0981-B3
Moujahed Achouri 1
As a result of increasing population, which has doubled every 25 to 30 years during the twentieth century, pressures on upland resources have increased and watershed degradation has become a world wide concern. Watershed degradation effects have represented a serious threat not only to the environment but also to the survival of millions of people living in upland as well as downstream areas.
Recognizing the importance of conservation of upland areas, especially in most developing countries whose economies depend predominately on agriculture, over the last few decades watershed management has received increasing attention from countries themselves, as well as from concerned international and regional organizations.
It is clear that much progress has been achieved in watershed management, especially during the period of 1990-2000, where new approaches and methodologies have been developed to promote participatory integrated watershed management. However, no clear picture was drawn on what has been really working and what can be done to improve future watershed management programmes.
The latest systematic effort to review and assess watershed management strategies and approaches at a global scale was conducted 17 years ago. It was carried out by FAO through the Expert Meeting held in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1985. Hence, in-depth analysis of watershed management achievements and existing gaps, with particular emphasis on the 1990-2000 experiences, is a prerequisite to further development of watershed management programmes.
Interest in and awareness of the multiple environmental, economic and social benefits provided by watershed management and development has greatly increased in recent decades. This may be particularly true in developing countries where the economy is depending predominately on agriculture.
It is generally accepted that sustainable use and management of land resources will only be achieved by adopting a system of improved land, water and vegetation management and use, based on an integrated approach for land resources development with direct involvement and participation of the different actors. Given that watershed management is the implementation of management systems which ensure the conservation and sustainable use of all land resources, the development of watershed management is being recognized as a pre-requisite for the sustainable management of the upland-lowland resources as well as for the improvement of the living conditions of upland inhabitants.
In spite of substantial achievements in the field of watershed management, reversing watershed degradation still requires long-term commitment and vision from governments and concerned stakeholders. In response to emerging key issues of major concern to the development of watershed management, the review and assessment of watershed management activities intending to provide reliable information on lessons learned and existing gaps are considered as an urgent need.
The conservation, use and sustainable management of watershed resources to meet the demands of growing populations have been a high priority of many countries in the world for the past several decades. Integrated watershed management was recognized as a suitable approach to address poverty and the need for food security of upland/mountain areas populations as well as of people living downstream. In this context, the Task Manager report (2002) on Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 outlines that "there is a need to ensure the ecological integrity and economic and social viability of mountain areas, for the sake of both mountain inhabitants, whose livelihood opportunities and overall well-being are at stake, and of the inhabitants in lowland areas".
It is a fact that the watershed condition of topography, soil, vegetation and land use has direct implications on the water resources in general and on the behaviour of the natural resources in particular. It is also accepted that sustainable use and management of the land resources could only be achieved by adopting a system of improved land, water and vegetation use based on an integrated approach for land resources development with direct involvement and participation of the different actors.
Given that watershed management is the implementation of management systems which ensure the conservation and sustainable use of all land resources, integrated watershed management through people's participation has become widely accepted as the approach which ensures sound sustainable natural resources management and a better agriculture economy for upland inhabitants as well as people living in downstream areas.
In recent years, FAO's emphasis has been on assisting countries in the development and refinement of policies and programmes related to integrated and participatory watershed management activities. Chapter 13 of UNCED Agenda 21, for which FAO is the UN Task Manager, stresses that "Promoting integrated watershed development programmes through effective participation of local people is a key to preventing further ecological imbalance. An integrated approach is needed for conserving, upgrading and using the natural resource base of land, water, plant, animal and human resources".
Realizing the importance of the conditions of upper catchments, reversing watershed degradation became one of the priorities for many countries, particularly during the 1980s. However, many watershed management programmes carried out during that period have failed to achieve their objectives mainly due to the following reasons:
Consequently, new concepts and approaches were developed. Recognizing that management and conservation of land resources through physical structures, reforestation and other conservation measures would not be sustainable and replicable unless the priority concerns of local communities were taken into account, the integrated concept was further developed as a process where community problems and needs could be considered as an important component of the development of watershed programmes. Watershed management has become a multi-disciplinary activity where appropriate institutional and organizational mechanisms are required for coordination/implementation of watershed management activities.
The development of concepts and approaches and watershed management experiences carried out in many places of the world now calls for further investigation, analysis and consultation among stakeholders in watershed management, for greater understanding of what has been achieved and how new programmes could be improved.
