January 2008

Adaptive Policies Community Case Study: Participatory Watershed Management in Maharashtra, India

Sanjay Tomar and Sreeja Nair

Prepared for The Adaptive Policies Project

http://www.iisd.org/climate/canada/adaptive_policy.asp

Research Partners: TERI – the Energy and Resources Institute; IISD – the International

Institute for Sustainable Development

Funder: International Development Research Centre

Project Report No. IDRC 2005 GW 24

w w w . t e r i i n . o r g The Energy and Resources Institute

Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 6 2. Research Methods ........................................................................................................... 7

2.1 Site Selection ...................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Identifying community-level coping and adaptation measures ........................ 13

2.2.1 Initial contacts and interviews .................................................................. 14 2.3 Policy identification and analysis ..................................................................... 15

3. Observed Community-level Coping and Adaptation Measures ........................... 20 3.1 Socio-economic and ecological context............................................................ 20 3.2 Weather related shocks and stresses ....................................................................... 20 3.3 Coping and adaptation measures ............................................................................ 22

3.3.1 Migration.......................................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 Temporary changes in cropping pattern .......................................................... 22 3.3.3 Credit/Loan ...................................................................................................... 22 3.3.4 Distress sale ..................................................................................................... 23 3.3.5 Watershed development through soil and water conservation ....................... 23 3.3.6 Income/livelihood diversification .................................................................... 24 3.3.7 Insurance .......................................................................................................... 24

4. Policies facilitating coping and adaptation measures ................................................... 24 4.1 Cropping pattern ..................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Productivity (during kharif and Rabi seasons)........................................................ 25 4.3 Production in non-arable lands ............................................................................... 26 4.4 Participatory approach for watershed management ................................................ 26

5. National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA): An Adaptive Policy Analysis .................................................................................................. 27

5.1 Policy Intent ...................................................................................................... 28 5.2 Policy changes, drivers and impacts ................................................................. 29 5.3 Details of policy design and implementation .................................................... 30 5.3.1 Role of the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) .............................................. 32 5.3.2 Linkages of Watershed Community with Panchayati Raj Institutions ................ 32 5.3.3 Linkages with Credit Institutions ......................................................................... 33 5.4 Identification and analysis of adaptive policy mechanisms .................................... 33

5.4.1 Multi-perspective Deliberation ................................................................. 33 5.4.2 Susidiarity ................................................................................................. 33 5.4.3 Promoting Variation .................................................................................. 34 5.4.4 Formal Review and Improvement ............................................................ 34 5.4.5 Self Organisation and Social Network ...................................................... 35

6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 37 6.1 Do public policies that build the capacity of communities to cope with surprise and change have adaptive features? .............................................................................. 38 6.2 What adaptive features enable policies to remain effective? ............................ 39

References ......................................................................................................................... 42

Adaptive policies community case study: Participatory Watershed Management in Maharashtra, India

Executive Summary Governments must operate in an ever-changing and uncertain world. We know for example that the climate is changing, but not precisely how or what the specific impacts will be – introducing yet more complexity to fields such as agriculture and water resources management. We know that energy prices are highly unpredictable, and that international trade rules are in a state of flux – creating further challenges for development policy. The impact of our economic activity and our cultural connectedness today evoke types of responses in society and our ecosystems for which we have no prior experience. Crafting policies in this setting to address acute issues, be they economic, social or environmental, is inherently complex and dynamic: this is the reality facing today’s policymaker. The climate change issue is a case in point and has provided motivation for this research on adaptive policies. Higher variability in hydrology is projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their most recent report, evoking great concern in such areas as world food supply, power generation, and irrigation, just to name a few. Experience demonstrates that policies crafted to operate within a certain range of conditions are often confronted by challenges outside of that range. The result is that many policies don’t accomplish their goals and have unintended or perverse impacts. Therefore, in order to help policies help people, policymakers need ways to craft policies that can adapt to a range of anticipated and unanticipated conditions. The multi-year Adaptive Policies research project endeavours to identify mechanism that help public policies adapt to anticipate and unanticipated conditions. This report studies farm-level coping and adaptation measures for weather shocks (e.g., flooding) and stresses (e.g., drought), identifies policies which have aided these measures, and studies these policies for their adaptive mechanisms. It is the premise of this research project that policies which have either aided or impeded a farmer’s ability to cope with change, are also likely to either contain

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mechanisms which have helped the policy itself adapt to changing circumstances, or expose important policy features that were missing, but necessary to help the policy perform successfully under changing conditions. Two locations were selected in Maharashtra State in the central and western part of the state. Based on the vulnerability assessment it was observed that two sites were likely to have high level of exposure. However, the exposure to climatic extremes was higher in the central region due to repeated droughts from past five years. The farmers observed drought and shift in the rain fall pattern as the most prominent weather related shocks and stresses. Droughts have led to the reduced crop productivity, shortage of fodder for livestock, increased pest and diseases in the crops and temporary changes in the cropping pattern. Due to the shift in the rain fall pattern there has been delay in the field operations, shift in the sowing time, poor germination and susceptibility to pest and diseases in the crops. Following are the most common coping and adaptation measures employed by the farmers: Seasonal migration to neighbouring cities and towns

particularly during the drought years. Temporary changes in cropping pattern in response to

variability in rainfall and lack of irrigation water. Access to banks and private money lenders for availing the

loan facilities. Sale of personal property (e.g. cattle and land) Crop diversification through the promotion of watershed

management Risk management through crop insurance

Community participation under National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) is quite prominent in the watershed implementation programmes. In situ soil and water conservation practices have helped to conserve soil moisture in the watersheds. It has increased the net agricultural production on arable and non-arable land. There is a development of village level institutions and subsequent improvement in the livelihood of some social groups. The NDWPRA activities were analysed in detail using the methodology tested and documented in the Phase I Research Report of the Adaptive Policy Project (IISD and TERI 2006).

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This analysis is designed to search for adaptive policy mechanisms which have helped the policy respond effectively to anticipated and unanticipated conditions. A policy that has the ability to adapt to anticipated conditions is built upon insights into cause-and-effect relationships. Mechanisms include: Automatic Adjustment – Some of the inherent variability in socio-

economic and ecologic conditions can be anticipated, and monitoring can help trigger important policy adjustments to keep the policy functioning well.

Integrated Assessment to Inform Policy Parameters – Through an integrated assessment of causal factors, key impacts and scenario outlooks, policies can be crafted to perform under a range of anticipated conditions, and possibly function even under worst cases.

Multi-perspective Deliberation – Deliberative processes strengthen policy design by building recognition of common values, shared commitment and emerging issues, and by providing a more comprehensive understanding of cause-and effect relationships.

The ability of a policy to adapt to unanticipated conditions is a newer notion, based on a holistic appreciation of system complexity, capacity, performance and dynamics. Mechanisms include: Formal Review and Continuous Learning – Policy review

undertaken on a regular basis, even when the policy is functioning well, can help policies deal with “emerging” issues, and trigger policy adjustments.

Encouraging Self-organization and Networking – By encouraging interaction, policies can foster the emergence of innovative responses to unexpected events.

Subsidiarity – By recognizing that action will occur at different levels of jurisdiction, depending on the nature of the issue, policies can be crafted to assign priority to the lowest jurisdictional level of action consistent with effectiveness.

Promoting Variation – Small-scale interventions for the same problem offer greater hope of finding effective solutions. Diversity facilitates the ability to persist in the face of change.

