Watershed Development

Speech by Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar on water conservation and sustainable agriculture, challenges for rural development in Maharashtra and possible solutions

aarti — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:19:06 +0000

The four video films below include a talk by Shri Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar (Ahmednagar), Maharashtra and an inspiring promoter of the 'Ideal Villages Movement' on "Integrated Agriculture and Rural Development for Tomorrow's Maharashtra" on the occasion of the inauguration of Observer Research Foundation's Maharashtra@50 Study Centre on 24th June 2010.

Shri Popatrao Pawar started his speech by highlighting his background and how he became the sarpanch of the village and his experience of bringing about a gradual change in the village of Hivre Bazar, which originally was facing acute water scarcity. It was through gradual efforts at development focusing on water conservation and sustainable agricultural practices coupled with behavioural and attitudinal changes at the village level that the village was able to deal with the problems of water scarcity and today stands as a model for other villages to follow.

Shri Popatrao Pawar highlighted the current situation of villages in Maharashtra and the disparities within geographical areas in Maharashtra, which are divided into areas where there is heavy rainfall at one end and very scanty rainfall at the other. However, he emphasised that mechanisms for proper utilisation and management of whatever water was available in the villages was lacking, which led to this phenomenon of acute water scarcity, affecting agricultural practices and leading to pauperisation of farmers in the villages.

This has been leading to mass migration of people from villages to cities, uncontrolled growth of cities, diversion of water, electricity to cities and neglect of rural areas in the state. Shri Popatrao Pawar argued that this would have a highly negative impact on the environment and efforts needed to be made on an urgent basis to restore this balance by making attempts at improving and making changes at the village level and changing villages on the lines similar to Hivre Bazar.

Please view part 1 of the film below:

Source: ORF Mumbai

He emphasised the importance of water management that not only involved watershed development, but also focused on preventing people from excessive drawing out of groundwater, which was a common phenomenon in villages in Maharashtra and which could lead to a severe crisis of water in the years to come. He emphasised the importance of developing awareness among the people about ecologically sustainable development and sensitivity to the environment.

The next part of his speech highlighted how he got about making changes in the village of Hivre Bazar and the outcomes of introducing these developmental activities at the village level. He highlighted the links between livelihoods and environmentally sustainable developmental activities, health and quality of life. He emphasised the importance of community motivation and mobilisation and felt that this movement if taken up by other villages in the state could lead to return of a large number of people back to their villages and encourage them to bring about a change in urban rural disparities through making villages self sufficient, independent, solve water scarcity and livelihood issues of villages, help in improve quality of lives and bring about environmentally sustainable development.

Part 2 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Part 3 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Part 4 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas – A strategy handbook for practitioners by Development Support Centre

amitabhaduri — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:03:40 +0000

This strategy handbook for practitioners authored by Astad Pastakia and Sachin Oza and published by Development Support Centre deals with livelihood augmentation in rainfed areas. It is a compilation of ongoing, successful strategies piloted and upscaled by a range of development agencies in different parts of the country. The handbook is presented in four volumes under a common framework and focus on initiatives related to: participatory natural resource management; rural entrepreneurship development; use of information communication technology and institution development.

About 400 million rural poor reside in about 200 poorest districts of the country that constitute rainfed areas. Scientific research has revealed a vast untapped potential in rainfed agriculture where crop yields are lower than their potential by two to five fold. A large number of innovative projects and ideas have been tried to address this issue, although documentation has been uneven and fragmented. Drawing upon such experiences, the handbook points towards new vistas and untapped opportunities in meeting the challenge of enhancing food security with limited water resources and improving the carrying capacities of rainfed areas to match the rapidly increasing populations in these regions and elsewhere.

Each volume presents a selection of best practices, articulation of basic principles, and description of strategies that are working on the ground -

