Conclusion

Irrigation Cannel

approach that aims to improve both private and communal

livelihood benefits from wide-ranging technological and
institutional interventions. The concept of IWM goes beyond
traditional integrated technical interventions for soil and
water conservation, to include strong institutional arrangements
for collective action and market-related innovations
that support and diversify livelihoods.
CONCLUSION
To address these issues, educating all the
beneficiaries, user groups and stakeholders
would minimize such actions, conflicts and
J. Environ. Res. Develop.
Journal of Environmental Research And Development Vol. 8 No. 04, April-June 2014
1015
maximize benefits from the program. In the
implementation phase, it is also important how
the value chain of a product has been enhanced
through strong backward, forward and market
linkages. Follow-up activities should be linked
with the ongoing schemes of various Department
of the government, so that the continuity of
development is not disturbed. The monitoring of
IWMP interventions also need to be upgraded to
match the complexity of such projects. The
success of these projects can only be fully
understood when the environmental and social
parameters are brought into the monitoring
system which requires the use of effective
environmental and social audit.10-14
RECOMMENDATIONS
Thus for the effective implementation of IWMP
and to improve people’s ownership and
engagement, it is the necessary to (i) involve all
stakeholders (including women and landless
labourers) in program implementation and
monitoring (ii) capacity building of all
stakeholders with a special emphasis on social
mobilization (iii) decentralization and collective
decision-making process and involvement of
elected representatives and panchayati raj
institutions (iv) tangible economic benefit to the
beneficiaries selecting during project planning
(vii) establishing effective market linkages of
outputs created through watershed interventions
for better economic gains to beneficiaries and
(ix) developing community resource persons and
1
good local leadership. (jerehad)
Brooks (1985) defines integrated watershed management as 'a process of formulating and carrying out a course of
action involving manipulation of natural, agricultural and human resources on a watershed to achieve resource
objectives, taking into consideration the social, economic and institutional factor operating within a river basin and
other relevant regions'. Integrated means combine into a whole, i.e. complete. Therefore, integrated watershed
management planning may be defined as
'planning for complete management of diverse land and water resource to obtain integrated benefits to conserve soil
and water'.
Watershed management is the process of guiding and organizing land and other resource uses on a watershed to
provide desired goods and services without affecting adversely soil, water, and other natural resources. Watershed
management involves multiple natural resources, and requires understanding of the relationships among landuse,
soil and water and the linkage between uplands and lowlands. Equally important is the understanding of social and
political systems operating within a watershed project's boundaries, since such institutions guide landuse either
through regulations or with incentives. The concepts of water management are built around the realization that the
economic and political forces which shape development have to work within political boundaries, while the forces
of nature that affect land and water resources respect only watershed boundaries. Often, the two sets of boundaries
do not coincide (Brooks et al., 1990).
Watershed degradation is considered as lowering of watershed resources quality. Watershed resources include
mainly land, water and vegetation. Land degradation makes the major part of the water degradation as a result of
one or more processes it reduces its current and potential capability to produce goods and services. Land
degradation is a widespread problem of the developing countries, where rapidly growing population is putting more
pressure on land for their subsistence living. Nepal being hilly and mountainous country with monsoon rain, land
degradation is mainly caused by water erosion. Major erosion process affecting Nepal are surface erosion, mass
movement, stream/river cutting/flooding. Most of the upland watersheds of Nepal are in a state of physical and
biological deterioration due to over-exploitation of natural renewable resources by the local inhabitants, primarily
in
response to meeting their basic needs for food, fodder, firewood, fiber and shelter and also sometimes due to
commercial exploitation.
Rates of surface (on-site) erosion are strongly controlled by the degree to which the soil surface is exposed to
rainfall or disturbed otherwise; therefore soil losses from non-terraced cropped fields (e.g. in the context of shifting
cultivation) and from overgrazed grass- and scrub land (trampling) ranked among the highest in the hills of Nepal
(Bruijnzeel and Bremmer, 1989).
The most emotional positions taken concerning the relationship between an environmental element and water
resources have centered around the role played by vegetation in the hydrologic cycle (Bowonder, 1982; Haigh,
1989; and WRI, 1985). This is particularly true of the relationship between changes in forest cover and possible
changes in the timing or volume of water availability, it is both within and downstream from the watershed, as well
as erosion within and sediment transport from the affected watershed. Hamilton (1987) describes three primary
roles of vegetation in the hydrologic cycles are: (i) it acts as a buffer between falling or flowing water and the
ground surface, (ii) it intercepts a percent of precipitation which is then returned directly to the atmosphere by
evaporation, and (iii) it returns to the atmosphere as a portion of water which falls as precipitation by the process of
transportation - the flow of water through the roots, stems and leaves of plants that accompanies photosynthesis.

The concepts of water management are built around the realization that the economic and political forces which
shape development have to work within political boundaries, while the forces of nature that affect land and water
resources respect only watershed boundaries. Often, the two sets of boundaries do not coincide (Brooks et al.,
1990).

According to Hamilton (1986) the term 'watershed' has more than one meaning. It is synonymous with 'water
parting' or 'water divide'. It has got a primary meaning of the 'elevated boundary line separating the head streams
which are tributaries of different river systems of basins' (Moore's Dictionary of Geography 4th Edition) or an area
drained by a river from which the term 'catchment' or 'basin' which often synonymously referred to (Cassell et al.,
1982). Gibbs (1986) has defined watershed as a readily defined functional unit established by physical relationship
between physical attributes and cultural influences. This is akin to watershed's a development unit. Hamiltan
(1986) refers watershed as an ecological unit.
2
 A watershed or catchment area is best viewed as a land-based ecosystem with physically defined dimensions
within which its land, animal, water or plant atmospheric and other components are in a state of being continuously
subjected to natural as well as artificial modification (David, 1984). A watershed is a topographically delineated
area that is drained by a stream system (Brooks, 1986). A watershed is a hydrological area which has common
drainage point and its boundary is defined by users and it differs in size. The starting point of the watershed is
ridge, which ends up at the lowest point draining all water in a stream or pond. Thus, a small watershed of few
hectares, which drains into a single point, forms a part of a large watershed until the combined watersheds may
become a major river basin draining millions of hectares of land (Kelly, 1983). (bijay)

In Nepal, 90% of the debris volume is transported by approximately 20% of rainfall. Landslides are the main
source of sediment loads of the river systems in Nepal. Much of the Terai and someparts of the Siwalik valleys are
dominated by shallow or deep aquifers, many of which aresuitable for exploitation as sources of irrigation and
drinking waters. Their annual recharge estimates range from 124 to 685 mm (NENCID, 1999).(water resource
strategy)

Nepal has a cultivated area of 2,642,000 ha (18% of its land area). Out of this, two-third
(1,766,000 ha) is potentially irrigable. At present, 42% of the cultivated area has irrigation
of some sorts but only 17% of the cultivated area has year round irrigation (i.e. only 41%
of the irrigated area gets year-round irrigation). In the Terai, 82% of the total irrigated area
(889,000 ha) is through surface irrigation and the remaining 18% through groundwater.
Most of the irrigated areas (and the future potential) are situated in the fertile lowlands of
the Terai. It is estimated that the existing irrigation schemes contribute approximately 65%
of the country’s current agriculture production (WECS, 2003) as compared to the 40%
crop output from 18% irrigated land in the world (Schultz B, 2002).

The Devbhumitar irrigation system (DIS) from the Andheri Khola Watershed and the Raj Kulo irrigation
system (RKIS) from the valley bottom area were selected for detailed study. Comparison of
performance was done within the same system but at three different time periods and not between
the two irrigation systems. Hence, the characteristics of the two different systems are not comparable
in all respects.

Conservation ponds have been common in the area for a long time. There is much evidence of the
existence of old ponds for use by cattle and for irrigation. Some are also used for runoff storage
during the rainy season. Therefore, conservation ponds are a traditional technology in the watershed
area.

The major efforts in farm conservation by the farmers in the watershed were explored. The study
showed that the first priority of the upland CDGs was terrace improvement and management, compost
use was second, and agroforestry ranked third. Trail improvement and water source protection and
use were not ranked. Crop and residue management and crop rotation and green manuring were only
ranked fifth by the lowland CDGs, and were ignored by the upland CDGs. Agroforestry was ranked
third by all CDGs, except Chhabdiwas nearly 13.5 ropani per household (1 ropani = 0.05 ha), which was slightly
higher than the Nonproject
Watershed. However, the average size of Phantkhet, which is considered the best quality
land, was nearly double in the Non-project Watershed. Tarikhet shared the largest proportion of the
total land size in both watersheds. The average number of parcels per household was about three in
both watersheds; however, land fragmentation in the Non-project Watershed was slightly higher due
to relatively lower average land-holding size. The size of average land cultivated per household was
smaller than the average land-holding size. This was because farmers did not farm in Kharbari or
jungle land (Table 3).
Assorted
species of livestock are sources of draught power, dairy products, meat, and manure. Therefore,
reducing the number of livestock directly impacts farm productivity as most of the farming activities
are carried out with livestock
3
Water source protection refers to
vegetative and structural erosion control measures applied in the source and its catchments and all
distribution systems. The objective of this programme is to improve the quality and regime of water
through conservation of soil and water. Preventive as well as the rehabilitative measures have been
taken to avoid possible water-induced damage by integrating different watershed management activities.
Activities like tree and grass plantation, diversion canal and check dam construction, and gully plugging
are conducted. In some cases, potable drinking water facilities are also provided. The most tangible
benefit is the availability of drinking water.
Watershed conditions have been deteriorating due to improper land use practices such as deforestation,
uncontrolled grazing, and use of unsuitable land for agriculture and infrastructure development. The degradation of
watershed conditions in Nepal has severely affected the natural resource base of the country. Soil erosion and
landslides are critical environmental problem in of watershed resources (MPFS, 1988). Of the total watershed areas
of the country, 0.4%, 1.5% and 11.7% of the watersheds of Nepal are in very poor, poor and fair watershed
conditions respectively. 33.8% and 52.6% are respectively in good and excellent conditions (Nelson et al. 1980,
cited in Wagley, 1997). The watersheds of Siwalik region are more geologically Nepal. Many of the watersheds are
in a state of physical and biological deterioration due to over exploitation fragile, erodible and are deteriorating fast
due to population pressures (Wagley, 1997).