Enabling self-organization and social networking: Under the NWDPRA four types of groups are to be organized at the village level namely: Self Help Groups (SHG) are a voluntary group of people who come together to take up group activities on a self-help basis for their benefit; User Groups include members who are land owners within the identified watershed area; the Watershed Association (WA) will be the General Body comprising

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all members of the Watershed Community who agree to participate in the watershed development project and would approve the Strategic Plan and Annual Action Plan as well as carry out review of progress during implementation phase; the Watershed Committee (WC) shall act as the executive body of the WA and carry out the day to day activities of the watershed development project subject to overall supervision and control of the Watershed Association. Formal review and continuous learning: The policy is reviewed continuously by the Government of India and the necessary modifications are incorporated during the Five Year Plans. The Planning Commission, Government of India, constituted a Working Group on “Watershed Development, Rainfed Farming and Natural Resources Management” for the formulation of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07). This included review of various ongoing schemes & projects in the sphere of natural resource management, particularly the programs based on the watershed development approach under the Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment & Forests. In order to get a systematic feedback and analysis of the schemes of the three concerned ministries, three sub-groups were constituted, one for each of the three ministries. These sub-groups were entrusted with the responsibility of examining the existing projects, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, constraints and bottlenecks in their implementation and for suggesting appropriate measures for the Tenth Five Year Plan, so as to achieve the objective of sustainable development and utilization of natural resources. They were also asked to review the progress under the on-going schemes and suggest proposals for the Tenth Five Year Plan, based on the experiences gained as well as the objectives to be achieved. Decentralization of decision making: Under the revised guidelines, contractors were eliminated from the process to enable individual farmers to implement treatments with the financial and technical assistance on private holdings and village associations/ beneficiary groups to implement community works. These modifications in the policy incorporate an element of subsidiarity which would help farmers adapt better to years of low rainfall by conserving water. The guidelines provided that “in the project implementation, the physical treatments would be decided in active consultations with individual farmers and village communities. In fact the current farming systems and practices should be thoroughly analyzed and farmers’ experiences and skills should be given due emphasis. The project staff may

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have to learn a lot from the village community and unlearn some of their orthodox views and theoretical presumptions about people’s capabilities. Thus, in the ultimate analysis science and technology from research institutions, technical and managerial know-how of the project staff and accumulated experience of the village community should be symbiotically integrated to finalize the choice of treatments in the watersheds.”

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1. Introduction This report documents the second of three community-level case studies undertaken in India as part of the Adaptive Policies Project – a joint multi-year research project of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), The Energy and resources Institute (TERI), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The Adaptive Policies Project attempts to address two main questions: 1. Do public policies that build the capacity of communities to

cope with surprise and longer-term change have adaptive features?

2. What are the adaptive features that enable policies to remain effective despite changes in external conditions?

Watershed development projects in India started their appearance during 1980s and 1990s on the country’s development agenda. The main reason for these projects was to conserve soil and water in the rain fed areas. However, the need for watershed development was felt even in the high rainfall areas to prevent soil erosion. The argument for a watershed development approach was that it is a natural hydrological unit (in technical terms) for soil and water conservation. Watershed development now commonly include various development activities like alternate livelihood options, credit facility, micro insurance, livestock management, capacity building and afforestation etc. During 1990s and 2000 a lot of progress has been observed in watershed management projects as new methodologies and approaches has been developed and implemented (Joy et al., 2005). TERI has based this case study on the field work conducted in Maharashtra state under the on going project “Evaluation of Mangrul – IV Watershed, Maharashtra, under National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas NDWPRA (Tenth Plan)” funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. The field work for Ahmadnagar District has been undertaken under the World Bank study initiated by TERI in 2005 which aimed to identify the coping strategies of populations most affected by current climate variability and extremes, their effectiveness, how they are affected by government policies and programs, and how current coping strategies and policies can be strengthened. Site selection and identification of adaptive behaviour has been common for the

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Govt. of India, the World Bank study and this study funded by IDRC, while linking adaptive behaviour to policies and analysing the policies for their “adaptive features are conducted additionally for the IDRC project in consultation with state Govt. of India.

2. Research Methods The methodology for the community case studies relies on the following four logical elements: Selection of study sites which have been subject to high

climatic variability Identification of adaptation measures by farmers at those sites Establishment of convincing linkages between those measures

and policies which influenced them Analysis of the policies themselves for adaptive features.

The research teams in Canada and India have selected case study sites which have been exposed to significant climatic variability / extreme events. The assumption is that community members who remain actively engaged in agriculture have had to adapt in order to remain so. Therefore, these high-variability sites will be prime locations for seeking evidence of adaptation measures.

Through local surveys and interviews, the field researchers have identified successful adaptation measures used by the farmers. The adaptation measures that are identified in the field may include individual, household and collective behaviours at the community level. Using a variety of methods and informants, the field researchers study the linkages between successful or popular adaptation measures to enabling factors that have facilitated these measures. These enabling factors will specifically include agricultural and water management policies. Policy linkages may be first-order (direct) or second-order, acting through intermediate enabling factors. For example, local respondents may report that an important adaptation measure has been the diversification of their agricultural production, among various crops with differentiated markets. This behaviour may have been fostered by an intermediate organization (e.g. co-operative) that supports marketing of different crops and provides market information and advice to farmer-members for a variety of crops. The co-operative itself is not a policy, but there may be national policies that played a strong role in the establishment of co-operatives (e.g. financing, purchase agreements, transportation support). Crop diversification is the

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behaviour, co-operative organization is the key enabling factor, but credit guarantees for producer co-operatives may be an important second-order policy supporting the diversification of agricultural production. This research may also choose to identify policies that appear to have hampered or constrained local adaptive measures. Having identified a set of policies that can be linked to the observed and reported adaptation measures, researchers will analyze these for their adaptive characteristics. This work should help to confirm whether policies that aid local communities to adapt successfully are themselves intrinsically “adaptive”.

2.1 Site Selection The methodology for identification of case study sites draws on the CIDA-funded Double Exposure study completed by TERI, IISD, and CICERO in 2003. The study developed a district-level map of vulnerability to climate change as a composite of indicators of climate sensitivity and adaptive capacity (O’Brien et al 2004). Case study site locations were identified using a combination of historical climate data to describe climate exposure (E), and socio-economic data which described adaptive capacity (A). For the participatory watershed management case study, we selected two locations which exhibited different levels of exposure based on precipitation variability, but exhibited similar levels of adaptive capacity based on available socio-economic data. To measure sensitivity under exposure to climate change, a climate sensitivity index (CSI) was constructed that measured dryness and monsoon dependence, based on a gridded data set for 1961–1990. The dryness index can be considered a smoothed representation of drought sensitivity; and the measure of monsoon dependency represents an average of extreme rainfall events. These maps are presented in Figure 2.1. It can be seen that the arid and semi-arid regions of India have high climate sensitivity. Under the HadRM2 scenario, climate sensitivity noticeably increases in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. To measure adaptive capacity, we identified significant biophysical, socioeconomic, and technological factors that

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influence agricultural production (Table 2.1). The district-level map of biophysical vulnerability is presented in Figure 2.2. While the Indo-Gangetic basin in north India shows low levels of biophysical vulnerability, large parts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka show high biophysical vulnerability. Figure 2.2 presents the district level map of adaptive capacity. Figure 2.3 presents the composite of biophysical, social, and technological factors influencing adaptive capacity in agriculture at the district level (mainly using socioeconomic data from the 1991 Census). It illustrates that relatively better levels of human and social capital; and infrastructure development can partly offset biophysical disadvantages.

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Figure 2.1 District-level map of biophysical vulnerability Figure 2.2 District-level map of adaptive capacity

Figure 2.3 Map of climate change vulnerability, measured as a composite of adaptive

capacity and climate sensitivity under exposure to climate change

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Maharashtra

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Table 2.1. Selected indicators of adaptive capacity (O’Brien et al 2004)

Finally, to depict cFinally, to depict climate change vulnerability in India, we summed the district-level index of adaptive capacity with the index of climate sensitivity under exposure. The resulting climate vulnerability map (Figure 2.4) represents current vulnerability to future climate change across districts (O’Brien et al 2004). To select districts for field work in Maharashtra state, the district-level adaptive capacity index was updated with 2001 data for socioeconomic and technological factors.