Volume I: Strategies Based on Natural Resource Management deals with experiences of improving livelihoods through investments in the natural resource base. This includes both watershed development initiatives as well as specialized NRM interventions for areas where watershed development may not be possible or even relevant. It describes natural resource based strategies such as watershed development, community forestry, lift irrigation, animal husbandry and wasteland development. Download here
Volume II: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Augmenting Rural Livelihoods provides experiences of augmenting livelihoods through market-led interventions, including interventions that address market imperfections and those that seek to tap or create market opportunities. Strategies for value-chain interventions are discussed as a special case of market-led interventions. These seek to augment livelihoods of the poor and marginalized through interventions at different nodes of the value chain by forming strategic alliances with different stakeholders/players in the chain. Download here
Volume III: Catching the Virtual Bus: ICT for Augmenting Rural Livelihoods puts together the knowledge gleaned from innovative approaches to augment rural livelihoods through the use of ICT. ICT helps to augment livelihoods, especially of the educated youth by creating new opportunities in the service sector. Although ICT applications encompass all aspects of rural life, the volume focuses more on those that enable creation of human capital and livelihood augmentation. It deals with ICT enabled strategies such as plot-specific farm advisories, market intelligence services, inclusive finance, and opportunities like rural BPO in the emerging ICT-led service sector. Download here
Volume IV on Creating Social Capital for Livelihood Interventions dwells on strategies to build capacities of rural communities to implement livelihood programmes and maintain productive assets. Social capital building is a cross-cutting theme for all developmental interventions because it helps empower the people to take charge of their own developmental trajectories. Peoples Institutions help to oversee the maintenance of common assets after the completion of the project. Download here

While each volume can be read as a stand-alone. It is, however, best read in conjunction with the other volumes for a more holistic understanding of the livelihood augmentation processes. The structure of the presentation varies somewhat from volume to volume, depending on the nature of content. A navigation chart presented at the beginning brings out the connections between different parts and chapters of the volume. The index at the end of each volume helps the reader locate matter of his/her particular interest with relative ease.

Each volume comprises a) selected case studies of best practices, b) articulation of basic principles and ethical values and c) description of strategies. It also provides an understanding of why particular strategies work better in particular situations. The basic principles and strategies are derived from analyses of the case studies and other experiences and represent the transition from practice to theory. Analytical tools and frameworks used to understand strategies are included in the theory section.

Human interest stories and checklists of various types are presented as Box items. Additional information has been provided in the Annexures, keeping in mind the need of the practitioner. The annexures of each volume includes a glossary of technical terms, a resource guide and a guide to key resource institutions. The Resource Guide is in the form of an annotated bibliography of other guide books and references that a practitioner may find useful to pursue a particular strategy. Several of these are in the nature of ‘how-to-do’ books, covering related sectors and providing technical information, beyond the purview of this handbook. A guide to Key Resource Institutions, with contact details and short descriptions of their important projects/programmes, is also included.

The development of the handbook was facilitated by Development Support Centre, and supported by Aga Khan Foundation through the European Union funded SCALE Programme. The Aga Khan Foundation and Development Support Centre launched the handbook on 19th May 2011 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. In addition to broadening the vision of practitioners, it is hoped that the handbook will support policy makers and researchers in strengthening ongoing programmes.

Presentations from the two-day workshop on success stories under watershed programmes by DoLR at New Delhi (2011)

amitabhaduri — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:20:09 +0000

A two-day workshop was held on “Success Stories Under Watershed Programmes ” from 2nd -3^rd Feb 2011 by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) at New Delhi. The workshop was structured in two sections. Research papers were presented from research institutes such as Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Central Soil & Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWRTI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), National Research Centre for Agroforestry (NRCAF), National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). This was followed by presentation of success stories by various States.

The theme based presentations include –

Dryland Agriculture: Issues and Strategies

This paper by Mohammed Osman, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad deals with the sectoral scenario, impact and future vision for dryland agriculture. The future scenario (in the next ten years) is marked by (a) Increased frequency of droughts and other extreme events with changing climate; (b) Major shifts in cropping pattern/crop mix driven by weather and economic drivers (c) Increased soil erosion and floods due to high intensity rainfall; (d) Shortage of green fodder and more demand for feed and concentrates (e) Acute labour shortage and sharp demand for mechanization of all operations (f) Increased dependence on groundwater in rainfed areas and (g) Operational holdings may not support household livelihood security of small and marginal farmers leading to more migration.

The critical areas to be addressed in watersheds include – (a) Technologies to cope with high intensity droughts and other extreme weather events; (b) Rainwater management including groundwater recharge with focus on demand management to enhance productivity at farm level; (c) Small farm mechanization to overcome labour shortage and (d) Diversified cropping/farming systems for risk minimization and meeting household income needs.

Participatory Watershed Development: Experiences from IWDP

This presentation deals with the case study of two watersheds Bada Khera and Salaiyur watersheds located in semi-arid region under rainfed agriculture. These structures constructed under the watershed development programme have helped in reducing runoff and soil loss from the watersheds in addition to groundwater recharge. The focus was on crop improvement to benefit from the soil and water conservation interventions and increase crop productivity/ production in both the watersheds. Community organization component through formation and development of WAs, WC, UGs and SHGs has been a major strength of the projects by way of establishing people’s institutions and developing them as cohesive unit to take up development works in the watershed. The projects had tremendous impact on the income of the stakeholders which increased by about 44 per cent in both the watersheds.

