materials and indigenous knowledge.
The Manual is
divided into five parts dealing with Resource Inventorization, Resource conservation,
Arable Cropping Systems. Non-Arable Farming Systems and Non-farming Systems and Watershed
in retrospect which are important and necessary for the overall development and management
of any watershed.
Rs. 120.00 (set price)
Sanghi, N.K. Operational Manual.
MANAGE, Hyderabad
This manual
describes the operations that Project Implementation Agencies (PIKs) and Watershed
Development Teams (WDTs) and facilitating agents will need to carry out step by step for
initiating participatory planning and implementation in different phases of the watershed
programme. It specifies formats for process documentation, action plans and accounting
procedures for PIK and WDT members as well as watershed development committees and user
groups.
(in press)
Desai, G.R. and
S.K. Arora. Trainers Training Manual for Participatory Management of Watershed Projects.
MANAGE, Hyderabad.
This manual is
based on four modules dealing with the
- (i) Common guidelines and technical issues;
- (ii) Participatory rural appraisal and community
organizations,
- (iii) General management and project management skills and
- (iv) Administration and accounts matters.
Rs. 100.00
Orders may kindly
be sent to Director General, MANAGE.