Table 2.2 Selected indicators of adaptive capacity (TERI 2007)

Category Indicators used

Biophysical factors - Depth of soil cover

- Severity of soil degradation

- Amount of replenishable groundwater available annually

Socioeconomic factors - Population density

- Labourer to cultivator ratio

Technological factors - Net irrigated area as percentage of net sown area

- CMIE Infrastructure Development Index

Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assign different weights to the indicators listed in Table 2.2. Higher is the weight,

Category Indicators used Rationale Biophysical factors - Depth of soil cover

- Severity of soil degradation - Amount of replenishable groundwater available annually

Areas with more productive soil and more groundwater available for agriculture will be more adaptable to adverse climatic conditions.

Socioeconomic factors

Human capital -Adult literacy rate Social capital - Degree of gender equity Presence of alternative economic activities - Percentage of district workforce employed in agriculture - Percentage of landless labourers in agricultural workforce

Levels of human and social capital provide basic indicators of the economic endowments of the district and of the capacity for the communities in a district to engage in collective economic and social activities. The presence of alternative economic activities provides an indicator of the ability of farmers in a district to shift to other economic activities in response to reduced agricultural income resulting from adverse climatic conditions such as drought.

Technological factors

Availability of irrigation - Net irrigated area as percentage of net sown area Quality of infrastructure - CMIE Infrastructure Development Index

Districts with higher irrigation rates and/or better infrastructure are expected to have a higher capacity to adapt to climate fluctuations and other economic shocks.

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higher the contribution to vulnerability. Standard deviation method was used to define class intervals. The biophysical, social and technological indices were mapped in a GIS framework using multiple index overlay analysis, and the final map was prepared using linear additive method. The various layers (indicators) were reclassified and the districts were ranked as Extremely High, Very High, High, Moderate, Low, and Very Low vulnerability zones.

Ahmednagar and Nagpur districts in the state were chosen for community case studies as they show relatively low adaptive capacity.

Figure 2.4. Map of adaptive capacity in Maharashtra (2001 data) TERI 2007

Consultations with the district panchayat office highlighted that there was wide variation in the availability of water for irrigation within the district. In Ahmednagar district, Hiware Bazar and Mangrul Watershed in Nagpur district for field work on the basis of the level of infrastructure development under the watershed development programmes.

BIDPUNE

NASHIK

SOLAPUR

THANE

SATARA

YAVATMAL

JALGAON

NANDED

JALNAAHMADNAGAR

AMRAVATI

NAGPUR

GADCHIROLI

SANGLI

DHULE

BULDANA

LATUR

CHANDRAPUR

AKOLA

RATNAGIRI

AURANGABAD

RAIGARH

KOLHAPUR

WARDHA

PARBHANI

WASHIM

OSMANABAD

HINGOLI

GONDIYA

NANDURBAR

BHANDARA

SINDHUDURG

MUMBAI (SUBURB)MUMBAI

Vulnerable Zones 2001

MaharastraGross cropped area in Ha. (2001)

181500 - 328200

328201 - 486100

486101 - 591900

591901 - 837400

837401 - 1327500

Very Low

Low

Moderate

High

Very High

Godavari river basin

Extremely High

No data

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Table 2.3 Number of households interviewed in each village.

S. No. Village Name No. of hhs

surveyed % of hhs in village

1 Hiwre Bazaar (Ahmadnagar District)

89 41

2 Mangrul Watershed (Nagpur District)

78 100

Total Number of Households surveyed

167

Village Hiwre Bazaar was selected for the survey in the Nagar block of Ahmednagar. The area is entirely rainfed and this one village of the thousands of villages lying in the same block presents a successful case in overcoming drought losses. The village is classified in the medium irrigation and high infrastructure development category. The watershed management programme at Mangrul-IV micro watershed is being undertaken in two villages (Junapani and Sindhvihari) in Nagpur Taluk of Nagpur District. Junapani village was selected for survey in Mangrul watershed in Nagpur district. Sindhvihari was not selected as the village is not inhabited. The watershed is covered under the centrally sponsored National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) being implemented by the state government under the 10th five year plan of the Govt. of India.

2.2 Identifying community-level coping and adaptation measures

The field research was conducted by the TERI team which involved two stages: case study identification; initial contact within two case study areas; and subsequent interviews. The field research for the two watersheds has been conducted under two different projects being undertaken by TERI. The field work for Ahmadnagar District has been undertaken under the World Bank study initiated by TERI in 2005. While part of the field work for Mangrul Watershed has been undertaken under the evaluation of NWDPRA funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. In both the cases the field work aimed to identify the coping measures of populations most affected by current climate variability and extremes, their effectiveness, how they are affected by government policies and programs, and how current coping measures and policies can be strengthened.

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2.2.1 Initial contacts and interviews

The interviews focused on two key themes: the identification of shocks and stresses, and the farmers’ responses to them. Farmers’ responses to shocks and stresses provide an indication of their adaptive ability or lack thereof. This, in turn, helps identify the main sources of vulnerability and resilience. A participatory approach for information collection was adopted. The information was generated based on observations during the field visit, observations monitored during the project implementation, sample surveys and discussions with all the stakeholders including the project implementing staff. Interaction with various stakeholders e.g. the project implementing agency, farmers, landless people and project team (Block Agriculture office) was held for providing information related to identify the policy to be selected for the case study. Consultations with the various stakeholders highlighted that there has been change in the crop diversification. There has been increase in the area under cultivation and improved management practices like Integrated Pest Management (IPM) have helped to increase crop productivity and household income. It was identified that the soil and water conservation policy of the state should be analysed to study the adaptive features of the policy.

Lines of questioning were as open-ended and free of interviewer bias as possible to maintain the integrity of informant perspective (Box 2-1). The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured manner to promote dialogue on the perception of threats associated with weather and climate, and subsequently nesting these perceptions within the larger context of threats to agro-ecosystems in general.

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2.3 Policy identification and analysis A set of criteria helped guide the selection of policies for further analysis of adaptive policy mechanisms. These criteria included:

The policy is related to agriculture and water resources management?

The policy is mentioned by more than one interviewee The policy has been implemented in different locations,

or over long time span with some common basis of design Information is available and the persons involved with

the policy are accessible It is not too outdated. The policy has been helpful or neutral over time, but not a

constraint on adaptation. Once an appropriate policy has been identified using the above criteria, it is analyzed for its adaptive mechanisms. These mechanisms and their supporting principles are summarized in Table 2.4.

Box 2-1: Farm-level Interview Questions 1. Practice

How much land area do you own? How much of it is cultivable? How much of the cultivable area is irrigated? What are the sources of irrigation available? Which are the main cropping seasons and associated main crops that you grow? Has there been any change in the cropping pattern over the past 5-10 years? Do you practice shifting cultivation? If yes what is the rotation period?

2. Impacts

Which of these extreme weather conditions do you experience (Excess rainfall/ high temperatures/ droughts/ floods/)?

o How do these affect agriculture and water availability? o What are the other impacts of such extreme weather conditions?

3. Coping and Policy linkages

How do you cope with the impacts of extreme weather events? Is there any community organization active in your region? Yes / No If yes, what are their activities and how do they help you in coping with extreme

weather conditions? Has the Government taken any initiative to help the communities to cope with the

impacts of extreme-weather events in this region? If yes, please give details Have you heard about the Agriculture department, Soil and Water conservation

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A policy that has the ability to adapt to anticipated conditions is built upon insights into cause-and-effect relationships. Mechanisms include: Automatic Adjustment – Some of the inherent variability in socio-

economic and ecologic conditions can be anticipated, and monitoring can help trigger important policy adjustments to keep the policy functioning well.

Integrated Assessment to Inform Policy Parameters – Through an integrated assessment of causal factors, key impacts and scenario outlooks, policies can be crafted to perform under a range of anticipated conditions, and possibly function even under worst cases.

Multi-perspective Deliberation – Deliberative processes strengthen policy design by building recognition of common values, shared commitment and emerging issues, and by providing a more comprehensive understanding of cause-and effect relationships.

The ability of a policy to adapt to unanticipated conditions is a newer notion, based on a holistic appreciation of system complexity, capacity, performance and dynamics. Mechanisms include: Formal Review and Continuous Learning – Policy review

undertaken on a regular basis, even when the policy is functioning well, can help policies deal with “emerging” issues, and trigger policy adjustments.