Consortium Approach to Capacity Building for Watershed Management: A Conceptual Framework

This presentation by GIZ-NRM begins with a discussion on the evolution of watershed approach in India. It presents the consortium approach for watershed programmees in India and in particular identifies capacity building as the weakest link for scaling-up. It recommends quality capacity development at all levels through consortium approach. It also highlights the need for sharing knowledge using media tools.

Watershed Management: A Growth Engine for Sustainable Development

This presentation by Suhas P Wani and Anantha K H, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) deals with the evolution of watershed approach in India and discusses the vast untapped potential of rainfed agriculture in India. Current farmers’ yields are lower by 2 to 5 folds than the achievable yield. Based on a meta-analysis of 636 case studies the presentation suggests that watersheds are revolutionalising drylands. It deals with issues like holistic livelihood approach, science-based approach, sustainability, empowerment, farmers’ centric watershed as an entry point, social inclusion (equity & gender) and scaling-up and scaling-out.

Effectiveness of Watershed Management in India: Some Empirical Evidences

This presentation by U Hemantha Kumar, National Institute of Rural Development states that the gap between PIA and Watershed Committee at the watershed level appears to be critical in the whole process of implementation and management. In the context of exit protocol, maintenance of the infrastructure created was a serious problem prior to people’s participation. The nature of contributions was associated with the nature of interaction between the people and the PIA. Based on the case studies it suggests that the supervision part of the watershed projects is found neglected due to incohesiveness among the user groups. Establishing capacity and confidence building measures between different stakeholders is missing and needs to be strengthened for the sustenance of the project. Working capacity of WA/WC, PIA, involvement of primary stakeholders and homogeneous groups helped ensure equity and checked systematic corruption.

Success Stories in Watershed Management and Research Initiatives: A Case Study of Garhkundar-Dabar Watershed in Bundelkhand

This presentation by the National Research Centre for Agroforestry states that NRM through agroforestry interventions on watershed basis is the only option for sustainable agricultural productivity and improved livelihoods. The presentation discusses how integration of agroforestry technologies with NRM in participatory mode ensures livelihood opportunities and drought mitigation strategies for the region.

Success Stories of Watershed Projects under WDF

This presentation by NABARD presents the future watershed strategy and stressed the need to move towards holistic NRM approach by incorporating agronomic interventions, agriculture productivity enhancement, water resources management and livelihood interventions for sustainable development. It also recommends the need for move towards credit based development in the post watershed phase involving RRBs/ PACS/CBs. It talks of exploring involvement of subsidiaries of NABARD viz. ABFL/ADFT/ NABFINS for credit deployment. Furthermore it stressed the use of technologies like IT, GIS, GPS for planning, monitoring and impact assessment. It concluded with the need for completion of watershed projects without time overruns through adoption of techniques/ methods such as “Kaizen – Lean – Sigma”.

These thematic presentations along with the state wise presentations can be accessed below -

Attachment	Size
Dryland agriculture: Issues & strategies - A presentation by CRIDA at DoLR workshop (2011)	20.13 MB
Participatory watershed development experiences from IWDP - A presentation by CSWRTI at DoLR workshop (2011)	10.05 MB
Consortium approach to capacity building for watershed development - A presentation by GTZ at DoLR workshop (2011)	2.89 MB
Watershed management growth engine - A presentation by ICRISAT at DoLR workshop (2011)	17.71 MB
Effectiveness of watershed management in India - A presentation by NIRD at DoLR workshop (2011)	490.19 KB
A case study of Garhkundar Dabar watershed in Bundelkhand - A presentation by NRCAF at DoLR workshop (2011)	38.8 MB
Success stories of watershed projects under WDF - A presentation by NABARD at DoLR workshop (2011)	12.47 MB
Andhra Pradesh - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	6.1 MB
Assam - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	38.51 MB
Chhattisgarh - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	6.91 MB
Gujarat - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	14.99 MB
Haryana - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development in Mahendragarh at DoLR workshop (2011)	15.06 MB
Jharkhand - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	10.16 MB
Karnataka - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	3.71 MB
Madhya Pradesh - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	30.26 MB
Maharashtra - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	14.05 MB
Meghalaya - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	47.61 MB
Punjab - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	21.61 MB
Tamil Nadu - A presentation of successful case studies of watershed development at DoLR workshop (2011)	9.82 MB

The economic impact of forest hydrological services on local communities - A case study from the western ghats of India - A working paper by SANDEE

aarti — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:08:48 +0000

This working paper published by the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) describes the findings of a study that builds upon a larger research project at four sites in the Western Ghats of peninsular India and examines the link between stream flow, agricultural water use and economic returns to agriculture.

