Concept of watershed development
Definition of watershed:
i) Watershed is an area above a given drainage point on a stream that contributes water to the
flow at that point.
ii) Watershed is a natural unit draining runoff water to common point of outlet.
iii) The watershed is geo hydrological unit or a piece of land that drains at common
point. Catchments basin or drainage basin are synonymous of watershed.
The major food grain requirement of the state is net from the rained areas which contain mostly
all grains pulses and oilseeds while in many areas heavy soils are utilized only for rabbi
cropping. Crop production under rained agriculture is mostly subsistence oriented producing
food grains for home consumption including cash crops and fodder for livestock. The cropping
patterns vary according to soils, climate, and farmer preference and to a limited extent market
demands. Sorghum, cotton, pearl millet, groundnut, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram,
sunflower, wheat, gram and safflower are among the important crops grown in rained
agriculture. However, the productivity of the crops is extremely low due to improper crop
management practices including land management treatments adopted in rained agriculture.
Most of the community lands and privately owned marginal lands which are unsuitable for arable
farming remain uncultivated and serve as grazing grounds for village livestock and source of fuel
supply. The Government lands are normally located at higher elevations and are badly eroded
and deprived off any vegetation. The communal grazing lands are also severely denuded and
eroded leaving thin vegetative cover. As a result, these areas serve as an origin of erosion.
Objectives of Watershed Development Programmers
Improve the productive potentials of selected watersheds and their associated natural resource
base.
Sustainable alleviation of Poverty.
Develop and strengthen community based institutional arrangements for sustainable natural
resource management
Improved skills and employment opportunities for non-farm sectors
Involvement of village communities in participatory planning, implementation, social and
environmental management, maintenance of assets and to operate in a more socially inclusive
manner.
1. Introduction
The balanced ecosystem and human system are vital indicators of a sustainable environment and
better quality of human life. In rural areas, livelihood and natural resources such as land, water,
vegetation and livestock are inter-linked. India’s national economy is dependent on agriculture
and the magnificence of its natural resources is legendary.
However, degradation of the natural resources due to increasing biotic pressure on the fragile
eco-system with breakdown of traditional local management institutions is threatening the entire
human population.
Watershed is a geo-hydrological unit comprised of all land and water within the confines of a
drainage divide. Essentially a watershed is all the land and water area, which contributes runoff
to a common point. It is a land area that captures rainfall and conveys the overland flow and
runoff to an outlet in the main flow channel. It is a topographically delineated area draining into
a single channel. A watershed may be nearly flat or may include hillocks, hills or mountains.
Each and every water and land area is a part of one watershed or other.
Watershed Development and Management is defined as the integrated use, regulation and
development of water and land resources of a watershed to accomplish sustainable use of land,
water and vegetables for the benefit of its dependents. The emphasis is on soil and water
conservation.
2. Need of Watershed Development and Management
As 70% of our cultivated land fall under the rain-fed areas, Watershed Management is one of the
critical factors for improving agricultural production. The natural resource base on which
existence of living beings depend-soil, water and vegetation is under degradation. Most of the
arid and semi-arid regions have concentrations of eroded and degraded natural resources. Loss of
vegetal cover, followed by soil degradation through erosion, has resulted in lands lacking in
water as well as solid nutrients. In India out of a total geographical area of 329 million hectares,
57% of the area is suffering from soil degradation as a result of over-population, harsh climate
condition, over exploitation, improper use of soil resources, deforestation etc.
Restoring ecological balance and increasing productivity in such region necessitate undertaking
all developmental activities on a watershed basis. Depletion of Common Property Resources
(CPRs) is again at the core of the problem. CPRs are collectively managed resources on nonarable land including community forests, grazing lands and ponds, village tanks and rivers.
Generally, the poorer section of rural households depends much more on fuel, fodder and food
items from CPRs. Depletion of CPRs including declining area and productivity has been widely
observed. CPRs area has declined from 31 to 55% by 1982-86 as a result of large-scale
privatization. On site and offsite environmental degradation and depletion of soil and water
resources is widespread as a result of over exploitation of remaining of CPRs.
Land and Water resources of India
Particulars
Quantity
Geographical Area
329 million ha
Flood Prone Area
40 million ha
Total Cultivable Land Area
Net Irrigated Area
184 million ha
50 million ha
Ultimate irrigation Potential
140 million ha
Natural runoff (Surface Water
and Groundwater)
Estimated Utilizable Surface
water Potential
Groundwater resources
1869 Cubic Km
Available groundwater Resource
for Irrigation
Net Utilizable Groundwater
Resource for Irrigation
361 Cubic Km
690 Cubic Km
432 Cubic Km
325 Cubic Km
In India, agriculture is the predominant occupation and about 64% of the working population
depends upon it for their livelihood. Irrigation facilities created so far are less than the potential
and the total net sown area is only 36%. As such, a large portion of agricultural land depends
upon the monsoon. They contribute about 42% of country's total food grain output. The majority
of small and marginal farmer and landless depend on agriculture, especially in the dry region.
Further because of soil erosion, deforestation, over cutting of vegetation, overgrazing,
unscientific methods of cultivation, a large area of land has been rendered barren. About 25% of
agricultural land is degraded thus the porosity of Indian Agriculture lies in the development of
dry and degraded land.
3. Watershed Development Programmed in India
Conservation of water and checking soil erosion is central to the attainment of economic as well
as financial sustainability of dry land and agriculture. Integrated watershed development
programme is the major policy instrument for achieving this goal. The importance of watershed
development as a strategy of agricultural and overall rural development in rainfed areas has been
recognized in India for the past several decades. It dates back to the establishment of four dry
farming research stations at Rohtak, Sholapur, Hyderabad and Bellary in early 30's.
Watershed Development Programmes which has been increasingly emphasized for dryland plain
region in India, is a manifestation of the shifting priorities in agricultural sector which till
recently had concentrated mainly on crops and regions with assured irrigation. Some of the
points of development to be kept in mind are:
4.Integrated Watershed Development Approach
Development Research Foundation, Pune launched its integrated watershed development
programme in various parts of the country in the year 1990 with the objective of developing
models of sustainable development in resource degraded areas. Through its expert manpower,
applied research and field experience in resource management and people's participation, BAIF
has been working in watershed development with the following objectives:
 Promote appropriate technologies for efficient and sustainable use of rainwater.
 Conservation of soil and improve the land productivity
 Regenerate the vegetation cover on denuded wastelands, promote tree based farming
systems and sustainable agriculture.
 Improve Livestock Productivity
 Bring the underprivileged sections of society in to the mainstream