Encouraging Self-organization and Networking – By encouraging interaction, policies can foster the emergence of innovative responses to unexpected events.

Subsidiarity – By recognizing that action will occur at different levels of jurisdiction, depending on the nature of the issue, policies can be crafted to assign priority to the lowest jurisdictional level of action consistent with effectiveness.

Promoting Variation – Small-scale interventions for the same problem offer greater hope of finding effective solutions. Diversity facilitates the ability to persist in the face of change.

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Table 2.4. Framework for Adaptive Policies Objectives Adapting to anticipated conditions Adapting to unanticipated conditions Analytical basis

Analysis of cause/effect and outcomes Holistic appreciation of system complexity, capacity, performance and dynamics

Adaptive policy principles

Fine-tune the process.4

Incorporate monitoring and remedial mechanisms.8

Understand carefully the attribution of credit.9

Respect history14 Understand local conditions, strengths and assets.4

Place effort on determining significant connections rather than measuring everything.9

Look for linkages in unusual places.9

Gather multiple perspectives from range of stakeholders.8

Use deliberative practice to build trust and consensus.10

Use epistemic communities to inform policy design and implementation. 11

Conduct selection by evaluating performance of potential solutions, and selecting the best candidates for further support.4

Policies should test clearly formulated hypotheses.5

Evoke disturbance.6

Create opportunity for self-organization and build networks of reciprocal interaction.4, 6

Promote effective neighbourhoods of adaptive cooperation.9

Facilitate copying of successes.9

Ensure that social capital remains intact.12

Match scales of governance and ecosystems.6 Clearly identify the appropriate spatial and temporal scale to enable integrated management.13

Promote variation, diversity4, 6 and redundancy.6

Adaptive policy mechanisms

Automatic adjustment

Integrated assessment

Multi-perspective deliberation

Formal review and continuous

learning

Encouraging self-organization and

networks

Subsidiarity Promoting variation

Some of the inherent variability in socio-economic and ecological conditions can be anticipated, and monitoring can help trigger important policy adjustments to keep the policy functioning well.

Through an integrated assessment of causal factors, key impacts and scenario outlooks, policies can be crafted to perform under a range of anticipated conditions, and possibly function even under worst cases.

Deliberative processes strengthen policy design by building recognition of common values, shared commitment and emerging issues, and by providing a comprehensive understanding of causal relationships.

Policy review undertaken on a regular basis even when the policy is functioning well, will help policies deal with “emerging” issues, and can trigger policy adjustments to conditions that could not have been anticipated.

Encourage interaction and initiative to foster emergence of innovative responses to unanticipated events. Provide space for flexible responses and reduce barriers to collaboration and learning.

Subsidiarity recognizes that action will occur at different levels of jurisdiction, depending on the nature of the issue. It assigns priority to the lowest jurisdictional level of action consistent with effectiveness.

Small-scale interventions for the same problem offers greater hope of finding effective solutions.4

Diversity facilitates the ability to persist in the face of change, and spreading risks is part of managing complex systems.6

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Table Notes: 1 Senge P. 1993. The Fifth Discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday 2 Dewey J. 1927. The Public and its Problems. New York: Holt and Company. In Busenburg G J. 2001. Learning in organizations and public policy. Journal of

Public Policy 21(2): 173–189 3 Walker W. E., Rahman S. A., and Cave J. 2001. Adaptive policies, policy analysis, and policy-making. European Journal of Operational Research 128: 282–

289 4 Glouberman S., Campsie P., Gemar M., Miller G. 2003. A Toolbox for Improving Health in Cities. Ottawa, Canada: Caledon Institute for Social Policy 5 Lee K. 1993. Compass and Gyroscope: integrating science and politics for the environment. Washington, DC: Island Press 6 Berkes F., Colding J., and Folke C. 2003. Navigating Social-Ecological Systems: building resilience for complexity and change. UK: Cambridge University

Press [based on Panarchy] 7 IISD (International Institute of Sustainable Development). 1994. Principles of Trade and Sustainable Development. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 8 Holling C. S. 1978. Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management. Chichester: John Wiley. 377 pp. 9 Axelrod R. and Cohen M. D. 2000. Harnessing Complexity: organizational implications of a scientific frontier. New York: Basic Books 10 Forester J. 1999. The Deliberative Practitioner: encouraging participatory planning processes. Cambridge: MIT Press 11 Haas P M. 1992. Epistemic communities and international policy coordination. International Organization 46(1): 1–35 12 Ruitenbeek J. and Cartier C. 2001. The Invisible Wand: adaptive co-management as an emergent strategy in complex bio-economic systems. Indonesia: Centre

for International Forestry Research 13 IUCN 2000. The Ecosystem Approach. The World Conservation Union.

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An analysis of the complete policy chain is necessary to identify important adaptive policy mechanisms. The policy chain is a depiction of the stages of policy design and implementation as they pertain to the roles and responsibilities of the different actors involved. Figure 2.5 presents an idealized process of policy design and implementation. Policies are designed with varying degrees of consultation with relevant stakeholders and it is typically the case that an institution or organization different from the one which designed the policy is responsible for implementing the policy.

InstrumentDesign

Monitoring, Evaluation & Improvement

Understanding the Issue

ObjectiveSetting

Policy Design

Learning & Improvement

Staff Training

Operation

Policy Implementation

Delivery System

Development

Monitoring & Evaluation

Figure 2.5. Idealized illustration of policy design and implementation.

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3. Observed Community-level Coping and Adaptation Measures

3.1 Socio-economic and ecological context Ahmednagar district lies in the central belt of Maharashtra that is dry and endowed with less rainfall compared to other regions in the state. Ahmednagar is the largest district in the state of Maharashtra having 5.66% of the area of the state. The annual rainfall in the district is about 500 mm. This entire region is declared as drought prone. The climate of the district is hot and dry, on whole extremely genial and is characterised by a hot summer and general dryness during major part of the year except during south-west monsoon season. In the hilly western part of the district, the climate is slightly cool. Nagpur district lies in the eastern part of the state. The climate of Nagpur district is warm and sub-humid with an average annual rainfall of 985 mm. The district faces extreme variation in temperature with very hot summers and cold winters. Wide differences exist across the villages selected for the survey in the two districts that are driven largely by agro-climatic and socio-political factors

Table 3.1: District wise representation of Socioeconomic and Ecological Characteristics

Parameter Unit Maharashtra Ahmednagar Nagpur No. of households (1991)1

million 15 0.6 0.65

Total area1 M ha 30.7 1.7 9892 sq. km Population (2001)1,3 million 97 4 3.3 Rural Population (2001)1, 2, 3

% of total 58 84 (1991) 39 (1991)

Literacy1, 2 % of total 77 76 74 Rainfall2 mm/ yr 1164 579 985 Cultivated area (1991) 1,2 % 58 (2001) 67 66 Main crops Sugarcane, Jowar,

rice, Bajra, Tur, Gram, cotton, groundnut, Tobacco

Wheat, millets (jowar, bajra) and pulses, sugarcane, groundnut and cotton

Soybean, Cotton, Gram,wheat, pulses, Millets (Jowar), Linseed and Horticultural crops like citrus fruits

(Source 1: GoM, 2000, 2: GoM, 1999 3: GoM, 2004)

3.2 Weather related shocks and stresses

The present case study primarily centres in the region of drought- prone areas of Maharashtra, where watershed development programmes are widely seen as a drought proofing strategy. Nearly two-thirds of the area in the state can be classified as drought prone. Drought is often defined in terms of rainfall