With increasing population, climate change, higher food prices and growing shortages of safe drinking
water, increasing emphasis must be put on better water management. Water harvesting in particular has
high potential: not only for increasing crop production in dry areas, but also in providing drinking,
sanitation and household water as well as water for livestock. However, initiatives are still too scattered,
and experiences related to “best” WH practices are poorly shared. Policies, legal regulation and
governmental budgets often lack the inclusion of water harvesting in integrated watershed management .
To address water scarcity and growing demands, there is no other option than to improve agricultural
production by increasing water availability and water use efficiency in Siwalik region. In addition,
provision of water for drinking, domestic and livestock use needs to be decentralized and water itself used
more efficiently by harvesting local resources. Today water harvesting is being increasingly promoted as
a coping strategy, and both national and international organizations are beginning to invest more in WH
for domestic water supply, livestock consumption and for plant production. However, to support and
stimulate this development more attention needs to be paid to:
1. Facilitating sharing of knowledge and decision support
2. for local implementation and regional planning.
3. Upscaling the wealth of WH knowledge and successful
4. WH practices based on informed decision making.
5. Demonstrating the benefits of WH, including cost and
6. benefit assessments.
7. Capitalizing from local and traditional knowledge, as well

4
 8. as innovations by water users and research.
9. Mainstreaming WH implementation into development
10. projects, investment frameworks, national strategies and
11. action plans.
12. Building up effective and well experienced extension and
13. technical advice services.
14. Encouraging coordination and collaboration among
15. stakeholders.
16. Assuring an enabling framework from the policy level:
17. especially securing land and resource use rights.
18. Supporting effective decentralization and good governance
19. by offering capacity building and training.
20. ;.oThe table shows only 13 HHs have tap/piped water supply still 14 HHs are depend on spout water for
water supply,11 HHs were depend on river/cannel/lake for water supply ,10 HHs have tubewell and
Handpump for water supply ,12 HHs depend on water reserve tanks for water supply and remaining 4%
used others source .Respondents on the study area have an issues of not getting quality water for the
available sources

he Churia region extends over 1,898,263 ha,

from 80o 9’ 25” to 88o 11’ 16” longitudes and
from 26o 37’ 47” to 29o 10’ 27” latitudes, and
occupies 12.84% of the athe Churia hills are structurally
weak and highly vulnerable to erosion and other
hazards; this fragility poses a big challenge not just
for people in the Churia but for those who leave in
downstream lowland areas in the Terai.rea of the entire countr(DFRS. 2014. Churia Forests of Nepal.
Forest Resource Assessment Nepal Project/
Department of Forest Research and Survey.
Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal).

he Churia, also known as the Siwalik, is the

youngest mountain range in the Himalayas.
Just north of the Terai, it runs the entire length
of southern Nepal, from east to west, skirting the
southern flanks of the Himalayas. The geology
of the Churia is tectonic in origin and its rocks
comprise north-dipping, semi-consolidated, interbedded
tertiary sandstone, siltstone, shale and
conglomerate (LRMP, 1986). While different studies
have delineated the Churia region differently, this
study considered it to extend from 80° 9’ 25” to
88° 11’ 16” longitudes and from 26° 37’ 47” to 29°
10’ 27” latitudes based on LRMP (Figure 1). The
region occupies 1,896,930 ha, or about 12.8 % of the
total land area of the country, and covers parts of
36 of the nation’s 75 districts (Survey Department,
2001) In general, the Churia is characterised by the
5
following features (LRMP, 1986):
• Steep, broken terrain
• Shallow, droughty soils with low surfaceinfiltration
and percolation rates
• High intensity rainfall during the monsoon and
tremendous overflow torrents regardless of the
degree and nature of vegetation cover
• High insolation and air temperatures during the
dry season
• Lack of irrigation and drinking water
• Streams with high rates of discharge during the
rainy season and negligible rates of discharge at
other times
Because the Churia is geologically speaking,
the youngest mountain chain of the Himalaya, it is
the most erodible and fragile

Recently, the GoN has declared the Churia a

special protection region and formed the “President
Chure-Terai Madhesh Conservation Development
Committee” covering 36 districts (MoFSC, 2014)

The Churia hills are geologically young. Their soils

originated from soft rocks. The lower Churia is
largely composed of very fine-grained sediments
such as variegated mudstone, siltstone and shale
with smaller amounts of fine-grained sandstone
(Upreti, 1999). The middle Churia has thick beds
of multi-storied sandstones alternating with
subordinate beds of mudstone. The upper Churia
is characterized by very coarse sediments such as
loose boulder conglomerates.

Several large rivers originating in the High Himal cut

the east-west Churia chain, while smaller, ephemeral
rivers flow only during the monsoon. Water in the
small rivers may dry up totally outside the monsoon
season, probably because the soil in the river beds is
highly permeable (Shrestha et al., 2008).(dfrs

Deforestation is resulting in amreduced capacity of the land to hold and recharge water. It has increased flood frequency and flooding
intensity downstream. Sources of drinking water and irrigation that formerly provided water all year are now dry in the winter and spring.
Deforestation is reducing the capacity of the land to hold and recharge water and has increased flood frequency and intensity downstream.
Sources of drinking water and irrigation that once provided water all year are now dry in the winter and spring.. The deteriorating
environment directly and harshly affects these people. Each year, they have more difficulty obtaining firewood, fodder, and water for

CHURIA WATERSHED
drinking and irrigation (

MANAGEMENT PROJECT)
The Churia range, also called Siwaliks, corresponds to the outermost range of the
Himalayas. It rises steeply from the Tarai plains along its northern border. At places,
the Churia range is separated from the Mahabharat range by valleys known as duns or
Inner Tarai.
At some other places, it bifurcates, forming a dun between them. The
Churia hills are geologically young, and are composed of unconsolidated loose
materials originating from soft rocks such as mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and shale.
Covering 33 districts, they border the Mahabharat range in the north and the Bhabar
in the south.
The gentle slope and flatland immediately to the south of the Churia
6
hills is called Bhabar (broadly included in the Tarai region). Consisting mainly of
gravel, it comprises about 18 per cent of the total land area of the Tarai region.

Not only are the Churia hills structurally weak, but they also lie in a high volume
precipitation zone. Forest degradation and agricultural interventions pose great threats
to the environment in these areas.
The erosion hazards are particularly very high in the Churia hills compared to other mountain areas of the
country.
Any human activity causing destruction of the vegetative cover leads to erosion in the Churia. This, in
turn, results in high floods and damages agricultural fields in the downstream areas
of the Tarai.
The Tarai is very important for the entire country because of its high
agricultural production and the development opportunities that it presents.
Realizing
this, the need for a long-term national-level programme strategy for the entire Churia
area was felt, and the process was initiated for formulating a Churia Area Programme
Strategy (CAPS) in the leadership of the Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation
(MFSC).

Nepal is divided into five ecological regions from south to north, viz Tarai, Siwaliks, Middle
Mountains, Transition and High Himal zones (Nelson, et al 1980). To the south of Middle
Mountain lie Churia (Siwaliks) and Tarai plains. These two, Siwaliks (Churia) and Tarai
plains, are geologically and economically important. Tarai region is the food basket of the
country. The future of Tarai plains is dependent on the watershed condition of Siwaliks. It is
essential to protect Siwaliks and Bhabhar, which is a groundwater recharge zone, to
safeguard Tarai. The valleys lying between Churia and Middle Mountains are called Inner
Tarai (Bhitri Madhesh). About 13% of the country is occupied by the Churia range. To the
south of Churia lies the Indo-Gangetic plains, called Tarai, which occupies about 15% of the
country’s area. At present, about 48% of the total population of the country lives in this
region. Tarai is free from landslide hazards. Its life depends on the water resources of the
Churia range and Bhabhar region for cultivation. Hence, the conservation of Churia and
Bhabhar a total of 5.96 million ha.

_________!"__________________________________ 8________________________ __%

In many farming areas, readily available water is in short supply. Although the total
annual rainfall in an area may be enough to sustain farm needs, it is often distributed
very unevenly so that long dry periods are interspersed with periods of intense
rainfall. In many cases, a crop is unable to use a high proportion of this water, as much
of it is lost through run off or leaching. This may also cause soil erosion and loss of
soil nutrients.
(40.36% of total area of the country)
Wooded land covers 0.65 million ha. (4.38%of total area of the country)).
Forest and Other wooded land representing 44.74% of total area of Nepal.
Out of total forest area of Nepal, 37.8 % lies in Middle mountains, 32.25 % lies in High mountains and High Himal,
23.04% in Churia and 6.9% in Terai.
In case of other wooded land Terai, churia, Middle mountains, and High mountains along with High Himal
physiographic regions share 1.47%, 3.5%, 9.61% and 85.42% respectively.
State of Forests: Nepal (Final draft : November is highly important.
Bhabhar lies in the immediate( Happy to hear
Forest occupies 2015)

7
The youngest hills formed by the deposition of the river products around four crore years ago is the Chure range.
The Chure range which is extended from Indus river of Pakistan in the West and Bharamaputra of India in the East
is also called "Shivalik". 12.78% of the total land of Nepal is covered by Chure. In most of the places in the Tarai
chure is found as up hills and lower and lower land to the Mahabharat area. As this area is made up of the fluvial
sedimentary rocks which is not fully adjusted and all the rivers and rivulates from Mahabharat range flow from
Area" shall mean the chure hilly range, river
this area to the Terai, which is "chure
through this area extending up to Terai Madesh area, and its
Devel
water resources
atea.naturally very sensitive area. President chure-Terai Madesh conservation Development
Board
(Formation) Order,Z0Tl B.S. (2014 A.D.)

The Churia range, also called Siwaliks, corresponds to the outermost range of the Himalayas. It
rises steeply from the Tarai plains along its northern border. At places,the Churia range is
separated from the Mahabharat range by valleys known as duns or Inner Tarai(CAPS, 2008).
The Churia (also known as Siwalik), is a ravine landscape and the youngest mountain range in the
Himalayas, and extends from the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bramhaputra River in India. In Nepal, it
runs from east to west covering different physiographic zones encompassing 36 districts. The Churia area
sometimes also referred to as Churia ecosystem includes five physiographic units or sub ecological units
namely Churia hill slopes including narrow river valley, Inner Tarai or Dun, Bhabhar and Tarai (CAPS,
2008)
The Churia area covers five physiographic units or sub ecological units namely Churia hill slopes, Churia
narrow river valley or narrow river valley, Inner Tarai or Dun, Bhabhar and Tarai. Part of Tarai is also
included in Churia area because there is a need to look at all these physiographic units in totality to grasp
the opportunities offered by the Churia ecosystem. Hence, the term "Churia area" considers the whole
ecological units (Churia Area Program Strategy (CAPS, 2008).
Water harvesting is tapping the flash flood of surface flow or sub surface flow of water for one or
multipurpose use otherwise would run off or drain out without opportunity to use.
Degradation of watershed, lowering the underground water and disturbing the ecological niche in and
around the region makes the region more sensitive and fragile. Ecological balance and conservation of
natural resources of the Chure Region, therefore, is very urgent(Pokhrel,kp 2013)
The future of Tarai plains is dependent on the watershed condition of Siwaliks. It is
essential to protect Siwaliks and Bhabhar, which is a groundwater recharge zone.( [ CITATION Bis \n \m
Bis \l 1033 ]

8
As an ecosystem, Siwalik covers about 13% of country’s total area but maintains 76% of the forest land,
high biodiversity (about 1,570 floral species), 13 ecosystems, with rich ethnicity, and is also the site for
unique gene pool (Paudel, 2011).

Furthermore, the Siwalik is one of the world’s most important sources of fossils and provides a basis for
much of our current knowledge with regards to the evolution of Asian fauna (Bhuju et al, 2007).

The foot slopes (known as Bhawar) perform unique ecological function as a water recharge zone for
down south flat lands (GoN, 2010). The Churia landscape is the only remaining continuous landscape and
is very important for wildlife corridor too. The degradation of environmental situation is not only causing
on-site effects but also influencing the Trans boundary systems (ibid). To the south of Middle Mountain
lie Churia (Siwaliks) and Terai plains. These two, Siwaliks (Churia) and Terai plains, are geologically
and economically important. Tarai region is the food basket of the country. The future of Terai plains is
dependent on the watershed condition of Siwaliks. It is essential to protect Siwaliks and Bhabhar, which
is a groundwater recharge zone, to safeguard Terai, The future of Tarai plains is dependent on the
watershed condition of Siwaliks ,

The study will be carried out in sub-watershed of Makwanpur district. Sub-watershed will be selected
on the basis of following factors and will be finalized with the discussion of DSCOs Makwanpur

 Area of churia sub watershed where water harvesting technique applied

 The sub-watershed is with easy accessibility

 The researcher familiar with the study area.

