The new generation of watershed management

Building local capacity

The rise of collaborative watershed management is linked to the administrative decentralization processes that followed the political reforms of the 1990s in many countries. By transferring planning and implementation responsibilities to local authorities, decentralization assigns a pivotal role in territorial management to regional, district and municipal administrations. Local governance processes have therefore become increasingly important for watershed management (and vice versa).

Administrative decentralization offers interesting opportunities for the new generation of watershed management programmes, but there are constraints to working with local governments and civil society institutions. It is often easier for central governments to devolve powers to lower units of government than to ensure that those units have the resources, capability and accountability necessary to fulfil their new functions. There is therefore a need to enhance the capacity of local governments to deal with technical watershed management issues.

Development of alternative financing mechanisms, such as cost-recovery mechanisms, payment for environmental services schemes and environmental trust funds, can be instrumental in strengthening governance capacity at the local level. Human resources are an additional critical factor, however.

Capacity building at the municipal and regional levels needs more attention. Continuing education processes should be launched to increase the capacity of professionals, administrators and local stakeholders to understand and manage the intersectoral processes and approaches necessary for effective watershed management.

To address the knowledge shortfall, the technical schools and universities where local practitioners are trained need appropriate watershed management curricula, which focus on practical implementation and give an interdisciplinary perspective. Focused training programmes on collaborative management, action-research and upstream–downstream interactions are also needed.

Training curricula should recognize cultural diversity as an important factor in professional practice. Methodologies and tools for conducting fieldwork under local conditions and in consultation with local stakeholders should be included.