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failure and the resultant deficiency in water availability and moisture stress. Drought in the Ahmednagar district has been reported as one of the major weather related shock. About 79% of households report a drop in the cropping intensity in the district. Drops in cropping intensity were reported high in villages of Hiware Bazar and Karegaon where agriculture is predominant during normal years. Nagpur district also reported changes in the cropping intensity due to droughts. Repeated droughts over the years seem to have had the most severe impacts on farmers during the past five years. In both the case study sites farmers mentioned that drought and shift in the rainfall pattern had a major impact on the agriculture sector. Apart from the drought the farmers mentioned shift in the rainfall pattern as one of the weather related stress for agricultural practices. The communities in Ahmednagar district observed the variability and unpredictability of weather-related shocks and stresses and described it as a regular feature during the past years. However, communities in Nagpur district could not describe and identify it as a shock as they could cope with the situation because of the good soil and water conservation practices in place. The major weather-related shock for the region was shift in the rainfall pattern. Due to this there have been losses in terms of inputs as the field operations are delayed and sometimes need to be repeated. In some cases re-sowing is required due to the poor germination and week seedlings. Following is the summary of the frequently cited weather related shocks and their impacts in the study area:

Weather Related Shocks Impacts Droughts Reduced crop productivity

Less of fodder for livestock Increased pest and disease in crops Temporary change in the cropping pattern

Shift in Rainfall Pattern Delay in field operations Delay in sowing or untimely sowing of crops Poor germination Low crop stand Week seedlings Susceptibility to pests and diseases

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3.3 Coping and adaptation measures

Household interviews and group discussions were used to understand the adaptive behaviour of the communities (TERI 2007). Nearly 15% of surveyed households in Ahmednagar district, report using available household stocks to tide over drought periods. Drop in food intake was reported in only 4% of households. 17% of households resort to taking personal loans from relatives and friends, which are returned at high interest rates similar to those charged by money lenders. In Nagpur district most of the communities resort to taking personal loans from the money lenders as well as from the Self Help Groups (SHGs). However, the situation is better in the watershed due to soil and water conservation efforts and income diversification. Following are the reported coping and adaptation measures used by the communities:

3.3.1 Migration Migration can be seasonal or permanent in nature. Responses elicited from the questionnaires indicate a significantly higher dependence on seasonal migration. Households surveyed indicate a mere 7% migration rate, with almost all land categories exhibiting this feature in Ahmednagar district. Concentration of migration is largely found in landless labourers and farmers with medium sized land holdings. In Nagpur district this feature has been observed only in the landless communities.

3.3.2 Temporary changes in cropping pattern Households reported changing the cropping pattern in response to variability in rainfall, lack of water and easy accessibility of seeds of other crops that require less water. Village Hiwre Bazaar is remarkable for collectively revisiting its crop plans based on the water situation each year. During a stressful year farmers are advised to grow less water intensive crops, like millets and gram. Due to the best soil and water conservation practices, Junapani and Sindhivihari villages in Nagpur district did not show any temporary changes in the cropping pattern.

3.3.3 Credit/Loan 70% households in Ahmednagar district report taking credit/loans to cope with drought. 32% of households report easy repayment procedures and coverage of risk instantly as reasons for taking credit and loans. While official sources (banks, cooperatives, SHGs) account for 64% of the loans taken in

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Ahmednagar district, in the Mangrul watershed in Nagpur district SHGs are not functioning due to lack of detailed activity plan and no revolving fund has been created (TERI 2007). Communities approach banks and private money lenders for availing the loan facilities. The numbers are found to be high for all landholding categories in all villages in Ahmednagar and Nagpur, with significant amount of credit taken by small and medium households. The interest rates on personal loans range from 13 to 18% and for official sources from 11 to 13%.

3.3.4 Distress sale Sale of jewellery, cattle and land is reported to be as low as 9% in Ahmednagar district. This is largely observed in the small/marginal landholders that resort to sale of assets during stressful times. Large farmers have safety nets (savings, credit etc), and are able to turn to sale of dairy products or other skilled activities, without having to sell assets. This measure has not been reported in Nagpur district. Following are the adaptation measures used by the communities in the case study sites:

3.3.5 Watershed development through soil and water conservation Land development through the promotion of watershed development and its management play an important role in the sustainable development of land and water resources. This has the potential to create significant local benefits and enhance the capacity of communities to deal effectively with conditions of drought. Hiwre Bazaar village is an example of the realisation of this potential. Hiwre Bazaar was similar to the thousands of other villages lying in the taluka without access to water. Water for both drinking and irrigation purposes had become a concern and the village reported large scale migration during 1990s. Over the last 15 years, however, guided by a local leader, effective watershed development and management has resulted in increased water tables, improved water availability, ecosystem restoration, assured incomes from agriculture even during drought years, and check on out-migration. Hiwre Bazaar has introduced its own water regulations linked to its crop plans, adopted a judicious cropping pattern, and takes annual decisions on cropping intensity at the village level to ensure efficient management of water and its equitable distribution for crop growth.

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The physical infrastructure constructed under the project implementation for soil and water conservation includes four farm ponds and eight drainage lines. These structures contributed to reduce the run off and water retention in the area. As mentioned above most of the impacts on crop production and productivity is attributed to increase the soil moisture in the watershed and availability of water during the non rainy seasons. Presently, due to the Watershed management in Hiwre Bazaar facilitates ground water recharge for irrigation

3.3.6 Income/livelihood diversification

Income and livelihood diversification has been observed in both the case study sites. In normal years, incomes are drawn from cultivation, agricultural labour, dairy, and petty business.

3.3.7 Insurance 49% of large farmers and 45% of medium farmers reported insuring crops of bajra and jowar. The number of households taking insurance increased from 17 to 32 during 2000-05. All villages surveyed in Ahemdnagar and Nagpur have reported taking insurance with coverage of 20-25% households in each case. Among farmers not taking insurance in Ahmednagar, 3% cited non-availability of insurance, 25% reported that they are not aware of the details of schemes, and 16% felt that the schemes are too expensive.

4. Policies facilitating coping and adaptation measures This section focuses on the policy of participatory watershed management as a critical public policy facilitating soil and water conservation adaptation measures described in the previous section. There were series of watershed management schemes and policies which strengthened the adaptive capacity of the farmers. Maharashtra state has been one of the innovative states experimenting with variety of participatory watershed management approaches. The beginnings of watershed management in Maharashtra dates back to the 1942 Bombay Land Improvement Schemes Act with its focus on soil and water conservation, improved rain fed farming methods, and controlled grazing. Following the severe 1972 droughts, watershed management gathered momentum in the state. Since then, the government of India and Govt. of Maharashtra has launched various innovative watershed management schemes like

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Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), Comprehensive Watershed Development Program (COWDEP) and Jal Sandharan Program etc. apart form the Centrally Sponsored programmes like Drought-Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY), and the National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA). Major objectives of these efforts have been to “drought proof” the land by building water – harvesting structures that would provide drinking as well as irrigation water. For this case study we have examined the adaptive policy mechanisms of the NWDPRA scheme. During the household surveys, the following observations were made with regard to the NWDPRA.

4.1 Cropping pattern

The majority (91%) of farmers reported that there have been changes in the cropping patterns due to the introduction of the high yielding variety of seeds and introduction of new practices and technologies like IPM under the watershed management programme. The percentage of farmers taking only two crops has decreased to 52.38% and now 38.08%. Most of the farmers are taking three or more crops in a year. The major changes noticed has been growing Rabi crops (wheat, gram and vegetables) by more farmers. Nearly 71.4% farmers reported that an additional area has been brought under cultivation and nearly same percentage of farmers reported increased area under irrigation.

4.2 Productivity (during kharif and Rabi seasons)

Consultations with the stakeholders and the data analysis show that productivity of agricultural crops has increased over the years. Yield of important kharif crops has increased (Table 4.1)

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Table 4.1. Yield comparison of kharif an rabi crops

S. No. Kharif Crops1 Yield Kg/Ha Rabi Crops2 Yield Kg/Ha 2002-

03 2005-06 2002-03 2005-06

01 Soyabean 1060 1360 Wheat 1000 1250 02 Cotton 950 1050 Gram 850 950 03 Lentils (Tur / Urd) 500 560 04 Jowar 800 1000 05 Linseed 500 560

Source: Success story, prepared by PIA, TERI (2006)

4.3 Production in non-arable lands

The non arable land mainly includes land generally not suitable for cultivation although it may also include land which may be utilized for cultivation by applying suitable treatment. These lands can be best used for horticulture and pasture development. To supplement the fuel wood and fodder requirement of the watershed villages, activities like dry land horticulture and development of biomass plantations have been started in the pasture land. These activities are not well developed in the watershed as this activity has been started recently. Plants are being provided free of cost to the farmers while the pit digging and maintenance has to be done by the farmers. Efforts are being made to distribute fruit trees e.g. Orange, Sweet Lime, Lemon, Gooseberry, Mango and Guava etc.