Following methodology will be carried out for fulfilling the objectives of the research.
.

The Churia (also known as Siwalik), is a ravine landscape and the youngest mountain range in the
Himalayas, and extends from the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bramhaputra River in India. In Nepal, it
runs from east to west covering different physiographic zones encompassing 36 districts.
The Churia area sometimes also referred to as Churia ecosystem includes five physiographic units or sub
ecological units namely Churia hill slopes including narrow river valley, Inner Tarai or Dun, Bhabhar and
Tarai (CAPS, 2008)
Water harvesting is tapping the flash flood of surface flow or sub surface flow of water for one or
multipurpose use otherwise would run off or drain out without opportunity to use.

9
Degradation of watershed, lowering the underground water and disturbing the ecological niche in and
around the churia region makes the region more sensitive and fragile. Ecological balance and
conservation of natural resources of the Chure Region, therefore, is very urgent(Pokhrel,kp,2013)

The future of Tarai plains is dependent on the watershed condition of Siwaliks. It is

essential to protect Siwaliks and Bhabhar, which is a groundwater recharge zone.( [ CITATION Bis \n \m
Bis \l 1033 ]
As an ecosystem, Siwalik covers about 13% of country’s total area but maintains 76% of the forest land,
high biodiversity (about 1,570 floral species), 13 ecosystems, with rich ethnicity, and is also the site for
unique gene pool (Paudel, 2011).

Furthermore, the Siwalik is one of the world’s most important sources of fossils and provides a basis for
much of our current knowledge with regards to the evolution of Asian fauna (Bhuju et al, 2007).

The foot slopes (known as Bhawar) perform unique ecological function as a water recharge zone for
down south flat lands (GoN, 2010). The Churia landscape is the only remaining continuous landscape and
is very important for wildlife corridor too. The degradation of environmental situation is not only causing
on-site effects but also influencing the Trans boundary systems (ibid).

permeable structure, weak geology and high risk of natural disaster. Most of the water
supply comes from springs and waterholes. Lack of required water for drinking and
irrigation is the man problem of the range, especially, areas located at higher elevations.
More than 75% of agriculture depends on monsoon rain for water. Poor irrigation and
unsafe drinking waterpermeable structure, weak geology and high risk of natural
disaster. Most of the water supply comes from springs and waterholes. Lack of required
water for drinking and irrigation is the man problem of the range, especially, areas
located at higher elevations. More than 75% of agriculture depends on monsoon rain for
water. Poor irrigation and unsafe drinking water sources were observed as the major
problems of the Chure range. (k.p pokharel)

T he Churia, also known as the Siwalik, is the

youngest mountain range in the Himalayas.
Just north of the Terai, it runs the entire length
of southern Nepal, from east to west, skirting the
southern flanks of the Himalayas. The geology
10
of the Churia is tectonic in origin and its rocks
comprise north-dipping, semi-consolidated, interbedded
tertiary sandstone, siltstone, shale and
conglomerate (LRMP, 1986). While different studies
have delineated the Churia region differently, this
study considered it to extend from 80° 9’ 25” to
88° 11’ 16” longitudes and from 26° 37’ 47” to 29°
10’ 27” latitudes based on LRMP (Figure 1). It is
bounded to the north by the Main Boundary Thrust,
which separates it from the older bedrock of the
Mid-hills1, and to the south by the Main Frontal Thrust
(Figure 4), which separates it from the alluvium of
the Terai (Upreti, 1999).(dfrs

the Churia is geologically speaking,

the youngest mountain chain of the Himalaya, it is
the most erodible and fragile.(dfrs

The Churia (Siwalik) region is one of the major physiographic regions of Nepal (Figure 1 & 2).
Churia landscape comprises 36 districts and extends from east to west coving 13.6. % of the total
landscape of the country (Table 1) and is regarded as home to about 60% of the total population
of the country. It has significant social, ecological environmental and palentological values as
this region provides important source of biodiversity, fossils and a basis for knowledge on
evolution of Asia fauna. Bhabar (footslope) is a unique ecological zone which recharges water
for flat lands (Terai).(nast)

Despite its significant importance, the fragile landscape of Churia region is degrading at an
alarming rate due to increased human pressure (livestock grazing, timber smuggling, illegal tree
felling, etc). Consequently, these have accelerated the loss of soil and biodiversity, floods,
riverbank cutting and decrease in farm land productivity and have left poverty and land
degradation as a landmark.(Nast)

The alarming
degradation of Churia region also drew attention of president of Nepal. To protect the Churia
from further degradation and to rehabilitate the degraded land, Rastrapati Chure Conservation
Coordination Unit was established under the MoFSC in 2009.(Nast)

Watershed degradation is considered as lowering of watershed resources quality. Watershed resources

include mainly land, water and vegetation(bijay singh)

Due to overexploitation of natural resources, forest vegetation is rapidly disappearing from the hills and
valleys which have reduced the infiltration rate of the rainwater. (bijay singh

Churia: Churia, which is popularly known as Siwaliks in English or Chure in Nepali, is the outermost
Himalayas and small hills ranging from 150 meter to 1500 meter altitude. Geologically, it consists of detritus
rocks such as coarsely embedded limestone, clay, rounded conglomerates, coarse sands and other soil
particles. Steep land slopes, hillocks, pillar-like mounds, gorges, large span rivers and temporary streams are
other additional geological features. It lies between Mahabharat range in north and rolling plain Bhabar zone
in south. It includes seasonal rivers, ravine, gorge, small valleys and steep hills. It is loosely formed, thus,
have high erodibility and fragile in nature (RECOS, 1997; Pokhrel et al., 2002; BPP, 1995).(bijay)

Sub-surface flow of water: Sub-surface flow or interflow is defined as the lateral movement of water through
the soil profile towards a stream channel.

11
Watershed related terms
Watershed: Watershed is a hydrological area which has common drainage point (Erickson, 1995). It differs in
size because its boundary is defined by users. The starting point of the watershed is ridge, which ends up at the
lowest point draining all water in a stream or pond. Thus, a small watershed of few hectares that drains into a
single point forms a part of a large watershed until the combined watersheds may become a major river basin
draining millions of hectares of land (Kelly, 1983)(bijay)

Watershed degradation:
The important interaction of plants, animals and micro-organisms maintain the surface of ground as a "living
sponge" that is able to hold water and release it gradually without excessive loss of valuable material. Thus,
the natural vegetation can be modified in various ways to yield desirable products or to serve useful proposes
without destroying the essential health of the biotic community, which is necessary for future sustained
productivity (Gupta, 1984)(bijay)

Soil: Soil is the upper part of the earth crust which supports the plant life and all other features on the earth
(Brady, 1974). Soil is composed of air, water and different organic and inorganic matters. It is formed on the
passage of long time and by complicated physical and chemical process upon the parent materials which is
controlled by the climate, topography, vegetation, soil fauna and bacteria and different types of human
activities (Brady, 1974). Thus, the properties of the soil largely depend upon the climatic and topographic
feature of the area and parent material from which the soil is formed.(bijy)

Soil erosion: Soil erosion is the most important factor of soil degradation which may be defined as the
process of removal and transportation of soil from one place to another due to human activities or natural
forces (Geyik, 1983; Brady, 1974). Soil erosion has two phases: detachment of individual particles from the
soil mass and their transport by erosion agents such as water and wind. Furthermore, when sufficient energy
is no longer available to transport the particles, a third phase, deposition occurs (Morgan, 1986).(bijay)

Impacts of soil erosion: In general, the socioeconomic impacts/effects of the soil erosion are as follows
(Cruz, et al., 1988; Murty, 1985): On-site effects are: loss of soil nutrients and decrease in root zone depth.
Off-site effects are: decline in reservoir capacity, rise in river and canal bed, change in river way, flood
damage, siltation of agricultural field and loss in hydro-electricity power of the river.(bijay)

Forest provides the following hydrological services: maintenance of water quality, increased dry season
water flow, reduced salinization, flood control, decrease in soil erosion, reduced sedimentation and
maintenance of aquatic habitats. However, various factors influence the relationship between forest cover
and different hydrological services (Upadhyaya, 2005).(bijay)

There is a strong evidence of the role of forests in improving and maintaining water quality in downstream
water bodies. The role of forests in reducing run-off water and flooding in downstream areas is well
recognized. Trees intercept rain drops and reduce intensity of raindrops falling on the ground surface.(bijay)

Leaf litter and other organic debris in forest facilitate infiltration of water underground and reduce run-off.
Roots hold soil together and compact it. By reducing run-off rainwater, forests also reduce the incidence of
land slide and soil erosion incidence of landslides and soil erosion substantially, although the role of other
factors such as slope of land, structureof soil, tectonic pressure, and road construction predetermine
considerably as well (Upadhyaya, 2005). (bijay)
12
According to "sponge theory" the complex of forest soil, roots and litter acts as a giant sponge, soaking up
water during rainy spells and releasing it evenly during dry periods, when the water is mostly needed (FAO,
2005).(bijay)

The country
can be divided into five major physiographic zones, namely, from north to south, the High Himal,
High Mountains, Middle Mountains, Siwalik Hills and Tarai Plains. All five zones extend
lengthwise from east to west across the country. The climate varies from alpine cold semi-desert
type in the trans-Himalayan zone to tropical humid type in the tropical lowlands in the south.
Forests, together with shrub lands, covered 39.6 percent of the Nepal’s land area in 1994. There are
regional variations in terms of changes in forest conditions. In the last few decades, forests of
commercial and biological value in the tropical lowlands and adjoining Siwalik Hills have suffered
from high rates of deforestation and degradation.(NBS)

The Siwalik range (Chure) in Nepal is a largely forested, geographically sensitive and rugged
landscape extending from east to west of the country (Figure 12). Having realized the severity of
problems arising from degradation and loss of forests and other natural resources, the Ministry of
Forests and Soil Conservation has been implementing integrated forest and watershed management
activities in 26 districts of the Siwalik region since 2010 as one of the National Pride Project.
Conservation of forest for natural regeneration, river bank protection through bio-engineering
techniques, and plantation are the main activities.(NBS)

REF

 Upadhaya, M. P. and Joshi, B. K., 2003. Plant genetic resources in SAARC countries: Their conservation
and management: Nepal chapter. In: Rigyal and Akhter, N. (eds.). Status of Plant Genetic
Resources in SAARC Countries: Their Conservation and Management. SAARC Agriculture
Information Center, Dhaka. Pp. 297-422.

 Shrestha, P., Sthapit, S. and Paudel, I., 2013. Community Seed Banks: A Local Solution to Increase Access
to Quality and Diversity of Seeds. In: Shrestha P., R. Vernooy and P. Chaudhary (2013). Community
Seed Banks in Nepal: Past, Present, Future. Proceedings of a National Workshop, LI-BIRD/USC
Canada Asia/Oxfam/The Development Fund/IFAD/Bioversity International, 14-15 June 2012,
Pokhara, Nepal.

