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How sustainable is participatory watershed development in India?

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  • Jetske Bouma
  • Daan Van Soest
  • Erwin Bulte

Abstract

Watershed conservation is widely recognized as a major strategy for rural development throughout the developing world. In India, the apparent success of participatory approaches to watershed development resulted in a decentralization of project planning, implementation, and management to local communities at the village scale. We explore the effectiveness of this so‐called community‐based approach in achieving sustainable soil and water conservation in four semi‐arid regions in India, and analyze what factors explain project success. We confirm the result of earlier studies that participatory approaches are more effective in establishing soil and water conservation in the short run. However, our main result is that investments in community organization fail to ensure household commitment to maintenance in the longer term. Without better returns to investment in soil and water conservation and without local institutions to coordinate investment in the long run, the sustainability of participatory watershed management is seriously threatened.

Suggested Citation

  • Jetske Bouma & Daan Van Soest & Erwin Bulte, 2007. "How sustainable is participatory watershed development in India?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 36(1), pages 13-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:36:y:2007:i:1:p:13-22
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2007.00173.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shah, Tushaar, 2001. "Rethinking rehabilitation: socio-ecology of tanks and water harvesting in Rajasthan, north-west India," IWMI Working Papers H044238, International Water Management Institute.
    2. Shah, Tushaar & Raju, K. Vengama, 2001. "Rethinking rehabilitation: socio-ecology of tanks and water harvesting in Rajasthan, North-west India," CAPRi working papers 18, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Ghazala Mansuri, 2004. "Community-Based and -Driven Development: A Critical Review," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 1-39.
    4. Swallow, Brent M. & Garrity, Dennis P. & van Noordwijk, Meine, 2001. "The effects of scales, flows and filters on property rights and collective action in watershed management," CAPRi working papers 16, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Judy L. Baker, 2000. "Evaluating the Impact of Development Projects on Poverty : A Handbook for Practitioners," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13949, December.
    6. Fan, Shenggen & Hazell, P. B. R. & Thorat, Sukhadeo, 1999. "Linkages between government spending, growth, and poverty in rural India:," Research reports 110, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Joshi, P. K. & Pangare, V. & Shiferaw, B. & Wani, S. P. & Bouma, Jetske & Scott, Christopher, 2004. "Socioeconomic and policy research on watershed management in India: synthesis of past experiences and needs for future research," IWMI Research Reports H035345, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Kerr, John, 2002. "Watershed development projects in India: an evaluation," Research reports 127, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
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    Cited by:

    1. Prathapar, S. & Dhar, S. & Rao, G. Tamma & Maheshwari, B., 2015. "Performance and impacts of managed aquifer recharge interventions for agricultural water security: A framework for evaluation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 165-175.
    2. Glendenning, C.J. & van Ogtrop, F.F. & Mishra, A.K. & Vervoort, R.W., 2012. "Balancing watershed and local scale impacts of rain water harvesting in India—A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-13.
    3. Singha, C., 2018. "Analysing adoption of soil conservation measures by farmers in Darjeeling district, India," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277549, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Bradley T. Hiller & Peter M. Guthrie & Aled W. Jones, 2016. "Overcoming Ex-Post Development Stagnation: Interventions with Continuity and Scaling in Mind," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, February.
    5. Noussair, C.N. & van Soest, D.P., 2014. "Economic Experiments and Environmental Policy : A Review," Discussion Paper 2014-001, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    6. Bouma, Jetske & Bulte, Erwin & van Soest, Daan, 2008. "Trust and cooperation: Social capital and community resource management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 155-166, September.
    7. Wietze Lise & Sebak Kumar Jana & Siddhartha Manna, 2019. "Participation in the Water Body Irrigation Management in Saline Zone in West Bengal in India," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(01), pages 1-25, January.
    8. Chandan Singha, 2017. "Analysing Adoption of Soil Conservation Measures by Farmers in Darjeeling District, India," Working papers 275, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    9. Chandan Singha, 2017. "Analyzing Adoption of soil Conservation Measures by Farmers in Darjeeling District, India," Working Papers id:12204, eSocialSciences.
    10. Singha, Chandan, 2021. "Marginal value of sub-watershed treatment on profit in Darjeeling district, India," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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