“Watershed management is a concept which recognizes the judicious management of three basic resources of soil water and vegetation, on watershed basis, for achieving particular objective for the well being of the people”. It includes treatment of land most suitable biological as well as engineering measures.

Objective of watershed management:

1. Production of food, fodder, fuel.

2. Pollution control

3. Over exploitation of resources should be minimized

4. Water storage, flood control, checking sedimentation.

5. Wild life preservation

6. Erosion control and prevention of soil, degradation and conservation of soil and water.

7. Employment generation through industrial development dairy fishery production.

8. Recharging of ground water to provide regular water supply for consumption and industry as well as irrigation.

9. Recreational facility.

Steps in watershed management:

Watershed management involves determination of alternative land treatment measures for, which information about problems of land, soil, water and vegetation in the watershed is essential.

In order to have a practical solution to above problem it is necessary to go through four phases for a full scale watershed management.

Program:

1. Recognition phase.

2. Restoration phase.

3. Protection phase.

4. Improvement phase.

1. Recognition Phase:

It involves following steps

1. Recognition of the problem

2. Analysis of the cause of the problem and its effect.

3. Development of alternative solutions of problem.

Necessary information is obtained from different surveys like soil survey, land capability survey, agronomic survey, forest, engineering and socio economic survey, etc. This information serves as a basis for fixing and determining the watershed problems, priorities in land treatment measures, and causes and effects of problems on land and people.

2. Restoration Phase:

It includes two main steps.

1. Selection of best solution to problems identified

2. Application of the solution to the problems of the land

As per the priorities, treatment applied initially to critical areas. After this proper measures like biological and engineering measures are applied to all types of lands.

3. Protection Phase:

This phase takes care of the general health of the watershed and ensures normal functioning. The protection is against all factors which may cause determined in watershed condition.

4. Improvement phase:

This phase deals with overall improvement in the watershed and all land is covered. Attention is paid to agriculture and forest management and production, forage production and pasture management, socio economic conditions to achieve the objectives of watershed management. Health, family planning, improving cattle, poultry, etc. are taken depending upon intensity.

Recognizing the importance of preventing soil erosion and preventing water resource,SARDA is leading implementer of Soil and Water Conversion Program in State of Jharkhand, Maharastra and Madhya Pardesh and has successfully implemented the sort and long term conversion strategies in its field area.

SARDA in support of SLNA, NABARD and State Government is implementing three area based watershed program of development of wastelands lands namely Integrated Water Management Program (IWMP), Nabard RIDF Program, WDF Program in state of Jharkhand, Madhya Pardesh and Maharastra, with an Objective to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conversing and developing degraded natural resource such as soil, vegetative cover and water by Prevention of soil run off regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water  harvesting and recharging of ground water table. this further supported by enabling multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse argo-based activities, which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the intervention area.

 Impact

• Total direct land treatment area covered in FY 16-17 is 17683 ha Covering 63 villages from panchayats, benefitting more than 25000 families.
• WDP has enable soil & water conversion and management enhancing agriculture activities & production.
• Increase of ground water and supplement irrigation due to water harvesting structure have impacted in improvement of allied activities reducing the over all migration of the area.
• Land use pattern has change and communities are able to take 2 crops a year impacting 50% increase in household income.
• Decreased drudgery for women for fetching water for their daily use.
• Village are institutionalized and actively participating in the internal monitoring of conversion and judicious use of water in village.