PARTICIPATORY WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
Integrated watershed development was a new approach to natural resource development that came along with the acceptance of participatory approaches in development. Until recently, natural resource development programmes were implemented by various agencies such as state and central governments, NGOs etc. in different time frames and in isolation of each other. The new approach attempts to converge inputs from these agencies into a micro-watershed which is a hydro-geological landscape unit. It integrates all elements such as land, water, vegetation and livestock and focuses on the communities' use of all of these resources and recognizes the interdependency among them.

With this concept in mind, Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) enable user's institutions to manage these resources. All these path breaking and progressive approaches are embedded in a set of Common Guidelines for National Watershed Development Programme, formulated and funded by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. DSC not only contributed to the formulation of these Guidelines but is also committed to making a success of this breakthrough. DSC helps build the capacity of PIAs that implements watershed programmes in India.

Currently, 12 NGO PIAs are supported intensively by DSC. DSC is also associated with 8 District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) for successful implementation of watershed development programme in the state of Gujarat.

A crucial partner in watershed programmes is the development administration at the state and district level. The Rural Development Commissionerate and the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) play pivotal roles in influencing the quality of results. These departments have administered programmes in a top-down manner for so many years that they were not able to re-orient their administration to be in tune with participatory processes. The appraisal and monitoring system rarely went beyond physical and financial aspects or included qualitative parameters. With DSC's support, these government agencies are now adapting a better system with innovative formats for appraisal and monitoring of watershed works. These formats are designed to bring out the process of institution building and participation of users.


DSC is a member of eight District Advisory Committees constituted by DRDAs and in the State Level Advisory Group constituted by the Government of Gujarat . DSC is also a member of Training, Monitoring and Evaluation Committees set up by the State Government.

DSC is also involved in direct implementation of watershed development programme. Presently DSC is working on 9000 hectares of land in eleven villages of Dhari Block of Amreli district and seven villages of Meghraj Block of Sabarkantha district in Gujarat . Having reached to the advanced stage of the watershed programme, the village watershed associations of Dhari block have now formed Taluka level federation for higher level of activities. Presently the federation has taken up the "watershed plus" (agricultural productivity enhancement) activities in the villages. With the active support of DSC, the Federation is also exploring the credit rout to development of land and agricultural productivity in the area. These field projects enable DSC to