"chure Area" shall mean the chure hilly range, river

through this area extending up to Terai Madesh area, and its
Devel
water resources
atea.( President chure-Terai Madesh conservation Development Board
(Formation) Order,Z0Tl B.S. (2014 A.D.)
Deforestation is resulting in a
reduced capacity of the land to hold
and recharge water. It has increased
flood frequency and flooding intensity
downstream. Sources of drinking
water and irrigation that formerly
provided water all year are now dry in

the winter and spring.( CHURIA WATERSHED

13
MANAGEMENT PROJECT)
Himalayas, stretching in parallel belts in succession from south to north.
• The Terai is a low, flat strip of land some 10 to 50 km wide extending east to west along the Indian border; it forms the
northern extension of the Indo-
Gangetic Plain. An approximately 15 km wide belt of rich agricultural land stretches along the southern edge, whereas
the northern section adjoining the
foothills is more marshy. The Terai contains dense forest areas and a number of national parks, wildlife reserves, and
conservation areas.
• The forested Churia foothills (or Siwalik range) rise from the Terai plain to the rugged Mahabharat Range. The Churia
Range is sparsely populated and rises in
almost perpendicular escarpments to altitudes of more than 1,200m. The fragile soils and steep slopes make the land
unsuitable for cultivation. In some
places the hills bifurcate into two parallel ranges, separated by broad basins that are often referred to as the Inner Terai
or Dun Valleys. Unlike the Churia hills
themselves, the population of these valleys has increased markedly in the last few decades.
• The middle hills or mid-mountain region is an area of more gentle slopes at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 masl lying
between the Siwaliks and the high
mountains and dominated by the Mahabharat range which borders the Siwaliks. A significant portion of this area is
cultivated under intricate and extensive
terrace systems and the forests are heavily exploited. Some of the main urban centres are located here, including
Kathmandu and Pokhara, which are both
located in flat basin-shaped valleys.
• The high mountains extend from the middle mountains to the high Himalayas, at altitudes of mostly 2,000 to 4,000m,
although lower at the base of some of
the deep V-shaped valleys that characterise the region. The region is typified by long steep slopes with heavy forest
cover.
• The High Himalaya region ranges in elevation from around 4,000 to more than 8,000m and is a spectacular area of
rocky ice-covered massifs, rolling snow
fields, and glaciers lying between the tree-line and the tops of the Himalayan massifs. It contains many of the world’s
highest peaks including Everest,
Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna. Apart from the trans-Himalayan valleys
to the north, which support human

settlements up to elevations of 4,000m and more, this area is uninhabited.( Annex 1: NEPAL –
An Overview)
Falling groundwater tables, surface
and groundwater pollution, and
growing and competing demands
on limited water resources have
emerged as significant challenges
to the effective provision of water
and sanitation facilities in Nepal.( WaterAid Nepal’s
experiences in
community-based water
resource management)

Ecologically, Nepal is divided in 5 zones: Himal, high

mountains, mid-mountains, Chure and terai. Chure
extends from Indus river in the west to Brhmaputra river
in the east. Average hight of Chure is 1500m asl. It’s
width is 5 to 50 kms (RH, 2000).( A Documentation of Processes, Practices and
the Recommendations of an Action-Research on
Conservation Landownership and Livelihood
Issues of Chure Conducted in Makwanpur,
14
Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha,
Siraha and Saptari Districts, Nepal, Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC)
December, 2007)

In Nepal, it runs east to

west in 36 administrative districts mostly in the periphery
covering 18,860 sqkms - some 13% of country’s surface
area. 14% of the total land in Chure is said to be
cultivable. It’s 78% percent of the surface area is reported
to have covered by the forests when 43% of Nepal’s
total area was said to be under forest cover. Chure also known as Siwalik is a strip of hill-range running east to
west
between terai and Mahabharat hills. When there is flat space between
Mahabharat hills and Chure range, larger ones are called Doon and
smaller ones Bhabar. Administratively, most of Chure range falls in the
peripheral frontiers of the hill-districts in the north and the fertile
populated plane districts of Terai. This means that voice from the area
is low, so are the resources reaching to Chure. The nature shouldn’t have
bothered with such boundaries but is governed by the law of resource
use. Such areas are assaulted by humans and nature’s resilience is low.
When humans and nature cannot help each other, both become helpless.
This anthology seeks to testify how the stress caused by our social
structure has negative impact both on nature and humans at large.
While Chure is different from both ecological zones, i.e. Terai and
Mahabharat hills, it also shares some similarities. Natural and social
features of Chure are presented below: (churr makwanpur)

Due to several human activities ,the erratic nature of high intensity rainfall during short period of
monsoon season due to soil erosion ,landslide in the upper reaches and riverbed ,river bank cutting ,
siltation to reservoirs and flash flood in the lower reaches ultimetly decline productivity of agriculture
land .Hence very small amount of rainwater seeps into the sub soil ;consequently , providing very least
opportunity to the underground water table to be recharged . since the underground water table is very
less or not at all recharged during the rainy season , many springs and other water sources become dry
,resulting to severe shortage of water in lower reaches of churia region ,Thus ,the most effective and
efficient way of arresting these unlimited amounts of monsoon waters and making use for drinking ,
irrigation , and livestock purposes is practice in chure region.

Water harvesting: By keeping forests planted above the field, one prevents runoff from reaching the cropland. Trees also
harvest water in their very porous soils. Water is slowly released into the water table, reaching the cropland down-slope.
Ponds can be made by damming the upper catchment area of a creek. Water will flow through the water table to water
cropland down-slope. Water can be used for irrigation and stock drinking water.(water dscwm)

Water availability includes the recharge of soil water and groundwater

and water stored in reservoirs. Water harvesting for ecosystem sustenance
as well as for industrial use are recent applications of water harvesting:
though the bulk of water harvesting technologies that have

15
been developed throughout history serve for domestic and agricultural
use.
Commonly the terms water harvesting (WH) and rainwater harvesting
(RWH) are used interchangeably. But water harvesting is most generally
used as the umbrella term for a range of methods of collecting and
managing floodwaters and runoff including rooftop WH, runoff irrigation,
spate irrigation and runoff farming (Critchley and Siegert, 1991;
Falkenmark et al., 2001; Critchley and Gowing, 2012; Oweis, Prinz and
Hachum, 2012; Scheierling et al., 2013).

falling in one area and transfer it to another, thereby

The applicability and impact of water harvesting technologies
depend on local conditions. There are specific “pros”
and “cons” associated with water harvesting (Table 3). On
the “pro” side, improving the efficiency with which rainfall
is used reduces pressure on traditional water resources and
hence on water itself. It can meet water needs for domestic
uses and animal production where public supplies are
not available (Oweis et al., 2102).
Water harvesting offers a cheaper alternative to expensive water schemes in areas with low-input agriculture, particularly if the technology
implemented builds on traditional practices. These are the direct benefits of WH; however there are also hidden indirect
benefits such as environmental protection and socioeconomic
advantages which are less obvious and more
difficult to quantify. For example when water harvesting is
used to improve domestic water supplies: helping to make
clean drinking water available throughout the year – this
can reduce the burden of women and children who in many
parts of the world have the responsibility of fetching water.

With increasing population, climate change, higher food

prices and growing shortages of safe drinking water,
increasing emphasis must be put on better water management.
Water harvesting in particular has high potential: not
only for increasing crop production in dry areas, but also in
providing drinking, sanitation and household water as well
as water for livestock. However, initiatives are still too scattered,
and experiences related to “best” WH practices are
poorly shared. Policies, legal regulation and governmental
budgets often lack the inclusion of water harvesting in integrated
water resource management and poverty reduction
strategies.
To address water scarcity and growing demands, there is
no other option than to improve agricultural production by
increasing water availability and water use efficiency in drylands.
In addition, provision of water for drinking, domestic
and livestock use needs to be decentralized and water itself
used more efficiently by harvesting local resources. Today
water harvesting is being increasingly promoted as a coping
strategy, and both national and international organizations
are beginning to invest more in WH for domestic water
supply, livestock consumption and for plant production.
However, to support and stimulate this development more
attention needs to be paid to:
• Facilitating sharing of knowledge and decision support
for local implementation and regional planning.
• Upscaling the wealth of WH knowledge and successful
WH practices based on informed decision making.
• Demonstrating the benefits of WH, including cost and
benefit assessments.
• Capitalizing from local and traditional knowledge, as well
as innovations by water users and research.
• Mainstreaming WH implementation into development
projects, investment frameworks, national strategies and
action plans.
• Building up effective and well experienced extension and
technical advice services.
• Encouraging coordination and collaboration among
stakeholders.
• Assuring an enabling framework from the policy level:
especially securing land and resource use rights.
• Supporting effective decentralization and good governance
by offering capacity building and training.
16
T he Churia region extends over 1,898,263 ha,
youngest mountain range in the Himalayas.
T he Churia, also known as the Siwalik, is the

Just north of the Terai, it runs the entire length

of southern Nepal, from east to west, skirting the
southern flanks of the Himalayas. The geology
of the Churia is tectonic in origin and its rocks
comprise north-dipping, semi-consolidated, interbedded
tertiary sandstone, siltstone, shale and
conglomerate (LRMP, 1986). While different studies
have delineated the Churia region differently, this
study considered it to extend from 80° 9’ 25” to
88° 11’ 16” longitudes and from 26° 37’ 47” to 29°
10’ 27” latitudes based on LRMP (Figure 1). It is
bounded to the north by the Main Boundary Thrust,
which separates it from the older bedrock of the
Mid-hills1, and to the south by the Main Frontal Thrust
(Figure 4), which separates it from the alluvium of
the Terai (Upreti, 1999). Interior ‘Dun valleys’ form
a conspicuous part of the Churia landscape. The
main Dun valleys, which include Surkhet, Dang,
and Chitwan, are major grain-producing areas. The
region occupies 1,896,930 ha, or about 12.8 % of the
total land area of the country, and covers parts of
36 of the nation’s 75 districts (Survey Department,
2001).
In general, the Churia is characterised by the
following features (LRMP, 1986):
• Steep, broken terrain
• Shallow, droughty soils with low surfaceinfiltration
and percolation rates
• High intensity rainfall during the monsoon and
tremendous overflow torrents regardless of the
degree and nature of vegetation cover
• High insolation and air temperatures during the
dry season
• Lack of irrigation and drinking water
• Streams with high rates of discharge during the
rainy season and negligible rates of discharge at
other times
The elevation of the Churia varies from 93 to 1,955
meters above sea level and has a stretches of 10-50
km in width. It was formed when fluvial sediments
from the Himalaya accumulated during the
Neogene (23–0.6 million years ago) and Quaternary
(2.6 million years ago to recent times) eras (Upreti,
1999). Because the Churia is geologically speaking,
the youngest mountain chain of the Himalaya, it is
the most erodible and fragile.
from 80o 9’ 25” to 88o 11’ 16” longitudes and
from 26o 37’ 47” to 29o 10’ 27” latitudes, and
occupies 12.84% of the area of the entire country.
Low elevation fell in the sub-tropical climatic zone
whereas high hill spurs fell in the warm temperate
climatic zones. Intensity of rainfall is high in the
Churia region where moisture regime is sub-humid
in most of the area but humid in the southern aspects
of the Western, Central, Eastern Development
regions and dun valleys. The major forest types were
Sal and mixed hardwood forests at low altitudes and
17
Pine at high. Since the Churia hills are structurally
weak and highly vulnerable to erosion and other
hazards; this fragility poses a big challenge not just
for people in the Churia but for those who leave in
downstream lowland areas in the Terai.(chure report)