The paper informs that the conventional wisdom that ‘more forest is always better’ has dominated policy making in the management of forested watersheds. In the context of the supposed hydrological regulation service provided by forest ecosystems, however, hydrologists have debated this assumption for more than two decades.

Detailed studies on the relationship between forest cover, hydrology and the economic use of water continue to be scarce, especially in the tropical forests of South Asia. This study thus attempts to examine the above hypothesis by attempting to simulate the likely impacts of regeneration of a degraded forest catchment on stream flow and the consequent impact on irrigation tankbased agriculture in a downstream village.

The study finds that regeneration of forests can reduce the ratio of runoff to rainfall in the forested catchment thereby significantly reducing the probability of filling the well-used irrigation tank. This in turn reduces the probability of the command area farmers being able to cultivate an irrigated paddy crop, particularly in the summer season, thereby reducing expected farm income as well as wage income for landless and marginal landowning households.

The study findings thus seem counter intuitive to conventional wisdom. The paper argues that this is not because the hydrological relationships in this region are peculiar, but because the community immediately downstream of the forest is using water in a particular manner, i.e. through irrigation tanks for growing water-intensive crops.

The paper thus ends by arguing that policymakers must move away from simplistic notions of forests being good for everything and everybody under all circumstances, and facilitate context-specific, ecologically and economically informed forest governance.

Download the paper from below:

Attachment	Size
The economic impact of forest hydrological services on local communities - A case study from the western ghats of India - A working paper by SANDEE (2008)	532.82 KB

Guidelines for integrated development of 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas - Document prepared by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (2011)

samir nazareth — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:06:10 +0000

This document is the operational plan for implementing the integrated development of 60,000 villages of pulses crops as announced in the 2011-12 Union budget. The budget allocates Rs 300 crores under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for this scheme. This project will supplement the ongoing work on pulses development under the National Food Security Mission. There is also an emphasis on building institutions that would provide market linkage to the grower of pulses. The states of M.P, U.P, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Tamilnadu were chosen for this programme. These states together constitute nearly 96% of area where pulses are grown.

Some of the highlights of the programme are -

The scheme targets areas that are rainfed and do not have access to irrigation,
The programme implementation would be watershed centric,
The entitlement of each state would be dependent on the area under pulses.

There would be three main focus areas, these are -

In situ moisture conservation - this would include lining new ponds with polythene and lining with plastic of ponds that have been already developed,
Accelerated pulses production programme which would include provision of mini-kits and pest surveillance,
Market linked extension support through small farmers' agribusiness consortium.

In situ moisture conservation
An amount of Rs 180 crores is proposed for this part of the programme. There would be a focus on water management and management of ponds and tanks. Tanks and ponds will be constructed for individual farmers and the size of these would be 20 m x 20 m x 3 m. The fund for constructing these would be deposited in the bank account of the beneficiaries once it has been built. Part of the cost would be borne by the farmer. Some old tanks would also be lined with polythene, however, keeping in mind the need for groundwater recharge - these would be a few. It is also suggested the micro-irrigation systems be used to improve water efficiency and reduce wastage.

Accelerated Pulses Production Program (A3P) supplementation
Rs 90 crore will be allocated to promote better crop management practices. This would be done through block demonstration in a pattern that is similar to the A3P. Further mini kits for IPM and and pest surveillance would be provided. Annxures provide the state-wise per hectare unit cost of these kits.

Market linked extension support
An amount of approximately Rs 27 crores would be allocated to this part of the programme. It is proposed to build farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to mitigate risks faced by small and marginal farmers. The consortium of farmers created by the Department of of Agriculture, Govt. of India can play an important role in this. It is proposed that 150 such FPO's be created, with each FPO having 1000 farmers. The activities of the FPO would include training, agriculture based livelihood interventions and creation of institutions that will help to train them to form and manage such FPOs.