4.4 Participatory approach for watershed management

People’s participation is the key to watershed management programmes. This not only ensures long term sustainability of watershed management through ownership by local communities, but also empowers the communities to initiate activities on their own and take optimal advantage of other on-going development programmes of the Central and State Governments. The government of Maharashtra has demonstrated participatory watershed management approach through active

1 Kharif Crops are sown in May – June and harvested in September –

October. 2 Rabi Crops are sown in October – November and harvested in February -

March

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involvement of Gram Panchayats, Local Self Help Groups and NGOs. Maharashtra state has been implementing watershed management projects with NGOs (e.g. IGWDP and Adarsh Gaon Yojana). The government provides the technical components while the NGOs take care of the social issues. Hiware Bazar and the projects implemented by Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) are its best examples. Hiwre Bazaar in Ahmednagar district has introduced its own water regulations linked to its crop plans. The village has changed its cropping patterns promoting a mix of vegetable and millet crops. Despite the profitability that is linked to the planting of the sugarcane crop which is a water guzzler. Annual decisions on cropping intensity taken at the village level ensure efficient management of the resource and its equitable distribution for crop growth. The village represents a successful example highlighting the role that communities can play in enhancing their own resilience in coping effectively with climatic variability and conditions of extreme weather. Such examples are however very limited and there is need to understand the processes that trigger these actions to be able to replicate similar efforts in other drought prone villages.

5. National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA): An Adaptive Policy Analysis

Diverse approaches have been adopted in the watershed management in India. Participatory approaches to watershed development have been found to be better than technical approaches because they better succeed in addressing the disincentives for household investments in soil and water conservation. Participatory approaches not only subsidize the costs of investments, but also pay attention to wider constraints for farm household production. This may involve investments in micro – credit and agricultural extension (Farrington et. al. 1999). As the participatory approaches include local awareness raising, institution building and empowerment, coordination mechanisms are created facilitating the cooperation and collective decision making needed for long term sustainability of the efforts. In the present case study we have observed several adaptive mechanisms during the implementation of NDWPRA. Before describing these mechanisms, we first elaborate on the details of the participatory watershed management policy as implemented through the NWDPRA.

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5.1 Policy Intent

The NWDPRA was launched in the seventh Five Year Plan in 25 States and two Union Territories and continues to be implemented during the ninth Five Year Plan. Parts of Maharashtra state are also covered under the NWDPRA. The objectives of the NWDPRA are as follows: enhancement of agricultural productivity and production in a

sustainable manner restoration of ecological balance in the degraded and fragile

rainfed eco-systems by greening these areas through appropriate mix of trees, shrubs and grasses

reduction in regional disparity between irrigated and rainfed areas

creation of sustained employment opportunities for the rural poor

The guidelines states that the sequence of activities and their operational modalities will vary from situation to situation. Hence, the Guidelines are flexible so that the desired modification could be considered at different levels. The main elements of the guiding principles are as follows: integrated development of natural as well as social resources; adoption of ridge to valley approach for development of

natural resources; due emphasis on production enhancement activities for land

owners and livelihood support for landless families; democratic decentralization in decision making; transparency in transactions; mobilization of community at the village level; direct funding to the community; emphasis on “Government” participation in “Community

development” plans; contributory approach to empower the community; building upon indigenous innovations, initiatives and ideas; equity for resource-poor families and empowerment of

women; moving away from subsidy oriented development to self-reliant development;

convergence of activities / schemes of government and non-governmental organizations etc.

In Maharashtra, the NDWPRA Project continued in the Ninth Five Year Plan, when it was considerably restructured. Greater emphasis was laid on decentralization and community participation. In the Tenth Five Year Plan, the state of Maharashtra continued to implement the NWDPRA scheme with

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a participatory approach. NWDPRA scheme has been extended to 433 micro-watersheds across 33 districts with targeted treatment area of 2.03 lakh ha for implementation. Table 5.1 depicts the details on the NWDPRA since its inception in the Maharashtra State.

Table 5.1 NWDPRA scheme for Maharashtra State

S. No. NWDPRA Scheme

No. of watersheds covered

Financial target (in crore)

Physical achievement till date

1 8th Plan 266 214.49 7.06 lakh ha 2 9th Plan 271 267.40 2.82 lakh ha 3 10th plan 433 98.14 2.03 lakh ha Total 970 580.03 11.91 lakh ha

Source: Department of Agriculture, Pune, Maharashtra After restructuring the scheme, emphasis has been given for equitable sharing of the benefits among all the population of the watershed which remained a major challenge. During the past some of the most participatory projects have found it difficult to ensure that the benefits reach all the strata of population. Some of the best projects help poorest and socially backward community members negotiate with other members to ensure that all benefit. The role of livestock as a watershed – based livelihood strategy of landless, poor women and men needs further articulation as well as research and policy support.

5.2 Policy changes, drivers and impacts

India has a vast experience in the area of publicly financed soil and water conservation and natural resource based rural development. However, it was realised that the impact of these programmes was slow, inequitable and not sustainable. This was given a serious thought by academicians, policy planners and civil society to streamline the policy and implementation guidelines. The severe drought year of 1987 demonstrated the potentialities of watershed management as mitigating strategies and some of the significant policy changes were introduced. Following are some of the changes which have been introduced: The past monopoly of central and state governments in the

implementation of publicly funded watershed programmes was diffused by reputed NGOs as equal partners. Watershed level institutions were empowered through decentralised decision making process.

The sectoral approach was replaced by the formation of multi-disciplinary watershed development teams. Formation of Self

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help groups and users groups was also encouraged in order to ensure wider participation.

Financial systems were made more transparent through the inclusion of watershed association members as co – signatories to all financial transactions.

To ensure better acceptance of the programme by the local communities, about 3% of the budget was earmarked to take up the most pressing entry level activities

Beneficiary communities were also required to make reasonable contribution in cash or kind to ensure individual and community commitment to the project structures and interventions.

Sustainable exit protocol were developed for use after the implementation phase for maintenance of the structures and upkeep of the institutions

Training, exposure visits and skill development activities of the local communities and service providers were an important and integral part of watershed programmes for better internalisation of the potential of new technologies and indigenous technical knowledge.

Landless and other socially or economically disadvantaged members of communities were specifically prioritised through micro credit and micro enterprise activities to minimise inequalities and social conflicts. Persons engaged were encouraged to form user organisations for realising economies of higher scale and minimising transaction costs.

Suitable regulations were imposed to restrict the expanses on salary of project functionaries (maximum 10%) so as to realize maximum allocation for actual project activities.

5.3 Details of policy design and implementation

In India, watershed management was not originally conceived as a vehicle for rural development. The original concept of watershed management was management of resources in medium or large river valleys in order to prevent rapid runoff water and so would slow down the rate of siltation of reservoirs and limit the incidence of potentially damaging flash floods (Paul 1997). However, long term experiments by a number of research organisations in India in the 1970s and 1980s confirmed that the introduction of appropriate physical barriers to soil and water flows together with re-vegetation, could generate considerable increase in resource productivity. These in turn stimulated the formulation of a number of government projects, schemes and programmes in support of micro watershed management (Jensen et al. 1996).