Chure Region has a distinct geographical and bio-physical specificities lying on the foothill of Himalaya. It
is the youngest mountain of the world, and suffers from mass erosion, landslides and other environmental
externalities which make the region vulnerable. Resource depletion, for example deforestation, due to
natural as well as human induced factors in the Chure Region has accelerated; and livelihood
opportunities have been retreating. Degradation of watershed, lowering the underground water and
disturbing the ecological niche in and around the region makes the region more sensitive and fragile.
Ecological balance and conservation of natural resources of the Chure Region, therefore, is very urgent.
For the betterment of the people and resources of the Chure, Bhabar and Terai regions, there is need to
design the work plan for conservation and development. The Government of Nepal, at present, has also
given greater emphasis to the protection of Chure through initiation of ‘Rastrapati Chure Conservation
Program since 2009 in the field of conservation and management of the resources in the Chure Region.
Chure Region have rapidly degraded since the last 32 years. Increasing landslides and flooding; and human intervention
makes Chure more fragile and weakest zone where lack of/inadequate livelihood assets and food insecurity are noted.
However, Chure Region has many opportunities of employment and income generation through establishment of
environmental friendly green enterprises. Thus, the paper concludes an urgent need to formulate short-term to long-term
strategies with policy priorities actions and result-oriented efforts. The policies and strategies should be related to
establish Chure as a rich bio-diversity zone, with hazardless and improved livelihoods Chure area is unique in terms of
physiographical, biological, hydrological and ecological characteristics. It rises gradually from the Southern plain of the terai made up of debris,
which eroded over the last 40 million years as the Himalayas were formed. The erodible nature of these conglomerates and sandstone, coupled
with the steep terrain and porous soil, contributes to the fragile nature of the Chure which is also known as the Siwalik Hills. The range covers a
total area of 55,754.91 ha (557.5491 km 2) (equivalent to 46.74% of the district area) and consists of hills, steep land slopes, gorges, large spans of
temporary streams. The altitude ranges from 205 to 1493 msl. A meeting of District Forest Coordination Committee (DFCC) under the chairmanship
of Local Development Officer (LDO) held on Chaitra 2, 2067 BS demarcated the area (boundary) of the Chure Region in Arghakhanchi District. Based
on DFCC decision, the total spatial coverage of the Chure Region accounts for 47,719 ha, which is about 40% of the district area. Whereas, land
capability and land system 1978 classified the land under different uses; and demarcated the Chure area to about 55,754.91 ha of land, which is
about 46.74% of the total district area. Besides the above VDCs (village development committee) and wards, some parts of the other VDCs, for
example, Jukena, Subarnakhal, weak geology and high risk of natural disaster. Most of the water supply comes from springs and waterholes. Lack
of required water for drinking and irrigation is the man problem of the range, The Chure range of the district has deteriorated extensively by
deforestation, heavy amount of soil erosion due to road construction and cultivation on steep slopes. It is found from the field study that
deforestation automatically and most certainly produces devastating soil erosion, overland flow of water, rill and gully development; rainy –season
flooding and dry-season water shortage are so widespread in the range. Where deforestation occurred on Chure slopes, the environmental
degradation is greater than the deforestation in tarai. Linked to this with hydrological cycle, forest acts as hydrological regulators that cause floods
during summer season and also results in lower water levels or rivers totally drying up during the dry season. Forest cutting for fuel wood,
commercial logging, shifting cultivation, forest clearing for continuous annual cropping, for grazing, for food, beverage are observed in many parts
Churia is considered to be playing a vital function as a watershed for the downstream Terai plain - where
of the area
the bulk of the Nepalese population resides and relies on delivered water resources for domestic and agricultural
purposes. Churia is also important for safeguarding the lives, livelihoods and properties in the Terai plains by
regulating the water flow (reducing the flow in monsoon and ensuring the flow in dry season). Among the range
of ecosystem goods and services Churia provides, some of the most important and directly visible benefits include
support to upland household livelihoods in terms of Non-Timber Forest Products (fuel wood for energy, fodder
and herbs) (k.p)

Churia faces severe problems of degradation and over exploitation. Churia‘s natural habitats and
ecological processes remain under heavy pressure from human activities compounded by natural
factors such as its fragility and high intensity rainfall during monsoon. The scale of damages is often
higher in the downstream Terai and would require huge investment in man-made infrastructure to
mitigate or avert them. A more cost effective alternative could be to invest in watershed

18
conservation and management in a way that could sustain and improve downstream water services
(both quantity and quality) and sustain and enhance upland livelihoods Churia, Bhabar and Terai
area are highly interlinked and any changes in land and resource use in the upper watershed area
affects its capacity to deliver ecosystem services for the upland livelihoods and downstream people.
The communities and experts believe at least the surface water that reappears down in the river
immediately after the Bhabar area originates from Churia, and any change in water availability is
due to change in the watershed condition It is felt that such local perception - based on close
observation of changing watershed condition and water availability in the river over time is adequate
to provide a good approximation. However, there could be other factors affecting the linkage. For
example, there could be contribution of ground water (which in itself is a complex structure made up
from different sources) in the river basin even near the point where water reappears; and change in
water availability in the river could also be due to changing climate which has reportedly affected the
rainfall pattern. To minimize the contribution of groundwater in the river, only a limited length of river
water is considered as there is increasing chances of groundwater seepage into the river as it
progresses down in the south. Due to lack of information and resource constraints, no hydrological
assessment to establish the scientific linkage between upstream land uses and downstream water
benefits was possible. Churia is made up of highly fractured sedimentary rocks and have low
groundwater retention potential. During wet season, rainfall amount exceeds by far the infiltration
rate in the Churia hills; which coupled with its sloppy land generate flash floods, and retains little
water to discharge during dry season. During dry season, those streams dry up in the Bhabar area
as in the first instance there is little water to flow, a part of which infiltrates in the ground due to its
pervious soil, and remaining (if any) water moves underneath the heavy sand/gravel deposited in
streams (which has raised the river bed) in this area as opined by hydrologists. The water re-
appears few kilometers down in Terai plain area. As the river moves down south in the Terai plains,
volume of water is observed increasing which is due to groundwater seepage into it. This study is
based primarily on information collected from four study sites ( Figure 1) across the length of Churia
hills, which were selected in consultation with all the study partners. Assessing the importance of
water from Churia to downstream agriculture is an important intention of this study, and thus,
selection of sites for case study were limited to few sub-watershed area that drains water into a
particular stream . In this study water is regarded as an intermediate good and its contribution in
agricultural productivity is measured. Agriculture being the major user of water in the downstream
area, this study has limited its focus to the value of irrigation water. The value of water to a user is
the maximum amount the user would be willing to pay for the use of the resource. Despite the
technical difficulty of valuing water for irrigation due to the lack of a market, several methods have
been devised to ascertain the value of water in different uses. Some of the methods available for
valuing water as an intermediate goods are producer‘s demand function, residual imputation, value-
added, and alternative cost. The residual imputation method is one of the most prominent
techniques employed to estimate the value of water as an intermediate good in agricultural
production, and hence applied in this study as well. The residual imputation method
This method is often used for valuing irrigation water for which a market price is not available. In this
method, the total value of output is allocated among each of the inputs used in the production
process, i.e., the additional contribution of each input in the production process is determined. If
appropriate prices can be assigned (market prices) to all non-water inputs, the remainder of total
value of product is imputed to water (the residual input in our case). The method is based on
assumption that the prices of all resources are equated to their value of marginal product7 which
exists in perfectly competitive markets for agricultural inputs. In such situations, a rational producer
goes on adding inputs up to the point where the value of marginal products is equal to the cost of
the additional inputs. 3.4.3 Cost benefits distribution:
A number of local groups depend heavily on forest goods and services for their livelihoods, and yet
have often been marginalized from watershed management related decision-making processes.
19
These include, for example, women, the landless, indigenous communities and the extremely poor.
Different stakeholder groups often heavily differ in perceiving costs and benefits from ecosystems.
Understanding the magnitude and mix of net benefits received by particular groups gives an idea on
which groups are motivated to conserve or destroy an ecosystem and why, and helps design a more
effective conservation approaches. This study has therefore taken into account their livelihood
circumstances, and explored the needs and opportunities for mechanisms which can provide them
with tangible economic rewards for the provision of ecosystem water services. 6 Market price net of
extraction and transportation costs. 7 The value of marginal product of an input is the incremental amount in total
revenue due to one additional unit of this input. It is equal to the marginal physical product of the input multiplied
by the price of the commodity produced.
The residual imputation method
Agriculture is the major livelihood option for the majority of the rural population in Nepal. In the study sites,
it accounts for about 31% of the household income in general and ranged from 23% in Jaladh to some 35% in
Kandra. Major crops grown in the downstream area are paddy and wheat followed by maize. Though the
streams emanating from Churia contribute water mainly for the irrigation of paddy, wheat, and some other
crops, in this study value of water is estimated only for the use in paddy and wheat
This method is often used for valuing irrigation water for which a market price is not available. In this
method, the total value of output is allocated among each of the inputs used in the production
process, i.e., the additional contribution of each input in the production process is determined. If
appropriate prices can be assigned (market prices) to all non-water inputs, the remainder of total
value of product is imputed to water (the residual input in our case).(rep2007)

The issue of water scarcity and socio-economic impact of water shortage on small scale farmers is a reality in
many developing countries ….With its high population density, mostly in the rural areas, a majority of the
households engage in activities that are geared towards survival for their livelihood activities. Small farmers
are poor and can’t afford more advanced agriculture tools to extract water and to conserve water. The
tribulations for small farmers are poverty and illiteracy. The main objective of this research is to evaluate
impact of water shortage on small land holders and their strategies to cope with it.. The study also contains
some interviews with active stake holders/authorities involved in this dilemma such as government officials
and NGOs. This study is based on in-depth qualitative analysis of 13 households to trace out the socio
economic impacts of water scarcity.
Agriculture is accountable for the largest extraction of water and thus considered the chief ‘culprit’ under
conditions of local absolute scarceness (COAG, 2007:7). Water is vital for all socio-economic development
and for maintaining healthy ecosystems. As population increases the utilization of groundwater and surface
water for the domestic, industrial sectors and agriculture exaggerate, leading to tensions, conflicts between
users, and extreme pressure on the environment (UN-WATER, 2006:2). New investments in irrigation
infrastructure and enhanced water management can reduce the impact of water scarcity The majority of
developing countries have a shortage of renewable fresh water resources. Kamal (2009:28)…. relies on
agriculture and allied industries for their bread and butter (Bhatti et al., 2009:1). All together water is the
most important input in agriculture; the agricultural productivity and its sustainability depend on the timely
and sufficient availability of water. In Pakistan, the space between water demand and supply has increased
manifolds, due to more agriculture activities and reduced river flow. The gap normally widens in the summer
growing season as compared to winter growing season and it widens also towards the tail end of
distributaries and watercourses (Bhatti et al., 2009:2). In history, large-scale water development projects
have played a major role in poverty alleviation by providing food security, security from flooding and
drought, and expanded prospects for employment.. In different cases, irrigated agriculture has played a main
role in the development of rural economies, poverty reduction and maintaining economic growth. However,
20
at the same time, poor societies have tended to suffer the greatest health burden from insufficient water
supplies and, as a result of poor health, have been incapable to escape from the cycle of poverty and
disease,,,, Irrigated agriculture requires larger demand for water in these countries. To mitigate the water
problems, these countries have to focus on the efficient use of all water sources (surface water, groundwater
and rainfall).. Irrigated agriculture requires larger demand for water in these countries. To mitigate the water
problems, these countries have to focus on the efficient use of all water sources (surface water, groundwater
and rainfall) and on water allocation plans that maximize the economic and social returns to limited water
resources and at the same time increase the water productivity of all sectors. During this endeavor, there
needs to be a particular focus on issues relating to equity in access to water and on the social impacts of
water allocation policies (UN-WATER, 2007:6). Water scarcity is a big problem for farmers, especially
smallholder farmers who lack the adequate resources to adapt themselves to the current reality of water
scarcity
The term water scarcity is defined by Rijsberman in the following manner “When an individual does not have
access to safe and affordable water to satisfy her or his needs for drinking, washing or their livelihoods we
call that person water insecure”. Hence when when a large number of people in an area are water insecure
for a considerable period of time, in that case we can name that area water scarce (Rijsberman, 2006:6).