Monitoring will play an important role in this project and an amount of Rs 3 crores is proposed for it. There will be a central monitoring committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary (A&C) other members of the committee would be Agriculture Commissioner, DDG (Crops) etc. There is also an option of outsourcing the monitoring to outside agencies like National Institute of Rural Development, National Productivity Council, and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy which can be decided by the central committee.

This implementation proposal would be of interest to those working in the agricultural field or working at the grassroots in rural India.

Download the report here:

Attachment	Size
Guidelines for integrated development of 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas - Document prepared by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (2011)	5.25 MB

Interlinking of water harvesting structures through link water channels - A viable alternative at micro-level by Ambuja Cement Foundation

amitabhaduri — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:09:04 +0000

This report of Sir Ratan Tata Trust offers an account of the project by the Ambuja Cement Foundation, which has developed interlinking of water harvesting structures through link water channels as a viable option of water management at micro-level. The coastal areas of Gujarat especially the villages lying within 20-25 km from the seashore are suffering from the problem of salinity ingress. Most of the rivulets that drain this region like Goma and Somat are seasonal at best and their water does not last beyond monsoons. The other aquifers like ponds, which get water from these rivers, also dry up as early as October.

This problem of water shortage has worsened over the last few years because of the cultivation of water intensive crops like sugarcane, banana, betel-nut leaves, wheat and coconut. It has resulted in lowering of the water table and ingress of saline water. This has had far reaching implications for both household and agricultural uses of water as the availability of fresh water has steadily declined.

This has also meant that there is an increased dependence on outside agencies like the state and other civil society organisations for basic needs like drinking water etc. Since 1980s conflicts have arisen over the access to limited fresh water resources available in this region. It is in this backdrop that the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF), which is active in Kodinar (in Junagadh, Gujarat) initiated an innovative project on interlinking of local rivers/rivulets and water harvesting structures like percolation tanks, and other water bodies. ACF wanted to ensure that these rivers recharge the groundwater and therefore the network also includes other existing water-harvesting structures and water bodies like tidal regulators, ponds etc. Depending upon the local topography the interlinking has been done between various rivulets like Goma, Somat and Singoda and the water bodies lying in between.

After identification of watershed dynamics and excess capacity in the existing rivers during the monsoon, potential sinks (like other rivulets, ponds, percolation tanks etc.) are identified and then the shortest possible route to the sink is selected.

Some of the notable projects of ACF in the area are –

Interlinking of ponds in the villages of Mitiaz, Devli, Kadodara, Damli and Pipli;
Pnch Pipalva-Jantrakhadi Radial Canal;
Goma-Panadar Link Water Channel; and
Interlinking of Barda-Bandhara and Singoda River at Muldwarka-Math.

The benefits accruing from the project include crop diversification, better farm practices and improved productivity. Interlinking has meant that the water bodies contain water for a much longer period than in the past. Percolation of water has increased bringing about greater groundwater recharge. As a result, the problem of salinity ingress has also been controlled to some extent. Water quality has improved considerably as a result of continuous recharging and increased fresh water content.

Download the report here –

Attachment	Size
Interlinking of water harvesting structures through link water channels - A viable alternative at micro-level by Ambuja Cement Foundation (2004)	452.64 KB

Sisyphean labours - Domestic water supply in the central-western Himalayas (Himalayas.JPG)

ramamani — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:58:31 +0000

This image was uploaded with the post Sisyphean labours - Domestic water supply in the central-western Himalayas.

A perspective of watershed development in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand – A paper by Himmotthan Pariyojana

amitabhaduri — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:53:23 +0000

This paper by Malavika Chauhan of Himmotthan Pariyojana in the International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences discusses the evolution of watershed development projects and their implementation in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. It traces the historical growth of thinking on watershed in the region, and highlights issues and influences. Impacts and benefits are discussed in relation to sustainability. The review shows that success in these projects is usually isolated, mostly seen in small micro-watersheds with naturally good water harvesting conditions.

Overall, the results and impacts of watershed programmes in the region have been vastly disproportionate to financial and technical inputs, usually because benefits are slow, gradual and unevenly distributed. The evolution in the design of projects resulted from learnings, more from failures than success, and led to increasing awareness and understanding amongst the target population.

The involvement of NGOs, which bring a strong social organizational aspect to the activities, brought necessary focus to the programmes. Further, increased and systematic participation of agencies other than NGOs – the government departments, banks and village level institutions increased the degree of sustainability. However, in some areas unhealthy levels of community dependence on NGOs are visible, losing the long-term sustainability factor.