Many stakeholders are stressing the need to have a clearer picture on several key issues of major concern to watershed/uplands management. The increased attention to mountain issues by countries during the International Year of Mountains has resulted in greater emphasis on the importance of developing national strategies for the sustainable development of mountain areas within a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and long-term framework. The Task Manager report on Chapter 13 (2002), emphasized the highland-lowland relationship and the need to develop compensation mechanisms for environmental services and goods provided by mountain watersheds.
As a consequence of the attention given and important investments secured for the development of watershed management, much progress has been achieved in the development of innovative approaches. However, several issues of major concern, some of which were raised many years ago, still require in-depth analysis and consultation among all concerned parties for better understanding and implementation of effective watershed management.
A quick overview of findings and recommendations of reviews of watershed management activities over the last decade outlines a number of key issues:
Watershed management offers the possibility to consider the interrelationships between the productivity and conservation in the use of natural resources as well as the recognition of upstream-downstream linkages related to the protection and use of land resources, especially with regards to water supplies. Kerr (2002) outlines that a watershed or catchment is an area from which all water drains to a common point, making it an attractive unit for technical efforts to harness scarce water resources and conserve soil for agricultural production and natural resources conservation.
With the water scarcity issue increasingly recognized, watershed management has become widely accepted as the approach best suited for sustainable management of water resources both in upland and downstream areas. To better consider the opportunities offered by watershed management and the challenges and constraints it faces, efforts are needed to develop innovative approaches to cope with emerging issues and controversies such as the threat of water scarcity and the role of forest hydrology in the sustainable management of water resources.
In order to achieve effective watershed management, it is of major importance to examine the state-of-the-art of watershed management programmes and concepts. In this context, FAO launched in early 2002, in the framework of the International Year of Mountains (IYM) 2002, the initiative "Preparing the Next Generation of Watershed Management Programmes" to review and assess watershed management activities. The review aims to:
The review was conducted in close collaboration with a large number of partners/key actors in watershed management. A questionnaire was prepared and sent to an identified list of 30 key actors in watershed management to provide relevant information for the review. The responses were reviewed and summarized in the context of the major topics of the review.
To achieve the review's objectives, five steps were identified as necessary: first, to identify and involve key actors in watershed management; second, to conduct stocktaking of FAO experience in watershed management; third, to analyse selected case studies on watershed management projects or programmes; and fourth, to convene a series of regional workshops for partners/stakeholders input. The fifth step is an international conference where the results of this process are shared and discussed among key actors in watershed management. A final step will be the formulation of guidelines/strategies for effective watershed management programmes and distribution of results on a global scale.
In spite of the progress achieved in developing watershed management approaches and in their application, conflicting views on the approaches and methods of watershed management and controversies over issues of major concern, such as people's participation, upstream-downstream linkages and required institutional arrangements are calling for further analysis and identification of the appropriate elements which constitute effective watershed management. In this respect, the following elements are considered by many as needed to achieve effective watershed management:
Scale effects: Although, it is easier to monitor watershed management effects at smaller scale, watershed management activities should be considered at the local, national and regional levels. Successful cases are not limited to small size watersheds. The benefits of watershed management for freshwater supply are better recognized when the upstream-downstream linkages and interactions are linked to scale effects.
Stakeholders involvement/participation: In addition to the participation of upland communities as a key factor in the success of watershed management programmes, all stakeholders, including downstream users of watershed resources, appropriate government institutions, NGOs and other concerned parties should be involved from the very beginning in watershed management programmes. Such involvement/participation should be integrated as a major component in the design/development of relevant programmes/policies.
Special emphasis on water: To deal appropriately with water resources management, effective watershed management requires innovative approaches and adequate technologies. Taking into account events such as the International Year of Mountains 2002 and the International Year of Freshwater 2003, the application of forest hydrology should be considered as one of the important elements constituting effective watershed management.
Economic returns: To ensure sustainability and enhance the potential for successful replication of watershed management interventions, greater attention is needed to ensure that economic returns to upland populations who are managing watershed resources are fully considered and maximized. This will also benefit downstream inhabitants who benefit from improved upstream management. In this respect, the initiatives launched on the payment for environmental/hydrological services should be enhanced.