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Over the last two decade, the Government of India has set aside substantial budgetary provisions for micro watershed management. This initiative highlighted a shift in agricultural policy, which acknowledges the neglect of rainfed and common areas during the period of the “green revolution”. It also established a link between the degradation of rainfed areas and the poverty of large number of people. There has been strong growth in both government and non government institutional capacity to implement watershed management projects. This has been further strengthened by integrating the participatory approaches in watershed management. Within semi arid areas, one may find co – existing programmes under the auspices of several different agencies, including Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as various bilateral and multilateral donors. Under the first of these, the National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) was formulated in 1990 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation. The Ministry of Rural Development administers the Drought Prone Areas Programme, the Desert Development Programme and the Employment Guarantee Scheme, a part of which is allocated to watershed management. After 20 years of efforts in drought mitigation and poverty alleviation, the Government of India constitutes several committees in a technical committee headed by Dr. C. Hanumantha Rao in 1993, to make specific recommendation on the implementation of Drought Prone Areas and the Desert Development programmes with a watershed approach. Based on these recommendations, a new set of guidelines for Watershed Management (GoI1994) were formulated by Ministry of Rural Development. These came into effect on 1st April 1995, and now apply to all the ministry’s watershed projects. These are generally known as “Common Guidelines” and envisage a “bottom up planning” approach, working together with NGOs and community participation as a central principal. Selection of villages in the watershed is conducted in an objective manner by using a combination of the scientific parameters for the micro-watersheds and also the following additional parameters for the watershed village: Severity of land degradation Location in upper reaches of watershed

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Lack of earlier investment through any other watershed development project, in the village

Significant proportion of arable land under private cultivation (preferably 50% or more).

Pre-ponderance of resource poor, SC/ST. Willingness of community to participate and contribute in the

programme and take up responsibility of post project maintenance of the created assets.

5.3.1 Role of the Project Implementation Agency (PIA)

While the main development activities are carried out by the watershed community itself, the overall facilitation, coordination and supervision of the whole programme is the responsibility of the PIA. The role of PIA is to motivate gram panchayats to pass necessary resolutions regarding implementation of watershed programmes; organize watershed communities at the village level; train office bearers and other community members on technological, management as well as accounting aspects; carry out Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercises for preparation of Watershed Plan; inspect and authenticate project accounts during implementation phase; undertake action research to identify low cost technology wherever possible; validate as well as build upon indigenous technical knowledge; create institutional arrangements for post project maintenance of the assets created under the project; assist community organizations in forging functional linkages with panchayats, credit institutions, research organizations and on-going programmes of line departments etc. As per the policy, selection/ nomination/ election of office bearers of various community based organizations need not be undertaken immediately upon entry in the village. A capacity building phase may take from 6 to 8 months of the first year of the Project during which time the PIA may work with volunteers from the village. Formal institutional arrangements are finalized after this phase.

5.3.2 Linkages of Watershed Community with Panchayati Raj Institutions An important element of long term sustainability for the watershed management project is to forge linkages with permanent institutions in the area. In the selected case study sites, efforts are made to strengthen linkages between watershed community organization and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). Since PRIs are in varying degrees of administrative effectiveness in the States, the latter are likely to follow different mechanisms for linkages between the watershed institutions and the PRIs.

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5.3.3 Linkages with Credit Institutions

During the Project lifetime the PIA and WDT will work to develop linkages with the credit institutions such as the Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks etc. The credit requirements of the Watershed Project would get reflected in the District Credit Plan. Watershed Projects would form a regular agenda item in the District Credit Coordination Committee, the State Level Coordination Committee as well as at the National Committee. Credit would flow to constituents of the watershed through (i) credit for production activities as reflected in the Watershed Plan such as short-term crop loans, medium term loans for Livelihood Systems such as dairy animals, etc. (ii) credit support to Self Help Groups (iii) Watershed Development Fund at NABARD.

5.4 Identification and analysis of adaptive policy mechanisms

In this section we study the historical evolution of watershed management policy in Maharashtra and the current policy design and implementation details to identify specific adaptive policy mechanisms. The adaptive policy analysis is organized according to the seven categories of adaptive policy mechanisms described previously in Table 2.4.

5.4.1 Multi-perspective Deliberation

According to the revised NWDPRA guidelines for the first time, a paradigm shift was brought about in participatory approach. “The basic objective behind public participation in this project is the ultimate goal, though a distant one at present i.e. to convert the watershed management project from a government scheme to people’s movement. In fact, ultimately, NWDPRA should become a people’s programme and government would participate in it to provide necessary support.” The programme emphasized on building upon local practices, knowledge and wisdom.

5.4.2 Subsidiarity Soil and water conservation schemes had acquired the character of public works with all the attributes of actors and factors. The programme had become the business of contractors and technicians. However, under the revised guidelines, contractors were eliminated from NWDPRA and emphasised to enable individual farmers to implement treatments with the financial and technical assistance on private holdings and village

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associations/ beneficiary groups to implement community works. These modifications in the policy incorporate an element of subsidiarity which would help farmers adopt better to years of low rainfall by conserving water. The guidelines provided that “in the project implementation, the physical treatments would be decided in active consultations with individual farmers and village communities. In fact the current farming systems and practices should be thoroughly analyzed and farmers’ experiences and skills should be given due emphasis. The project staff may have to learn a lot from the village community and unlearn some of their orthodox views and theoretical presumptions about people’s capabilities. Thus, in the ultimate analysis science and technology from research institutions, technical and managerial know-how of the project staff and accumulated experience of the village community should be symbiotically integrated to finalize the choice of treatments in the watersheds”.

5.4.3 Promoting Variation In order to address the landless and marginal farmers, specific financial provisions have been provided for livestock, particularly for fodder cultivation, preventive medication, primary healthcare of cattle, and capacity building. Major project investment was made on large engineering structures like check dams in the lower reaches of drainage lines, which only benefited rich farmers in the villages. By promotion of livestock and emphasis on training and capacity building of the village communities the policy has attempted to address the equity issue. Under the revised guidelines funds were earmarked for activities like awareness and capacity building and training of the communities to ensure balanced utilization of funds. Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Rural Development jointly prepared Common Guidelines for the implementation of their respective watershed development projects. The common guidelines make provision for a wide range of organisations (e.g. NGOs, Agriculture Research Institutions, and Various Govt. Departments, Panchayati Raj Institutions etc.) to be engaged. The guidelines consolidate lessons learnt and an experience gained to facilitate the programme planning, implementation, monitoring etc. and hence attempts to converge various activities to a common goal.

5.4.4 Formal Review and Improvement

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Over the past three decades, India has addressed soil and water conservation through an appropriate mix of technical innovations, participatory approaches and an enabling policy environment. There is certainly an evidence of positive impacts in terms of improved soil and water conservation. However, in order to address the short coming of these efforts, an assessment of watershed development has been done with a view to address biophysical, socio-economic and institutional and policy issues. The policy is reviewed continuously by the Government of India and the necessary modifications are incorporated during the Five Year Plans. The Planning Commission, Government of India, constituted a Working Group on “Watershed Development, Rainfed Farming and Natural Resources Management” for the formulation of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07). This included review of various ongoing schemes & projects in the sphere of natural resource management, particularly the programmes based on watershed management approach under the Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment & Forests. In order to get a systematic feedback and analysis of the schemes of the three concerned ministries, three sub-groups were constituted, one for each of the three ministries. These sub-groups were entrusted with the responsibility of examining the existing projects, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, constraints and bottlenecks in their implementation and for suggesting appropriate measures for the Tenth Five Year Plan, so as to achieve the objective of sustainable development and utilization of natural resources. They were also asked to review the progress under the on-going schemes and suggest proposals for the Tenth Five Year Plan, based on the experiences gained as well as the objectives to be achieved. Apart from the review by the Planning Commission, Ministry has also reviewed the performance of watershed developments project (Hanumantha Rao, 2000: Joshi et al., 2000, 2004: Kerr et al. 2000, 2004; Palanisami et al., Joy et al., 2005) in India and have diagnosed various limitations of the watershed programmes so that the necessary modifications can be incorporated.