Gaps in the understanding of technical aspects including hydrogeological issues, changing livelihood and land use patterns, and upstream-downstream linkages continue to undermine possible impacts. However, watershed programmes are evolving with time, adapting and streamlining thinking and processes, and lessons learned are being used in the design and development of future programmes.

The experience of numerous watershed projects in Uttarakhand, marked by the existence of gaps between concept and implementation, the lack of field coordination and the genuine lack of understanding in the way project implementation translates into results in the field on a large scale, is common to numerous administrative programmes in many regions and countries. This is in no way a unique experience. The negative is that the funds allotted to such programmes do not give the results and benefits expected of them, while the positives are the numerous lessons learned on which future programmes can be designed.

Download the report here -

Attachment	Size
A perspective of watershed development in the central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand – A paper by Himmotthan Pariyojana (2010)	319.49 KB

Soil respiration under different forest species in the riparian buffer of the semi-arid region of northwest India – A paper in Current Science

amitabhaduri — Sat, 21 May 2011 04:14:48 +0000

This paper in Current Science deals with soil respiration under different forest species in the riparian buffer of the semi-arid region of North West India. Soil respiration is a major process affecting the global carbon cycle and nutrient flux in the terrestrial ecosystem. It is the major pathway for exchange of gases from soil to atmosphere, influencing atmospheric temperature and ultimately contributing to global warming. Soil carbon is returned from the soil to the atmosphere through soil respiration, which represents one of the largest fluxes in the terrestrial C cycle^1–3. The main sources of terrestrial flux of CO₂are decomposing soil organic matter, respiration from heterotrophic soil organisms and autotrophic live root respiration.

Soil temperature and soil moisture are the most important environmental factors controlling soil respiration in ecosystems. However, soil respiration and associated edaphic factors have not been widely studied in semi-arid regions. In this study, soil respiration was measured in a riparian zone and the effect of soil temperature and soil moisture on soil respiration was examined under five forest species of the semi-arid region.

The mean daily soil respiration rate was 1.82, 2.08, 2.35, 2.27 and 2.07 g C m^–2 d^–1 in Jatropha curcas, Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica and Prosopis juliflora sites respectively. It was found that soil respiration was significantly and positively correlated with soil moisture. A univariate model of sub-surface soil moisture could explain 77 per cent of temporal variation in soil CO₂ efflux, irrespective of species and sites. The logarithmic model could best explain the relationship between soil respiration and soil moisture at 10–20 cm of soil depth (P < 0.001). There were negative correlations between soil respiration and soil temperature under majority of species.

Overall, across all species, soil temperature poorly explained 26 per cent variation in soil respiration as independent variable. For soil respiration rate–temperature relationship, a bell-shaped function gave the best fit in this ecosystem. Under all the species, soil respiration increases with increase in soil temperature up to 33°C (± 2); thereafter it decreases gradually under all species. There was strong evidence that deficit of soil moisture rather than soil temperature was the main regulating factor of soil respiration under the semi-arid ecosystems.

Download the paper here -

Attachment	Size
Soil respiration under different forest species in the riparian buffer of the semi-arid region of northwest India – A paper in Current Science (2011)	444.86 KB

Now it is water all the way in Garhkundar–Dabar watershed of drought-prone semi-arid Bundelkhand – A paper in Current Science

amitabhaduri — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:37:30 +0000

This report in Current Science presents the success story of watershed development in Garhkundar–Dabar watershed of drought-prone semi-arid Tikamgarh district in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh. The area suffers from water scarcity, natural resource degradation, low crop productivity (1–1.5 t/ha), low rainwater use efficiency (35–45 per cent), high erosion, poor soil fertility, frequent droughts, poor irrigation facilities, heavy biotic pressure on forests, inadequate vegetation cover and frequent crop failure resulting in scarcity of food, fodder and fuel. The region has serious limitations of ground and surface-water availability and heavily depends upon perched water for drinking as well as irrigation.

Surface-water harvesting and storage in large ponds for meeting irrigation and drinking-water requirement has been in practice since ages. However, the storage capacity of such ponds has reduced due to silting. Accelerated pumping from shallow dug wells (using electric motor/diesel pump) has further reduced the groundwater level. Majority of wells in the region go dry, particularly during summer months. Often, the region experiences drinking water shortage.