Excessive cultivation, overgrazing and deforestation put further immense strain on water resources by
reducing productive topsoil and vegetation cover, and cause greater dependence on irrigated cropping.
UNCCD (2009:1)
Livelihood
The word ‘livelihoods’ commonly means the way some one earns (Cambridge dictionary) or means of living
(Oxford dictionary). The livelihood concept, although, contains more than that. A livelihood “comprises the
assets (natural, human, financial, and social capital), the activities and the access to these (mediated by
institutions and social relations) that together determine the living gained by the individual or household”
(Ellis, 2000:10). A livelihood is called sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and
shocks, sustain its capability and assets, and give sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation
(Chambers & Convey 1992:1). Whereas, not all households are the same in their capacity to cope with
stresses and repeated shocks, Maxwell and Smith (1992) argue that poor people balance contending needs for
asset preservation, income creation and present and future food supplies in complex ways.

4.2 Data collection

Primary data
The field data was collected during four weeks from November 20 to 20 December, 2012. Introductory visit to
some agriculture farms was also made in the first week of the data collection period. The visits were assisted
by a district government official working in the area as a water management officer. It was really helpful for
me as a researcher as there was some government projects and farms owned by private farmers which I could
not approach directly without the help of the official. Five key informant interviews with personnel of
government organizations and NGOs were also carried out.
Farmers Interviews
A total of twelve interviews with farmers were conducted. Out of twelve interviews ten were conducted with
small farmers while two interviews were held with big farmers. The interviews were carried out with the male
household representative. Because of culture limitations I was not able to perform interview with female
members of the households. Although I consider the absence of women in the study as a drawback, one has to
remember that in Layyah it is the males that run the agricultural farms. The female mostly don’t own any land
and sometimes the women own land but the agricultural activities are held by the male of that family. A
detailed semi-structured questionnaire was prepared in English but the communication between me and my
informants was held in the local language called Saraiki.
This research is based on a purposive sampling. In purposive sampling, we select the study area and the
sample with specific purpose in mind. The research is based upon small farmers of three selected villages.

21
These three villages were selected because each village has different water use practices. The selection was
done with the consultation of a water 22
Data Analysis

22
management officer providing assistance in the area. The selection of farmers is based upon their land
ownership. The supremacy of purposive sampling lies in selecting information rich cases for in-depth analysis.
Thus, it is a suitable technique to select the farmers engaged in agriculture who face water shortage.
The government and NGOs
Five interviews were conducted with personnel of three government organizations; one Government based
community organization and one NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) actively concerned about providing
funds to agriculture. The central reason behind these interviews was to get information about the type of
assistance they have provided/are providing to the farmers in the study villages. These interviews were
conducted with personnel of Soil and Water fertility labs, Canal Water Irrigation Department, Water
Management Department, Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP) and Doaba Foundation Layyah.
Secondary Data
The Elsevier published books and journals regarding agriculture and water management have been used. So
has also the Woodrow Wilson international center for scholar’s reports about Pakistan’s water crisis have been
utilized. Other literature includes reports from International Non-Governmental Organizations and the United
Nation reports on coping with water scarcity. Online information from the provincial government about
Layyah district and figures from bureau of statistics Pakistan have been helpful when it comes to figures such
as total population of Layyah and the source of income of the inhabitants. Additional literature was also
collected from different web sources.(water scarcity……
Water scarcity and its impact on agriculture
– Case study of Layyah, Pakistan)
Erosion on the mountains and flooding on the plain terai and inner-terai has causes degradation in
environment. It has affected directly to the livelihood of the people.

A watershed collects precipitation, stores part

of it, and directs the remaining fl ow of runoff
components to a common river or lake. Most
of the rainwater that falls on upland areas fl ows away
as surface runoff. Only a small portion goes into the
soil to recharge soil moisture – ‘green water’ and
an even smaller part sinks deeper to recharge the
groundwater aquifers, fl owing out later at the base of
the incline in the form of springs and seepage water –
‘blue water’ – that feed the streams (Upadhya 2009).
Thus to make water available
for human use, the water must be collected or ‘harvested’
when rain or runoff is available
The techniques chosen depend on the
amount and timing of rain, and the soil type, geology,
and topography of the area. Some typical traditional
techniques used for harvesting rainwater, groundwater,
and surface water…(madhukar up)

Nepal with an area of 147,181 km2 has diverse biophysical and socio-cultural conditions. Th e altitudinal
variation is very high. Th e altitude ranges from 60 m in the south to 8,848m, the summit of Mount Everest,
in the north within a short distance of only 160 km (Figure 1). Physiographically, the country is divided
into 5 regions- the Terai, the Chure (Siwaliks), the Middle Mountains, the High Mountains and the High
Himal (LRMP, 1986) Th e Terai plain in the south, representing about 14 % of the total area of
the country is composed of Quaternary alluvial deposits. Th e Chure hills (Siwaliks) occupying 12% area, are
composed of Tertiary sandstones, shale, and conglomerate. Th e Middle Mountains, including the Mahabharat
lekh, are composed of phyllites, quartzite, limestone, and islands of granite and make up 30% of the total
area of Nepal. Th e High Mountains composed of gneiss, quartzite, and mica schists, represents about 20% of

23
the total area. Th e High Himal in the north is composed of gneiss, schist, limestone and Tethys sediments. It
occupies nearly 24% of the total area. Water Resource Strategy 2002 and National Water Plan 2005 emphasized on
sustainable management
of watershed and aquatic ecosystem; appropriate and effi cient irrigation; and prevention and mitigation
of water induced disasters including drought. It adopts a holistic approach relying on IWRM with
emphasis on participation of all the stakeholders ; integration with social development, equitable sharing
of benefi ts; and wider use of existing as well as innovative technologies, conservation of resources and
protection of environment. It envisages new institutional arrangements – a Sub-basin Committee; District
Water Resource Committee and Major River Basin Authority which are responsible to prepare data base,
assess water needs, develop and implement water related development programmes, raise fi nancial
resources, inform and educate the general public in the benefi t of integrated water management(land degradation).

Integrated Water-Resources Management

in a River-Basin Context: Institutional
Strategies for Improving the Productivity
of Agricultural Water Management

Siwaliks, commonly referred as

Churia, is the range gradually elevated
from Terai plains up to 1,800 mt
from the sea level, stretched almost
the entire length of the country from
east to west. The Churia range cross
cuts the 33 districts of the country
(Oli 2000:6).(crcs)

the Central Government, which aims at

enabling the rural population to conserve water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and afforestation as
66
well as generate employment opportunities through development of water harvesting structures such
as low-cost farm ponds, nalia bunds, checkdams, percolation tanks and other groundwater recharge
measures. Nepal is a landlocked country with the highest peak in the world. About 77% of the area is
mountainous with three distinct climatic and altitudinal zones as follows: (1) the inner Terai (300 -
1000 m) which is a stretch of very fertile flatlands, (2) the mid hills (1000 - 4000m), and (3) the
mountainous areas (> 4000 m) including the Himalayas. The topographic orientation as well as
vertical extension of this country creates diverse spatial and temporal variations in rainfall. The
average annual rainfall of Nepal is approximately 1700 mm. The problem in the hills and mountains is
that excessive rain in monsoon season causes catastrophic soil erosions whereas water scarcity is
faced in non-monsoon periods. The water scarcity problem is acute for communities dwelling in the
mountains/hilltops (Shrestha, 2001). Adoption of suitable water harvesting schemes can go a
long way in solving many of the water availability problems……. Numerous water harvesting techniques,
ranging from traditional to modern, exist for both drinking water supply and irrigation purposes in the
arid plains, the semi-arid plains, the floodplains and in the hilly/mountainous regions of the
subcontinent. (anupama harma) Shrestha, G. (2001) Water harvesting as an appropriate technology: The global and
local perspective.
24
BS Thesis, Kathmandu University, Nepal.

Charbroiled Chure..
Chure also known as Siwalik is a strip of hill-range running east to west
between terai and Mahabharat hills. When there is flat space between
Mahabharat hills and Chure range, larger ones are called Doon and
smaller ones Bhabar. Administratively, most of Chure range falls in the
peripheral frontiers of the hill-districts in the north and the fertile
populated plane districts of Terai. This means that voice from the area
is low, so are the resources reaching to Chure. The nature shouldn’t have
bothered with such boundaries but is governed by the law of resource
use. Such areas are assaulted by humans and nature’s resilience is low.
When humans and nature cannot help each other, both become helpless.
This anthology seeks to testify how the stress caused by our social
structure has negative impact both on nature and humans at large.
While Chure is different from both ecological zones, i.e. Terai and
Mahabharat hills, it also shares some similarities. Natural and social
features of Chure are presented below:
midmountains,
Chure and terai (Hagen, 1998, LRMP, 1986). It extends from
Indus river in the west to Brhmaputra river in the east. Average hight
of Chure is 1,500m above sl. It’s width is 5 to 50 kms (RH, 2000). In
Nepal, it runs east to west in 36 administrative districts (for details see
Table 5 and 6) covering 18,860 sqkms - some 13% of country’s surface
area. 14% of the total land in Chure is said to be cultivable. It’s 78%
percent of the surface area is reported to have covered by the forests
when 43% of Nepal’s total area was said to be under forest cover.
Table 5 shows a comparative perspective of other regions with Chure
Soil in Chure is mostly loose and sandy. Due to its young age of the
mountains and steep slopes, a lot of soil is washed down every year.
Livelihood of people depended on natural resources
will be threatened. However, if opportunities of employment are created
for people, their dependency on natural resources will be reduced.
Today’s investment on children’s education means a contribution to Chure
conservation in the future Without creating opportunity for employment and increasing production
from the land conservation of Chure is not possible. Although Chure encompasses some 13% the total land of the
country,
it has not been able to draw the proportional attention it deserves.
Becasue, it is scattered in so many districts and people living there have
low voice and are always in minority, the belt risks the negligence and
overexploitation of resources. It needs an identity and adovocacy to
speak for Chure if the process of degradation is to be reversed.
Formation of a poweful Chure Authority (CA) to mange the area is
recommended. This will prevent being Chure area left as insenstive
antenna of a terai district or as a pig’s tail of hills district. More discussion
and exercises are necessary for making it to be a functional body and
demarcate it. It may well fit into forthcoming fedaral restruturing of
the state. It must be stressed that interventions in terai should not be a
sporadic series of patchwork but a comprehensive mechanism to address
the issues of Chure holistically. Major tasks of the authority are
conceptualized below. In the mean time, people need to get organized
and press for such an authority. Chure functions as a slow percolating reservoir to the terai providing a

25
constant supply of much needed water. If Chruey is depleted and
deforested, run-off will be faster and the terai will be deprived of
water in the dry season. A mechanism needs to be devised in such a way
that people living in Chure do conserve the resources and paid back for
their resources. Cost of devastation in Chure will have detrimental affect
in agriculutre and other livelihood conditions of the people. It is well
established that a high raising river is not due to a high quantity of water
but due to the soil and gravel it carries along.