5.4.5 Self Organisation and Social Network Under NWDPRA four types of groups are to be organized at the village level namely: Self Help Group (SHG); User Group (UG); Watershed Association (WA); and Watershed Committee (WC). A proper sequence is required to be followed while organizing the

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groups. In order to minimize conflict among the community members, it is essential to form WC at the end after organizing the first 3 types of groups. This is contrary to the normal tendency where WC is formed at the beginning through a meeting of unorganized members of the gram sabha. Till such time as the WC is organized (and its office bearers like Secretary and volunteers are identified) the WDT may take the assistance of village level community organizer not only for organization of SHG and UG but also to facilitate PRA exercises for preparation of strategic / detailed action plan of the watershed. Organization of above 3 types of groups may be completed in about 8 to10 months after the start of the project. Self Help Groups (SHG) are a voluntary group of people who come together to take up group activities on a self-help basis for their benefit. This type of group activity is usually built around thrift and credit which allow the needy to avail of micro loans to meet their needs. Forming SHGs for thrift and credit activities makes it possible to poorest to generate their own funds and become reliant in managing their resource base. Establishing SHGs for start income generation activities that provide alternate methods of earning is important method of generating group action for resource management in the watershed. SHGs for thrift and credit can be formed among women and men who are from the watershed but may or may not belong to specific user groups. These groups can be linked to regional or state networks over a period of time. SHG members can also start a range of other income generating activities either as a group enterprise or for self employment. User Groups include members who are land owners within the identified watershed area. Such land-owning community may also be motivated to get organized into small homogenous groups. Like SHG, the UG may also be organized around credit and thrift activity with the help of locally available trained community organizers. These groups may be of women members or men members or both depending upon their availability, willingness, etc. After the organization of SHGs/ UGs, the WDT calls for a General Body meeting of all members of the above groups and also other participants representing the households within the watershed area, who have not yet become member of the SHG and UG. The Watershed Association will be the General Body comprising all members of the Watershed Community who agree to participate in the watershed development project. This body would be

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formally registered under Societies Registration Act. The WA shall evolve its own working procedures after electing its President. It will meet preferably once in a month, to discharge the functions entrusted to it as per the guidelines. All decision making power would vest with the WA. The WA would not only approve the Strategic Plan and Annual Action Plan but also carry out review of progress during implementation phase. The WA shall in its first General Body meeting, nominate four representatives from the Self Help Groups and five from the User Groups as members of the Watershed Committee. The Gram Panchayat and the WDT are requested to nominate one each of their members as representatives. While making nominations, it will be ensured that the Watershed Committee (WC) has at least two women members and the SC/ST community is adequately represented. The WA will decide on its own procedures for nomination of the members of the WC by rotation which shall be simple and easy. However, members of the WDT shall be present during the meeting of the General Body of WA in which nominations to the WC are approved. The President of the WA may also be Chairperson of the WC. The WC shall perform all the functions that are entrusted to it in the guidelines for which it will work out its own procedures in consultation with the WDT. The Watershed Committee shall act as the executive body of the WA and carry out the day to day activities of the watershed development project subject to overall supervision and control of Watershed Association.

6. Conclusions

The participatory watershed management case study of this research focused on an adaptation measure that is of interest due to its potential to aid in adaptation to climatic stresses in the drought prone areas of Maharashtra. Soil and water conservation activities being carried out under NWDPRA helped the communities to cope with the repeated droughts in the watershed areas. Participatory methods for soil and water conservation facilitated the recharge of the ground water and its judicious use by the farmers by opting for suitable cropping pattern based on the water availability. In this section we address two high-level questions relevant to this research project. First we consider the question of do public policies that build the capacity of communities to cope with surprise and changes have adaptive features? And secondly, we

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address the question of what adaptive features enable policies to remain effective?

6.1 Do public policies that build the capacity of communities to cope with surprise and change have adaptive features?

In India 60% of the agriculture area is rain fed and contributes 45% to the total production. Rainfed agriculture is complex, diverse and risk-prone and is characterized by low levels of productivity and low input usage. Vagaries of the monsoon result in wide variation and instability in yields. If the target of doubling food production in the next decade is to be achieved, rainfed areas will need to contribute substantially to incremental output by producing marketable surpluses more reliably. In order to address the same, Government of India has accorded highest priority to the holistic and sustainable development of rainfed areas through integrated watershed development approach. NWDPRA being implemented in the state has helped farmers to adapt to the weather related shocks i.e. drought. The interventions under the policy have enhanced the agricultural productivity, intensity of cropping pattern and reduction in the soil run off in these areas. It has helped to enhance the availability of moisture in the soil and provided a source for irrigation. We analysed the NWDPRA and observed several adaptive policy mechanisms that helped to build the resilience of the farm communities. This increased resilience is related to the fact that over time modifications have been done in the original policy that allowed the effective implementation of participatory watershed management programmes. The interviews with the communities shows that the key attributes of the watershed approach viz. conservation of rainwater and optimization of soil and water resources in a sustainable and cost effective mode is being addressed by these policies. Under the revised guidelines landless and marginal farmers interest has been addressed capacity building & training and income generating activities through the SHGs. This has resulted in the increasing their vulnerability to climate stress. The role of livestock as a watershed based livelihood strategy of landless, poor women and men has been addressed under the revised guidelines. The various components of NWDPRA promote the long term resilience of communities and the ecosystem. Ministry of

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Agriculture has carried out various impacts studies both on ground and through remote sensing techniques, which have shown improvements in the ecosystem. The NWDPRA has been thoroughly restructured by retaining the technical strengths of the older programme and incorporating the lessons learnt from successful projects especially on community participation. In the new guidelines it is mandatory for watershed management to be planned, implemented, monitored and maintained by the communities themselves. These modifications will ensure the long term sustainability of the interventions and will enhance resilience of the communities.

6.2 What adaptive features enable policies to remain effective? An analysis of NDWPRA reveals several adaptive mechanisms that have allowed successful project implementation activities in the drought prone areas of the state. Various adaptive policy mechanisms identified in the policies have been summarised in the Table 6.1. As a multi-perspective deliberation mechanism, the programme is based on emphasising on building the local practice and knowledge. This ensures a more effective implementation on a sustainable basis and maximizing the long term advantages associated with watershed management programme. Decentralising the process for implementation of soil and water conservation treatments by the communities at their land holding results in the effective soil moisture management and the farmers can conserve water for the drought period. Based on the water availability communities decide the cropping pattern in the watershed and helps farmers to adapt better during the water scarcity and incorporates an element of subsidiarity in the policy. Under the promoting variation principle, the polices have incorporated the equity issues by providing the financial provisions for landless and marginal communities of the watershed. Also it has consolidated the lessons learnt from various projects and hence attempts to converge various activities to a common goal. Under the formal review and improvement mechanism, the programme is reviewed annually by the Union government to assess the financial and physical progress of the watershed implementation. The state government also monitors the implementation of the programme. Planning commission also reviews the programme implementation and necessary modifications are incorporated during the preparation of Five Year Plans. NWDPRA has a strong component of encouraging self organisation and networks. Four types of the groups are

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organised (SHG, UG, WA and WC) in a particular sequence that tries to minimise the conflicts among the communities. These group are linked at the local level and the efforts are being made to create a network at regional and national levels.

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Table 6.1. Summary of adaptive policy mechanisms observed for NDWPRA in Maharashtra.

Multi-Perspective Deliberation

Formal review and continuous learning

Subsidiarity Encouraging self organisation and

networks

Promoting variation

Incorporating community participation in watershed programme implementation

Strengthening programme

activities based on local practices and knowledge

Monitoring of the programme implementation by the union government.

Review of the programme

under the Five Year Plan and incorporate necessary modifications to strengthen the programme and policies.

Monitoring by the state

government for effective programme implementation

Independent review of the

programme on the performance of watershed management programmes.

Identification of financial provisions in the watershed management programme components.

Decentralised decision

making for choosing cropping pattern

Implementation of soil and water conservation treatments by communities at their private land holdings

Deciding cropping

pattern by the communities based on the water availability Emphasis on capacity building and training of the communities and project implementing filed staff

Self Help Group

formation, village watershed communities

Financial provisions for livestock and fodder cultivation

Convergence of various activities and schemes

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