CHALLENGE

In many countries—particularly in the Balkans—most of the environmental services provided by the sustainable management of forests and uplands are seldom quantified, often not valued, and even more rarely captured by the owners/managers of these resources. Capturing these benefits has the potential to enhance the environmental management of forest resources, protect landscapes from erosion and downstream water systems from siltation and flooding, increase carbon sequestration (with a possible decrease in consumption of fossil fuels), while at the same time helping to address rural poverty.

To increase the likelihood of payment for these environmental services, the value and scale of the benefits generated need to better understood.

APPROACH

With support from multiple partners including PROFOR, the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia staff is undertaking two case studies to assess:

• the benefits of sustainable upland forest and land management for downstream water users, and
• the effectiveness of increasing the use and efficiency of firewood in reducing the use of fossil fuels and hence greenhouse gas emissions.

The first case study focuses primarily on the Ulza hydro-power dam and watershed in Albania. The second case study looks mainly at wood supply, stoves, and heating systems in Kosovo.
This research aims to define scientifically sound methodologies; establish key baseline data in some case studies; provide quantitative estimates of the value of specific targeted environmental services; propose mechanisms to start or increase payment for these services in the two countries; and then disseminate the results and experience both regionally and more broadly. The results will be particularly helpful for countries in the process of European Union accession, as they develop agro-environmental payments within the common agriculture policy.

RESULTS
All field work and data collection activities for the two case studies have concluded. Thirty-two project publications have been translated into Albanian and disseminated through the project website http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html, the project blog http://wbprofor.blog.com, and the project Facebook page. The main publication Study and Analysis of Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management in the Southwest Balkan: Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management (September 2013) is also available on PROFOR website. A series of stakeholder workshops was held in Albania and Kosovo. The final results workshop for Albania took place in September 2013 in Tirana, and the final results workshop for Kosovo occurred on in Prishtina the same month.

FINDINGS
The project generated numerous findings that are detailed in the project publications. Highlights include the following:

Albania
-At least 31.5% of the Ulza reservoir storage is filled with sediment.
-Erosion and sediment are correlated to land uses in a measurable way, with forested areas producing the lowest sediment load.
-Around 12% of stakeholders in the watershed are willing to pay for environmental services such as reduced erosion and reduced sedimentation.

Kosovo
-Total wood biomass production is about 1.25 million cubic meters, of which 0.17 million cubic meters is legally harvested forest.
-95% of wood harvested from forests is used for firewood.
-Improving existing agroforestry sites and introducing fast-growing species are good opportunities to increase wood biomass production.
-Wood biomass is an economically attractive energy option for individual household heating and public buildings.
-Carbon markets could support energy production from wood biomass.

This activity is ongoing. A website dedicated to sharing the results of this activity has been set up at the following address: http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html.Key findings and reports will also be shared on this page. You can also follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/forestideas) or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

CHALLENGE

In many countries—particularly in the Balkans—most of the environmental services provided by the sustainable management of forests and uplands are seldom quantified, often not valued, and even more rarely captured by the owners/managers of these resources. Capturing these benefits has the potential to enhance the environmental management of forest resources, protect landscapes from erosion and downstream water systems from siltation and flooding, increase carbon sequestration (with a possible decrease in consumption of fossil fuels), while at the same time helping to address rural poverty.

To increase the likelihood of payment for these environmental services, the value and scale of the benefits generated need to better understood.

APPROACH

With support from multiple partners including PROFOR, the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia staff is undertaking two case studies to assess:

• the benefits of sustainable upland forest and land management for downstream water users, and
• the effectiveness of increasing the use and efficiency of firewood in reducing the use of fossil fuels and hence greenhouse gas emissions.

The first case study focuses primarily on the Ulza hydro-power dam and watershed in Albania. The second case study looks mainly at wood supply, stoves, and heating systems in Kosovo.
This research aims to define scientifically sound methodologies; establish key baseline data in some case studies; provide quantitative estimates of the value of specific targeted environmental services; propose mechanisms to start or increase payment for these services in the two countries; and then disseminate the results and experience both regionally and more broadly. The results will be particularly helpful for countries in the process of European Union accession, as they develop agro-environmental payments within the common agriculture policy.

RESULTS
All field work and data collection activities for the two case studies have concluded. Thirty-two project publications have been translated into Albanian and disseminated through the project website http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html, the project blog http://wbprofor.blog.com, and the project Facebook page. The main publication Study and Analysis of Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management in the Southwest Balkan: Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management (September 2013) is also available on PROFOR website. A series of stakeholder workshops was held in Albania and Kosovo. The final results workshop for Albania took place in September 2013 in Tirana, and the final results workshop for Kosovo occurred on in Prishtina the same month.

FINDINGS
The project generated numerous findings that are detailed in the project publications. Highlights include the following:

Albania
-At least 31.5% of the Ulza reservoir storage is filled with sediment.
-Erosion and sediment are correlated to land uses in a measurable way, with forested areas producing the lowest sediment load.
-Around 12% of stakeholders in the watershed are willing to pay for environmental services such as reduced erosion and reduced sedimentation.