Water Harvesting
Guidelines to Good Practice
Water harvesting has been practiced successfully for millennia
in parts of the world – and some recent interventions
have also had significant local impact. Yet water harvesting’s
potential remains largely unknown, unacknowledged and
unappreciated.
The principle is simple: capture potentially damaging rainfall
runoff and translate this into plant growth or water supplyrunoff occurs due to high intensity showers
and the low water holding capacity of fields, pastures,
and forests. And with the impacts of climate change already
with us, here is an approach to better use a local resource
for livelihood sustenance. Currently, of the 1.5 billion hectares of cropland worldwide,
more than 80 percent depend on rainfall alone, contributing
to at least two-thirds of global food production (FAOSTAT,
2005 in Rockström et al., 2007; Scheierling, 2011). Rainfed agriculture is practiced in almost all the agroecological
/ hydro-climatic zones of the world. Yields can be
high in temperate regions, with relatively reliable rainfall
and productive soils; and also in tropical regions, particularly
in the sub-humid and humid zones. But in drylands, which
cover approximately 40 percent of the global land area
(excluding Greenland and Antarctica, Box 2), yields of the
major crops tend to be relatively low; between a quarter and
half of their potential (Rockström et al., 2007; Wani et al.,
2009; Scheierling et al., 2013).
Water for production
continues to be a key constraint to agriculture, due
to highly variable rainfall, long dry seasons, and recurrent
droughts, as well as floods. If rainfall is less than crop water
requirements, then clearly actual yields will be less than
the potential; moreover the impact of variable rainfall is
strongly affected by the nature of the soil and the stage of
the growing period (Critchley and Scheierling, 2012) An extra 10 – 25 percent of water runoff harvested
and made available during critical periods of plant
growth can double or triple yields (Liniger et al., 2011) or
simply allow crops to regularly succeed in places with high
risk of crop failure (Critchley and Gowing, 2012). The aim of water harvesting is to collect runoff or groundwater
from areas of surplus or where it is not used, store it
and make it available, where and when there is water shortage.

26
“The collection and management of floodwater or rainwater
runoff to increase water availability for domestic and
agricultural use as well as ecosystem sustenance”. 1Application area or target: this is where the harvested
water is put into use either for domestic consumption
(drinking and other household uses), for livestock consumption,
or agricultural use (including supplementary
irrigation). 1 Water availability includes the recharge of soil water and groundwater
and water stored in reservoirs. Water harvesting for ecosystem sustenance
as well as for industrial use are recent applications of water harvesting:
though the bulk of water harvesting technologies that have
been developed throughout history serve for domestic and agricultural
use.
Commonly the terms water harvesting (WH) and rainwater harvesting
(RWH) are used interchangeably. But water harvesting is most generally
used as the umbrella term for a range of methods of collecting and
managing floodwaters and runoff including rooftop WH, runoff irrigation,
spate irrigation and runoff farming (Critchley and Siegert, 1991;
Falkenmark et al., 2001; Critchley and Gowing, 2012; Oweis, Prinz and
Hachum, 2012; Scheierling et al., 2013). Another WH group based on catchment type put forward by a number of
authors is “groundwater harvesting” where harvested floodwater and
surface runoff can recharge and replenish groundwater. This is conserved
and stored to be re-used for extending growing periods and/or for supplementary
irrigation during dry periods. Groundwater harvesting covers
traditional as well as unconventional ways of groundwater extraction
(e.g Qanat systems, horizontal wells, etc.).
Source: Critchley and Siegert, 1991; Prinz and Singh, 2000; Van
Steenbergen and Tuinhof, 2009.
With increasing population, climate change, higher food
prices and growing shortages of safe drinking water,
increasing emphasis must be put on better water management.
Water harvesting in particular has high potential: not
only for increasing crop production in dry areas, but also in
providing drinking, sanitation and household water as well
as water for livestock. However, initiatives are still too scattered,
and experiences related to “best” WH practices are
poorly shared. Policies, legal regulation and governmental
budgets often lack the inclusion of water harvesting in integrated
water resource management and poverty reduction
strategies. Enabling environment: key factors for adoption
Inputs, material +++
Incentives, credits ++
Training and education ++
Land / water use rights +++
Access to markets for inputs and outputs ++
Research ++
Genuine ownership on the part of communities
+++
Importance: +++ high, ++ medium, + low, +/- neutral

Assessment

27
Impacts of the Technology
Production and socio-economic benefits Production and socio-economic disadvantages
increased crop yield
increased fodder production
increased water availability / quality
increased farm income
increased produciton area
none
Socio-cultural benefits Socio-cultural disadvantages
community institution strengthening
improved food security / self sufficiency
none
Ecological benefits Ecological disadvantages
improved harvesting / collection of water
increased soil moisture
increased nutrient cycling recharge
none
Off-site benefits Off-site disadvantages
none none
Contribution to human well-being/livelihoods
no data
+++: high, ++: medium, +: low
Benefits/costs according to land user
Assessment
Impacts of the Technology
Production and socio-economic benefits Production and socio-economic disadvantages
increased crop yield
increased farm income
increased irrigation water availability / quality
reduced risk of production failure
none
Socio-cultural benefits Socio-cultural disadvantages
community institution strengthening
improved situation of disadvantaged groups
improved food security / self sufficiency
conflict mitigation
improved conservation / erosion knowledge
improved health
diversification and creation of activities
improved planning skills
poverty reduction
training for weir construction
none
Ecological benefits Ecological disadvantages
increased water quantity
improved harvesting / collection of water
increased soil moisture

28
reduced surface runoff
recharge of groundwater table / aquifer
increased biomass above ground C
reduced soil loss
increased nutrient cycling recharge
increased soil organic matter / below ground C
increased animal diversity
increased plant diversity
increased / maintained habitat diversity
none
Off-site benefits Off-site disadvantages
increased water availability
reduced downstream flooding
reduced downstream siltation
improved buffering / filtering capacity
none
Contribution to human well-being/livelihoods
food security, improved access to water and therefore less work for women, additional income, work migration of men abroad not
necessary anymore
+++: high, ++: medium, +: low
Artificial recharge through
infiltration ponds can be applied almost anywhere, provided that there is a supply of
clean fresh water available at least part of the year, the bottom of the pond is permeable,
and the aquifer to be recharged is at or near the surface.
Example: Groundwater recharge
ponds, Turkmenistan
In Turkmenistan the cost of chirles (groundwater
recharge ponds) vary considerably.
When only one well for human consumption
is in use, the structure costs US$ 2,500.
When ten wells are dug, the cost per pond
decreases to US$ 2,100. In case the wells are
also utilized for livestock water or to improve
the rangeland the cost rises to US$ 3,650.
Despite the first investment, maintenance
costs are relatively low at US$ 115 – 192 per
year. The costs are usually shared by many
households and the community maintains
the chirles (Van Steenbergen et al., 2011).
Impacts of the Technology
Production and socio-economic benefits Production and socio-economic disadvantages
decreased labour constraints
increased fodder production
increased wood production
reduced risk of production failure
increased drinking water availability
increased water availability / quality

29
increased irrigation water availability quality
increased farm income
diversification of income sources
decreased workload
reduced water borne disease
increased crop yield
increased fodder quality
increased animal production
increased product diversification
Increased school attendance
Socio-cultural benefits Socio-cultural disadvantages
improved food security / self-sufficiency
improved cultural opportunities
improved conservation / erosion knowledge
improved health
improved incomes
improved fuel security
improved livestock health
reduced conflict
community institution strengthening
Ecological benefits Ecological disadvantages
increased water quantity
increased water quality
improved harvesting / collection of water
increased soil moisture
reduced evaporation
recharge of groundwater table / aquifer
reduced hazard towards adverse events
reduced surface runoff
reduced emission of carbon and greenhouse gases
reduced salinity
increased plant diversity
increased / maintained habitat diversit
Water harvesting is the collection of runoff and its use for
irrigation of crops, pastures and trees, and for livestock
consumption (Finkel and Finkel, 1986).
• Water harvesting is the collection of runoff* for productive
purposes**. This definition by Critchley and Siegert
(1991) was and still is often used and cited (e.g. FAO,
1994; Falkenmark et al., 2001; Anderson and Burton,
2009; Scheierling et al., 2013).
• Rainwater harvesting is the collection of runoff from
roofs or ground surfaces (Falkenmark et al., 2001; Worm
and Hattum, 2006).
• Water harvesting includes all methods of concentrating,
diverting, collecting, storing and utilizing and managing
runoff for productive use (Ngigi, 2003).

30
• Water harvesting is the collection of runoff rainwater for
domestic water supply, agriculture and environmental
management (Worm and Hattum, 2006).
• Water harvesting is the collection and concentration of
rainfall runoff for crop production – or for improving
the performance of grass and trees – in dry areas where
moisture deficit is the primary limiting factor (Liniger and
Critchley, 2007).
• Rainwater harvesting is the concentration of runoff from
watersheds for beneficial use (Rockström et al., 2007).
• Rainwater harvesting is the collection and concentration
of rainfall to make it available for domestic or agricultural
uses in dry areas where moisture deficit is the primary
limiting factor (Liniger et al., 2011).
• Water harvesting is the collection and concentration of
rainwater and runoff and its productive use for irrigation
of annual crops, pastures and trees, for domestic and livestock
consumption and for ground water recharge (Prinz,
2011).
• Water harvesting is the collection and concentration
of rainfall runoff or floodwaters for plant production
(Critchley and Scheierling, 2012).
• The process of concentrating precipitation through runoff
and storing it for beneficial use (Oweis et. al., 2012).
* Runoff may be harvested from roofs and ground surfaces as well as
from intermittent or ephemeral watercourses
** Productive purposes comprise water for human and livestock consumption
and use, water for agriculture (crop, fodder, pasture, trees,
kitchen gardens, agro-processing) and for environmental management
(forest, protected areas, wildlife).

2.2 Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Implementation Programs of CDGs

2.2.1 Physical Works

a. Natural Hazard prevention

These activities include gully treatment, landslide treatment, torrent control, stream bank protection, and
degradation land rehabilitation using various engineering and vegetative measures. Check dams, retaining walls,
diversion channels, grass sowing, tree planting are the main types of works under these activities

b. Development Infrastructure Protection

Development infrastructures protection measures are those, which protect and stabilize the basic development
infrastructures such as reservoir, irrigation, road and others to improve economic status of people. Irrigation
channel protection, trail protection, road slope stabilization, water source conservation, shelterbelts and buffer
strip come under in fractures protection measures.
31
 c. Land Productivity Conservation

Land productivity conservation measures are those, which develop and improve productivity of the land thus
increase production through appropriate land use management on the basis of land capabilities.

On farm conservation, fruit tree planting, silvi-pasture improvement, conservation pond and nursery are designed
as productivity conservation measures.

d. Community Soil Conservation Extension Program

These types of activities are intended to create community awareness of the erosion problems of the watershed
and to show how to undertake conservation measures through field demonstration, and use of films, filmstrips,
slide show, flip chart, calendar, slogans, newsletters, posters, study tours, training etc.

2.2.2 Income Generating Activities

The main objectives of income Generating Activities (IGA) is to relieve the pressure from increasing population on
marginal lands and diversification of economy for poor dwellers in community.