In this context, the Garhkundar–Dabar watershed was taken up for watershed development by the National Research Centre for Agroforestry, Jhansi in 2005. Soil and water-conservation measures in the watershed included construction of (a) eight check dams in series in approximately 10 km total length of third and fourth-order streams, (b) 150 gabion structures laid across the first and second-order streams to check gully formation and silt inflow in main water course (c) three ‘khadins’ (water spreaders) were constructed in depressions to check the concentrated flow of run-off water and (d) bunding was carried out along the margins of the fields in 40 ha area for in situ water harvesting and erosion control; these bunds were provided with proper spillways (15 numbers) for safe disposal of excess water.

Check dam in Garhkundar–Dabar watershed

To compare and know the impact of integrated watershed treatment on runoff, and soil and nutrient loss, the area adjacent to the treated watershed was also gauged as an untreated watershed. The results indicate that –

Adoption of integrated soil and water conservation measures on a watershed basis not only reduced run-off, but also increased water availability in time and scale. The peak discharge from the treated watershed in 2009 was lower (0.018 m³/s/ha) compared to the untreated watershed (0.028 m³/s/ha). Similarly, total runoff recorded from the treated watershed was lower (41.5 mm or 5.4 per cent of annual rainfall) than the untreated watershed (77.3 mm or 10.1 per cent of annual rainfall).
Check dams generated about 25,000 m³ water-storage capacity in the watershed. At present, enough water is available in most of the wells round the year.
The number of dry wells in the watershed reduced to 2 per cent in June 2009 from 86 per cent in June 2006. Integrated watershed management interventions had a pronounced impact on groundwater recharge.
Soil loss from the untreated watershed was 76 and 73 per cent higher compared to the treated watershed in 2008 and 2009 respectively. N and P losses in 2008 from the treated watershed were 7.35 and 4.97 kg/ha respectively, whereas the corresponding losses from the untreated watershed were 12.6 and 8.54 kg/ha respectively.

Thus, well-planned and properly distributed soil and water-conservation measures comprising construction of field bunds, gabions on first and second-order streams, water spreaders in depressions and a series of check dams on third and fourth-order streams not only reduced soil and nutrient loss, but also generated increased water resources besides imparting drought-proofing. The study indicates that the water crisis in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region can be averted by adopting the model described here, even with 50 per cent deficit rainfall, and the region can be transformed into a water-adequate region.

Download the paper below -

Attachment	Size
Now it is water all the way in Garhkundar–Dabar watershed of drought-prone semi-arid Bundelkhand – A paper in Current Science (2011)	147.01 KB

Future water solutions for India - A paper by Himanshu Thakkar in the Palgrave Development journal

rajshekar — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:28:13 +0000

This paper by Himanshu Thakkar published in the journal Development looks at the daunting challenges that future water demand places on India and the possible solutions to address these probelems. The challenges that the paper highlights includes:

Increase in population, industralisation and urbanisation
Increase in food grain demand
Increased demand for water
Increase in power demand
Lack of access to sanitation, water, electricity for majority of the population
Challenges due to climate change leading to increase in natural disaters such as floods, droughts, destruction of environment

The paper argues that the response of the Indian government to deal with these challenges has been completely off the mark and includes attempts at building more big dams, more Big Hydropower projects, more long-distance water transfer, interlinking of rivers and desalinization on a grand scale.

The paper argues that clearest sign of how poorly India is dealing with water resources development and management is the growth of water-related conflicts. There is no democracy in water resources development. However, the paper argues that the solution lies in changing that situation in fundamental ways. Thus understanding the ground realities of Indian water resources needs to be the first step towards effective future solutions and includes:

Exploring options in agriculture and irrigation practices

The gap between the irrigation potential created and actual irrigation is around 10 million hectares in India. Bridging this gap would be more cost effective than hankering for more storage capacities.
Arresting the siltation of storages of all sizes and desilting them where feasible.
Attempts at recharging groundwater on a massive levels.
Large-scale adoption of new methods like the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

Hydropower options

Charging more for peak hour power consumption, management systems to ensure peak hour power demand management and ensuring optimum power generation to reduce the peak hour power demand also reduce the need for such projects significantly.
Some other options are demand side management (DSM ^ potential of 25,000MW as per a PowerMinistry study), off-shorewind power, solar and biomass power, use of decentralized power generation systems, reducing transmission and distribution losses, time of day metering and increasing end use efficiencies.

Exploring water supply options

The big unexplored options in this area include DSM, pollution control, reuse of water after adequate treatment and local supply-side solutions like rainwater harvesting and decentralized water treatment.