Kosovo
-Total wood biomass production is about 1.25 million cubic meters, of which 0.17 million cubic meters is legally harvested forest.
-95% of wood harvested from forests is used for firewood.
-Improving existing agroforestry sites and introducing fast-growing species are good opportunities to increase wood biomass production.
-Wood biomass is an economically attractive energy option for individual household heating and public buildings.
-Carbon markets could support energy production from wood biomass.

This activity is ongoing. A website dedicated to sharing the results of this activity has been set up at the following address: http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html.Key findings and reports will also be shared on this page. You can also follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/forestideas) or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

CHALLENGE

In many countries—particularly in the Balkans—most of the environmental services provided by the sustainable management of forests and uplands are seldom quantified, often not valued, and even more rarely captured by the owners/managers of these resources. Capturing these benefits has the potential to enhance the environmental management of forest resources, protect landscapes from erosion and downstream water systems from siltation and flooding, increase carbon sequestration (with a possible decrease in consumption of fossil fuels), while at the same time helping to address rural poverty.

To increase the likelihood of payment for these environmental services, the value and scale of the benefits generated need to better understood.

APPROACH

With support from multiple partners including PROFOR, the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia staff is undertaking two case studies to assess:

• the benefits of sustainable upland forest and land management for downstream water users, and
• the effectiveness of increasing the use and efficiency of firewood in reducing the use of fossil fuels and hence greenhouse gas emissions.

The first case study focuses primarily on the Ulza hydro-power dam and watershed in Albania. The second case study looks mainly at wood supply, stoves, and heating systems in Kosovo.
This research aims to define scientifically sound methodologies; establish key baseline data in some case studies; provide quantitative estimates of the value of specific targeted environmental services; propose mechanisms to start or increase payment for these services in the two countries; and then disseminate the results and experience both regionally and more broadly. The results will be particularly helpful for countries in the process of European Union accession, as they develop agro-environmental payments within the common agriculture policy.

RESULTS
All field work and data collection activities for the two case studies have concluded. Thirty-two project publications have been translated into Albanian and disseminated through the project website http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html, the project blog http://wbprofor.blog.com, and the project Facebook page. The main publication Study and Analysis of Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management in the Southwest Balkan: Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management (September 2013) is also available on PROFOR website. A series of stakeholder workshops was held in Albania and Kosovo. The final results workshop for Albania took place in September 2013 in Tirana, and the final results workshop for Kosovo occurred on in Prishtina the same month.

FINDINGS
The project generated numerous findings that are detailed in the project publications. Highlights include the following:

Albania
-At least 31.5% of the Ulza reservoir storage is filled with sediment.
-Erosion and sediment are correlated to land uses in a measurable way, with forested areas producing the lowest sediment load.
-Around 12% of stakeholders in the watershed are willing to pay for environmental services such as reduced erosion and reduced sedimentation.

Kosovo
-Total wood biomass production is about 1.25 million cubic meters, of which 0.17 million cubic meters is legally harvested forest.
-95% of wood harvested from forests is used for firewood.
-Improving existing agroforestry sites and introducing fast-growing species are good opportunities to increase wood biomass production.
-Wood biomass is an economically attractive energy option for individual household heating and public buildings.
-Carbon markets could support energy production from wood biomass.

This activity is ongoing. A website dedicated to sharing the results of this activity has been set up at the following address: http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html.Key findings and reports will also be shared on this page. You can also follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/forestideas) or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

CHALLENGE

In many countries—particularly in the Balkans—most of the environmental services provided by the sustainable management of forests and uplands are seldom quantified, often not valued, and even more rarely captured by the owners/managers of these resources. Capturing these benefits has the potential to enhance the environmental management of forest resources, protect landscapes from erosion and downstream water systems from siltation and flooding, increase carbon sequestration (with a possible decrease in consumption of fossil fuels), while at the same time helping to address rural poverty.

To increase the likelihood of payment for these environmental services, the value and scale of the benefits generated need to better understood.

APPROACH

With support from multiple partners including PROFOR, the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia staff is undertaking two case studies to assess:

• the benefits of sustainable upland forest and land management for downstream water users, and
• the effectiveness of increasing the use and efficiency of firewood in reducing the use of fossil fuels and hence greenhouse gas emissions.

The first case study focuses primarily on the Ulza hydro-power dam and watershed in Albania. The second case study looks mainly at wood supply, stoves, and heating systems in Kosovo.
This research aims to define scientifically sound methodologies; establish key baseline data in some case studies; provide quantitative estimates of the value of specific targeted environmental services; propose mechanisms to start or increase payment for these services in the two countries; and then disseminate the results and experience both regionally and more broadly. The results will be particularly helpful for countries in the process of European Union accession, as they develop agro-environmental payments within the common agriculture policy.