Adequate institutional/organizational arrangements: There is increasing recognition of the need for improved understanding and identification of institutional and organizational arrangements required for effective watershed management, including appropriate legislative frameworks to support watershed management policies.
Long-term vision/commitment: Watershed management is increasingly seen as an appropriate vehicle not only for environmental conservation but also for the improvement of living conditions of rural communities. In this regard, there is a need for long-term commitment from all stakeholders, including adequate and sustained financial investment.
The preliminary results of FAO's review and assessment of watershed management approaches and strategies show that a paradigm shift is needed in order to achieve more effective watershed management. The important components of this shift are defined as follows:
Present Scenario |
Future Scenario |
1. Treating the symptoms of watershed degradation |
Identifying and treating the underlying causes of watershed degradation |
2. Priority focus on off-site/downstream costs and benefits of watershed management; |
At minimum, equal priority to on-site costs and benefits of watershed management; |
3. Inadequate project designs that often overestimate government capacity and assume policy changes will occur; |
Project design that provides for adequate government capacity and assurance of policy changes; |
4. Top down research and development and transfer of technology; |
Emphasis on stakeholder participatory learning and technology development process; |
5. Diffuse focus of watershed management that often maximizes production of resources/commodities other than water and soil; |
Sustainable multiple-use management of watersheds that combines water resources development with compatible economic land based production systems; |
6. Encroachment of integrated rural development approach with multi-sectoral steering committees and line agencies [which for the most part has been a failure] into the integrated watershed management concept. |
Multiple use management of natural resources (renewable and non-renewable) with emphasis on water and soil resources in upland watersheds with development responsibility given to the relevant line agency. |
| Source: Tennyson, 2002. |
Although watershed management activities have contributed significantly to reducing land degradation and improving the quality of life and livelihood opportunities for many people throughout the world, the real potential of watershed management has yet to be realised. Factors such as outdated approaches, poor project design, inadequate and/or unsustained financial resources, very short time frames for project interventions and a lack of adequate understanding of the linkages between upland and lowland areas have contributed to under-achievement of watershed interventions. However, during the last decade in particular, new and innovative approaches to watershed management have been developed which have demonstrated better results and show promise of bringing about long term and sustained positive change with respect to environmental, social and economic conditions.
Unfortunately, little effort has been made to take stock of these new and promising approaches and to consolidate lessons learned for the future design of watershed interventions.
In view of the issues mentioned above, an assessment and review of achieved results and lessons learned in watershed management are considered as a prerequisite not only to provide answers and clarifications on the emerging issues but mainly as an important preparatory stage for the next generation of watershed management projects and development programmes.
To better consider the opportunities offered by watershed management and the challenges and constraints it faces, new and improved efforts are needed to develop innovative approaches to cope with emerging issues such as water scarcity and how forest hydrology can more effectively contribute to the sustainable use of water resources.
Based on an in-depth analysis of watershed management activities carried out over the last few decades, with emphasis on the last decade (1990-2000), and taking advantage of opportunities provided by the International Year of Mountains 2002 and the International Year of Freshwater 2003, guidelines for future watershed management programmes are being developed taking into account achieved results and existing gaps in watershed management.
By systematically reviewing both successes and failures in watershed management interventions in recent years, an important opportunity exists to develop a new generation of watershed management programmes which will be more effective at reducing environmental degradation and improving the lives of the rural poor in a long term context. Additionally, through better design and fuller and more integrated consideration of both upstream and downstream concerns, future interventions should be able to have greater overall benefit through a more balanced approach which includes a major focus on the sustainable use and conservation of water resources. Through improved partnership and innovation, the new generation of watershed management programmes has the potential to make a very significant contribution to sustainable development in mountain and lowland areas throughout the world.
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John Kerr. 2002. Watershed Development, Environmental Services, and Poverty Alleviation in India. World Development Vol. 30, No. 8, pp. 1387-1400
Tennyson L., 2002. Review and Assessment of Watershed Management Strategies and Approaches, Phase 1 (Draft).
Tennyson L. and Achouri M., 2002. Preparing the Next Generation of Watershed Management Programmes, Proceedings of the FAO/EOMF European Regional Workshop, 04 September 2002, Megève, France
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1 Forestry Officer, Forest Conservation, Research and Education Service, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. [email protected]