Global warming and climate change

These will lead to more disasters and would require to put in place better systems of monitoring now so that the impacts of such natural disasters can be minimized

The paper ends by arguing that India has a large number of technological, management and institutional options. What is needed is the political will to put systems into place to make it happen.

Read the paper

View the entire "Water and People" issue from the journal

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Future water solutions for India - Himanshu Thakkar - Development (2008)	69.96 KB

Environment Policy - Department of Environment, Government of Kerala (2007)

rajshekar — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:12:48 +0000

This policy document by the Department of Environment, Government of Kerala highlights the need for conservation of natural resources in the state of Kerala, in the context of increasing exploitation of resources and deterioration of the environment in the state.

The policy aims at mainstreaming environmental concerns in all the developmental activities and argues that the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependent on resources obtain better livelihoods from conservation, rather than degradation of resources.

The document highlights the current environmental concerns in the state, the initiatives taken up by the state government and makes suggestions on the future measures that need to be taken and the agencies that need to be involved to aid in optimal utilisation of natural resources without adversely affecting the people or the environment.

Download the document:

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Environment Policy - Department of Environment - Government of Kerala (2007)	270.13 KB

Introduction to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) - Open courseware from the United Nations University (UNU)

ashis — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:43:48 +0000

This introductory course on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), from the United Nations University (UNU), provides a brief historical background and overview of IWRM and gives an overview of the various aspects of IWRM, from integration, capacity building to applications and case studies.

IWRM has been defined by the Global Water Partnership (2000) as a process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. An important aspect of any IWRM program is therefore, research, planning and action at the river basin level.

This course has been divided into the following 10 modules:

View the course here, on the UNU website. You can directly download the course material here, from the UNU website. For more information about this course, please click here.

For more courses from the UNU, please see here.

Satellite maps of the affected state of Bihar (2007 and 2008) (UNOSAT_India_Bihar_Flood_Map_23Aug2007_Highres_v.jpeg)

rajshekar — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:05:47 +0000

This image was uploaded with the post Satellite maps of the affected state of Bihar (2007 and 2008).

State Forest Policy of Jammu and Kashmir (2010)

amitabhaduri — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:03:41 +0000

In the backdrop of the essential need for maintaining a healthy forest resource, the valid concern for its continued depletion and degradation, and, being aware of the close association between people and forests, the Forest Department (Government of Jammu and Kashmir), has recently adopted a Forest Policy. The State is richly endowed with diverse forest resources which play an important role in preserving the fragile ecosystem of the region and also serve as catchments for important Himalayan rivers.

Forests are essential for soil conservation, water security, and for meeting the needs of local population for timber, firewood, fodder and other forest produce. Forests of Jammu and Kashmir exhibit remarkable diversity ranging from sub-tropical to temperate to alpine because of the distinctive geo-climatic conditions prevalent in the State.

The basic objectives of the State Forest Policy of Jammu and Kashmir are as follows -

Conservation of biodiversity and natural habitat through preservation of natural forests with the vast variety of flora and fauna.
Rehabilitation of degraded forests so as to optimize their productivity and restore their potential to provide ecosystem goods and services on sustainable basis.
Poverty alleviation by meeting livelihood needs of forest dependent communities through sustainable supply of forest produce by improving productivity of existing forests, and through forestry activities, schemes and programmes.
Extending tree cover outside forests to reduce pressure on natural forests for supply of forest produce.
Checking denudation and soil erosion in catchments through integrated watershed management techniques and practices.
Maintenance of the health of forest vegetation and forest soils for augmenting water supplies through recharge of underground aquifers and regulation of surface water flows, sediment levels and water quality.
Optimally utilising the mitigation and adaptation potential of forests in the context of climate change.
Reducing pressure on forests through appropriate interventions including development of forest fringe belt into high production tree strips.
Utilisation of natural resources using best management practices including development of non-timber forest produce and institutionalization and operationalization of concepts of eco-tourism and nature tourism.
Creating a sustained people’s movement for achieving the aforementioned objectives, so that environmental security is ensured.

Since forests influence, and in-turn are influenced by activities and functions of different departments like Revenue, Tourism, Sheep and Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Horticulture, Industry, Irrigation and Flood Control, Public Works Department etc, necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the policies, objectives and activities of different departments and organizations of the State are in harmony with the objectives enshrined in the State Forest Policy, and conflicts, wherever these exist, will be resolved appropriately.

The Forest Department will prepare an implementation schedule for realizing the objectives of this policy. A high powered institutional mechanism will be put in place to monitor and review the implementation of the policy.

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