Efforts have long been made in India to improve the management of major watersheds for ecological reasons - such as reducing the siltation of reservoirs. The management of micro-watersheds (of around 500 hectares) is a more recent focus of policy and has both ecology and livelihoods as itsobjectives. Experiments have shown that, in some areas, more than a doubling of resource productivity can be achieved by careful rehablitation. Many watersheds contain both private and common land. It is already clear from a number a efforts led by NGOs that, to be equitable and institutionally sustainable, the rehabilitation of both common and private lands needs action rooted in strong resource user-groups capable of taking decisions ina participatory way and resolving conflict. To build up groups in this way requires both time and skills, both of which have proved elusive in government projects and programmes. The key question addressed in this book is how far the approaches developed by NGOs can be adopted (or adapted) by the public sector and applied on a wide scale,for, without such approaches, neither the ecological nor the livelihood benefits of watershed rehabilitation will be achieved.

Intended for aspiring and new practitioners of Participatory Research and Development (PR&D) as well as field-based researchers in developing countries. Highlights that agricultural research and development has become a joint approach to deal with diverse biophysical environments, multiple livelihood goals, rapid changes in local and global economies, and an expanded range for stakeholders over agriculture and natural resources.

On the occasion of the International Year of Mountains-2002, FAO and its partners undertook a large-scale assessment and global review of the current status and future trends of integrated and participatory watershed management. The overall objectives were to promote the exchange and dissemination of experiences in implementing watershed management projects in the decade from 1990 to 2000 and to identify the vision for a new generation of watershed management programmes and projects. This resource book represents a summary and critical analysis of the rich discussions and vast materials that emerged during the review, as well as the review's findings and recommendations. It presents the state of the art in watershed management, promotes further reflection and creative thinking and proposes new ideas and approaches for future watershed management programmes and projects. This publication has been written primarily for field-level watershed management practitioners and local decision-makers involved in watershed management at the district or municipality level. It will also be a useful source of information for other readers such as senior officers and consultants specialized in other areas, evaluators, policy-makers and students of watershed management

The studies present a complex picture of the achievements and continuing challenges faced by conservation professionals and farmers, provide evidence of the importance of local people's involvement in natural resource planning and management, and reveal how difficult it is to scale-up and participatory approaches in large sector-based programmes.

Contents Part I: Building A Support Programme Chapter 1: Designing And Starting-Up The Pucd Project; (A) Origins And History Of The Pucd Project, (B) Design Of The Pucd Project, (C) Starting Up The Interregional Project, (D) Establishing National Field Teams, (E) Preparing To Start The Participatory Process, Part Ii: Providing Support At Selected Sites, Chapter 2: Identifying Goals And Actions; (A) Initial Participatory Appraisal, (B) Participatory Planning Workshops, (C) Participatory Feasibility Analysis, (D) Making Implementation Agreements, Chapter 3: Activities And Outcomes; (A) Strengthening Grassroots Organizations, (B) Meeting Basic Needs, (C) Strengthening Communities Competence And Awareness In Natural Resource Management, Chapter 4: Participatory Monitoring Evaluation And Replanning; (A) Participatory Monitoring, (B) Participatory Evaluation, (C) Linking Participatory Evaluation And Replanning, Part Iii: Withdrawing Support, Chapter 5: Towards The Institutionalization Of Pucd Experience; (A) Withdrawing Support To The Local Iterative Community Based Participatory Cycle, (B) Local Human Resource Development, (C) Promoting Forums For Collaborative Watershed Management, (D) Assistance In Policy Making, Chapter 6: Participatory And Integrated Watershed Management Redefined; (A) Participation, (B) Integration, (C) Waterhsed Management.

With reference to watershed programs in India.

This book explores the exclusion of community groups from the perspective of people’s equal opportunities and equal access to newly generated economic benefits, tracing the factors determining their denial and exclusion. Paying specific attention to watershed development projects, it considers the detailed processes involved in the denial of institutional and livelihood opportunities to resource-poor groups, and discusses potential avenues for their meaningful social inclusion in the governance of natural resources.