RESULTS
All field work and data collection activities for the two case studies have concluded. Thirty-two project publications have been translated into Albanian and disseminated through the project website http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html, the project blog http://wbprofor.blog.com, and the project Facebook page. The main publication Study and Analysis of Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management in the Southwest Balkan: Innovative Financing for Sustainable Forest Management (September 2013) is also available on PROFOR website. A series of stakeholder workshops was held in Albania and Kosovo. The final results workshop for Albania took place in September 2013 in Tirana, and the final results workshop for Kosovo occurred on in Prishtina the same month.

FINDINGS
The project generated numerous findings that are detailed in the project publications. Highlights include the following:

Albania
-At least 31.5% of the Ulza reservoir storage is filled with sediment.
-Erosion and sediment are correlated to land uses in a measurable way, with forested areas producing the lowest sediment load.
-Around 12% of stakeholders in the watershed are willing to pay for environmental services such as reduced erosion and reduced sedimentation.

Kosovo
-Total wood biomass production is about 1.25 million cubic meters, of which 0.17 million cubic meters is legally harvested forest.
-95% of wood harvested from forests is used for firewood.
-Improving existing agroforestry sites and introducing fast-growing species are good opportunities to increase wood biomass production.
-Wood biomass is an economically attractive energy option for individual household heating and public buildings.
-Carbon markets could support energy production from wood biomass.

This activity is ongoing. A website dedicated to sharing the results of this activity has been set up at the following address: http://www.cnvp-wbprofor.org/home.html.Key findings and reports will also be shared on this page. You can also follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/forestideas) or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.

CHALLENGE

Improved watershed management will be crucial to meet growing food demand in India, for example by: recharging local aquifers and improving downstream water flows; decreasing soil erosion; increasing agricultural productivity; and helping farmers adapt to climate change. Experts believe that an additional 102 million tons of food grains need to be produced annually by 2020 to meet national nutritional needs under moderate population growth forecasts, 38 million tons of which will need to come from either rainfed lands or imports.

However, rainfed regions have lagged far behind and have experienced severe resource degradation due to inappropriate land use, poor husbandry and low investments. Longer-term climate change adds another worrying dimension. Climate change requires new adaptation measures by farmers, especially small and marginal farmers who are the most vulnerable to these forecast impacts.

The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP), financed through the Department of Land Resources, currently forms the cornerstone of the Government of India's support to watershed development, covering 27 states and proposing to invest over US$6.6 billion through a 10-year period to 2017. Besides the IWMP, a number of other centrally financed schemes are related to watershed management, agriculture and rural livelihoods, which to varying degrees address development needs in rainfed areas. The IWMP has been slowly rolling out and expanding its reach across India since 2009. But, it has not delivered expected results evenly across the country or to the desired levels. In moving forward to improve the IWMP model and execution, a number of key issues outlined recently by the Planning Commission and various other reports/experts have been identified.

Two key issues are:

              Fragmented programming and partial solutions. Given their ecological characteristics, developing rainfed areas requires a broad watershed approach. Large budgets are now available for IWMP and several other schemes for the development of rainfed areas within the Ministry of Rural Development. However, each of these is conceived and implemented in departmental silos without unified mechanisms for coordination and convergence. As a result, these programs do not lead to area development, potential synergies are lost, and investments, interventions, and results remain sub-optimal.

              Narrow planning scale. The IWMP is executed through clusters of micro-watersheds (each usually 500 ha to 700 ha) covering an average of 5,000 ha. This scale is appropriate for participatory planning and implementation communities. However, a larger landscape assessment/planning framework ranging up to 25,000 ha is also needed where broader land and water issues can be identified, and a more coordinated approach developed to converge government schemes with the IWMP. The current IWMP model also does not fully incorporate surface and groundwater assessments into management and monitoring activities to guide integrated planning at sub-watershed and micro-watershed scales.

APPROACH

This activity aims to address some of the issues above by helping to:

• Improve intra- and inter-ministerial convergence in watershed management in India;
• Develop landscape level catchment assessment/planning methods and guidelines for India; and
• Disseminate knowledge on good practices in watershed management building on a draft report prepared under a previous PROFOR activity.

RESULTS

The activity was successfully completed. The final report “Catchment Assessment and Planning for Watershed Management” is now available to the left along with a summary report. A launch workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2014. A similar workshop was held in Delhi in December 2014. One article based on this work was published in a national journal in India. In addition, the “Operational Guidelines for Benchmarking Watershed Management Outcomes” prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development of India and the World Bank discussion paper “Watershed Development in India: An Approach Evolving through Experience” can be downloaded from this page.

Some key insights and lessons are:

• Micro-watersheds are the appropriate scale for program implementation with communities, with guidance by larger scale catchment assessments.
• Decentralized and participatory development is a necessary approach for success.
• Invest in participatory, evidence-based micro-watershed plans with communities.
• Invest in capacity building and information sharing to build sustainability and a body of knowledge.
• Invest in comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to track implementation and support management.