Watershed Management: Case Studies

Watershed is the area of land from which water drains into a body of water such as river, lake, stream or bay. Watershed Management refers to the conservation, regeneration and the judicious use of all the resources – natural (land, water, plants, and animals) and human – within a particular watershed. It tries to bring about the best possible balance in the environment between natural resources on the one side, and human and other living beings on the other. It is also envisaged as the strategy for protecting the livelihood of the people inhabiting the fragile ecosystems experiencing soil erosion and moisture stress. Experiments with watershed management have so far yielded rich dividends and provided valuable insights into the aspects of management of natural resource base, particularly land and water. Strategies in management range from purely technical approaches to those that emphasize participation of social organizations. Little systematic analysis exists, however, on the success of the different approaches. Against the context of increasing water scarcity, this book brings to the fore emerging issues and innovative methods in watershed management. The book attempts to focus on case studies of watershed management projects, country experiences and innovative models across the world that would provide an insight into the sustainable practices of watershed management. While taking case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America, the book indeed makes a modest effort to sensitize the readers to the need for sustainable watershed management programmes in an era of water scarcity and desertification.