Bee keeping, private nursery, duck farming, mushroom growing, vegetable growing, sericulture, chicken raising,
fish farming, rabbit farming are some of the income generating activities related to land and water use.

2.3 Community Development Groups (CDGs) and Its Financial Resources

DSCO on the behalf of SCWM component has been providing supports CDGs to implement activities for a period
of five years. Five years working periods is divided into three implementing phase. CDG get budget on HH basis
and distance from the road. In physical budget, daily travel allowance for CDG program implementation,
extension, training and sacks are also included. Such budgets are of two types.

1. Physical program budget

2. Income Generating Program budget

32
“The greatest potential increases in yield are in rainfed areas
where many of the world’s poor live and where managing
water is the key to such increases” (Molden, 2007).

There is increasing concern in Nepal over the declining status and health of important watershed
ecosystems. Watershed ecosystems are vital for they deliver key water quality and quantity services
downstream and therefore sustain and promote livelihoods and economic development. Yet
watershed conservation and management is increasingly becoming challenging. For example while
vital for the delivery of water quantity and quality services, watersheds in Nepal are often occupied
by upland dwellers for whom these ecosystems also provide essential goods and services (in the
form of food, fodder, energy, medicine, construction materials etc.) for their survival and livelihoods.
On the one hand, conservation of watersheds to ensure sustainable water services downstream can
come with tremendous hardship and upland livelihood costs, and thus undermine the entire
conservation effort. On the other hand, overexploitation of watershed ecosystems can come with
high downstream economic costs. It is therefore becoming increasingly apparent that the approach
to watershed conservation has to address both upland livelihood and downstream water services
delivery concerns in order to ensure sustainable and enhanced upland livelihoods and downstream
water services, livelihoods and economies.
Churia hills region is a little known but crucial example of a watershed that provides vital ecosystem
goods and services supporting upland livelihoods and downstream populations in the Terai 1. Churia
Hills are the southern-most range of hills in Nepal lying between the plains of the Terai and the
mountain ranges of the Himalayas with an elevation ranging from 120m to 2,000m. Most of the
Churia Hills region is forested but is also inhabited in many places. Churia is considered to be
playing a vital function as a watershed for the downstream Terai plain - where the bulk of the
Nepalese population resides and relies on delivered water resources for domestic and agricultural
purposes. Churia is also important for safeguarding the lives, livelihoods and properties in the Terai
plains by regulating the water flow (reducing the flow in monsoon and ensuring the flow in dry
season). Among the range of ecosystem goods and services Churia provides, some of the most
important and directly visible benefits include support to upland household livelihoods in terms of
Non-Timber Forest Products (fuel wood for energy, fodder and herbs). Common functions of a
typical ecosystem are presented in Box 1.
1 TheTerai is the southernmost stretch of plain land bordering India and comprises the most fertile belt of the
country. 2 The Bhabar is the gently sloping stretch of land lying between Churia hills and Terai plains, along the
foothills of Churia. Bhabar serves as an excellent recharge zone for the underground water in Terai plains.
Churia hills accounts for 13 per cent of the total land area of Nepal and accommodates about 13 per
cent of the total population (NPC 2004). Churia hill‘s contributions to the livelihoods of upland
dwellers (and nearby communities) are mainly in the form of non-wood forest products while the
major contribution to the downstream communities in is in the form of water supply which supports
about half of the total population living in this area (Bhabar 2 and Terai), and construction materials
such as boulders, pebbles, gravel and 2

33
sand. Bhabar and Terai together cover about 23% of the total area and are inhabited by about 50%
of the total population. The Terai plain is considered the ‗Rice Bowl‘ of the country and has a share
of about half of the total agricultural production of the country. Additionally, Churia contributes
water to Dun valleys in the north as well and supports their agriculture.
But despite its tremendous importance, Churia‘s conservation and management is receiving little
attention in official circles partly due to low awareness of its importance and so inadequate funding,
and partly the pressing needs for socio-economic development investments. At the same time,
Churia faces severe problems of degradation and over exploitation. Churia‘s natural habitats and
ecological processes remain under heavy pressure from human activities compounded by natural
factors such as its fragility and high intensity rainfall during monsoon. Common problems that
Churia faces are soil erosion and landslides which are caused by heavy monsoon rains, frequent
forest fire, intensive agricultural activities, encroachments and uncontrolled grazing. The Churia hills
are geologically new, fragile and hence naturally prone to disasters such as floods, landslides and
erosion. Upland residents suffer from land loss caused by erosion, mass movement and river bank
erosion whereas downstream people suffer from flooding, sedimentation and inundation. Changing
climate might impose further threats to Churia and the downstream population through climate
vagaries, flood damages and impacts to agriculture. The scale of damages is often higher in the
downstream Terai and would require huge investment in man-made infrastructure to mitigate or
avert them. A more cost effective alternative could be to invest in watershed conservation and
management in a way that could sustain and improve downstream water services (both quantity and
quality) and sustain and enhance upland livelihoods. The loss of downstream water services can
have immense social and economic ramifications for the overall socio-economic development of the
Terai and thus the entire country.
Box 1: Ecosystem functions A natural ecosystem has a range of functions resulting in varied important
goods and services for human and other lives. These all can be grouped into four categories:
 Regulation functions – regulates essential ecological processes, purification of air and water; regulation
of rainwater run-off and drought;
 Habitat functions – to wild plants and animals;
 Production functions – ecosystem goods for human consumption such as food, oxygen, water, raw
materials, energy resources, or genetic material; and the
 Information functions – for science, culture and art, education and research, and recreation.

As is evident, major threats to the Churia Hills are economic and financial in nature, for example,
over-exploitation and destructive harvesting of forest products, clearance and modification of
natural habitats and ecosystems, alternative uses of investments, and inadequate funding to cover
basic conservation and management costs. An overriding issue, and underlying cause of these
threats, is the low appreciation and understanding of the economic value of ecosystem goods and
services among economic decision-makers, which results in a situation where it is becoming
progressively more difficult to justify investment in ecosystems management in the face of pressing
needs for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. In such a situation, upland
communities remain uncompensated whether they practice sustainable land and resource
management or not, 3
which contribute to the provision of downstream water services, while the downstream beneficiaries
continue to benefit from ecosystem water services at almost no cost. Thus neither the upland
communities nor downstream beneficiaries have the motivation and incentives to support
34
conservation of the Churia. In fact, faced with a situation of lack of benefits and incentives for the
maintenance and enhancement of the water services and dwindling income-generating and
livelihood options, the upland communities are compelled to trade-off long-term livelihood and
wider downstream benefits for immediate survival and livelihood needs by adopting unsustainable
land and resource practices. The end result is the degradation and loss of ecosystem goods and
services, which has dire implications for upland and downstream actors. Yet it is possible to
harmonize the interests of both actors to support conservation by providing incentives through
rewards to upland communities to undertake sustainable land and resource management. Churia,
Bhabar and Terai area are highly interlinked and any changes in land and resource use in the upper
watershed area affects its capacity to deliver ecosystem services for the upland livelihoods and
downstream people. Thus, there is an urgent need to demonstrate the economic value associated
with conserving upland ecosystems for downstream benefits of goods and services, if planners and
decision-makers are to be convinced that investing in watershed conservation and management is
worthwhile for socio-economic development. At the same time, it is necessary to find equitable,
efficient and sustainable mechanisms by which to reward the upland land and resource managers
for the downstream water services they provide. Towards fulfilling this information gap, The World
Conservation Union (IUCN) Nepal, WWF Nepal and CARE Nepal made a joint effort to estimate the
economic value associated with major ecosystem goods and services that Churia provides, and to
ascertain the possibility of piloting a reward mechanism for Churia conservation and management
such as Payment for Environmental Services (PES) as a local self sustaining conservation financial
mechanism.\

Currently, of the 1.5 billion hectares of cropland worldwide,

more than 80 percent depend on rainfall alone, contributing

to at least two-thirds of global food production (FAOSTAT,

2005 in Rockström et al., 2007; Scheierling, 2011). While the

coverage of rainfed agriculture varies regionally (Box 1), in

developing regions including Latin America and Sub-Saharan

Africa more than 90 percent of cropland is rainfed.

According to FAO, the population of the least developed

countries in the world is still predominantly rural: nearly 70

percent reside in the countryside (FAOSTAT, 2012). Despite

massive progress in reducing poverty in some parts of the

world, over the past two decades – notably in East Asia – there

are still about 1.4 billion people living on less than US$1.25 a

35
day, and close to 1 billion people currently suffer from hunger

(IFAD, 2011). The majority of the rural poor affected by food

insecurity can be found in semi-humid and semi-arid areas,

as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. These areas are especially

dependent on rainfed agriculture, and global increases in food

prices can exacerbate food insecurity. But these challenges

simultaneously provide opportunities. With the rise of market

prices and increased knowledge about productive sustainable

land and water management systems, these areas have the

potential to become at least self-sufficient, or even net exporters

of food (see Tiffen, Mortimore and Gichuki, 1994, for a

well-known example from Eastern Kenya).

Rainfed agriculture is practiced in almost all the agroecological

/ hydro-climatic zones of the world. Yields can be

high in temperate regions, with relatively reliable rainfall

and productive soils; and also in tropical regions, particularly

in the sub-humid and humid zones. But in drylands, which

cover approximately 40 percent of the global land area

(excluding Greenland and Antarctica, Box 2), yields of the

major crops tend to be relatively low; between a quarter and

half of their potential (Rockström et al., 2007; Wani et al.,

2009; Scheierling et al., 2013).

Challenges within rainfed farming are many in arid, semiarid,

sub-humid and even in humid regions. Water for production

continues to be a key constraint to agriculture, due

to highly variable rainfall, long dry seasons, and recurrent

droughts, as well as floods. If rainfall is less than crop water

36
requirements, then clearly actual yields will be less than

the potential; moreover the impact of variable rainfall is

strongly affected by the nature of the soil and the stage of

the growing period (Critchley and Scheierling, 2012).

In addition climate change will affect these regions, where

livelihoods are largely rainfed, and cereal or livestock farming

system based. Recent climate change scenarios project

that between 2000 and 2050, and for warming levels of

1.8°C to 2.8°C (2.2°C to 3.2°C compared to preindustrial temperatures),

decreases in yields of 14 to 25 percent for wheat,

19 to 34 percent for maize, and 15 to 30 percent for soybean

(without accounting for possible CO2 fertilization effects

(Deryng et al., 2011).

Beside the challenges of coping with water scarcity and

stress due to climatic variability, land degradation resulting

from soil erosion by wind and water, and poor management

of soil fertility contributes to low rainwater use efficiency.

Poor land and water management practices are major causes

of low crop productivity. Up to 70 – 85 percent of rainfall

may be effectively “lost” to crops in the drylands of Sub-

Saharan Africa (Rockström, 2000; Rockström et al., 2007;

Liniger et al., 2011). Water in an agricultural production

system can be lost due to evaporation from the soil surface,

surface runoff (which simultaneously causes erosion) and

through deep percolation / drainage, which sometimes can

be later recovered for irrigation elsewhere (see Figure 3).

These rainfall losses, however, can be transformed into

productive “green water”: meaning soil water directly used

37
by transpiration for plant growth (Figure 3). Then losses

become advantages: runoff feeds water harvesting systems

that store water directly in the soil profile. Losses can also

be turned into useful “blue water”: i.e. water collected in

water bodies and thus made available for irrigation. Equally,

increased groundwater availability, besides stimulating

plant growth, can be extracted not only for supplementary

irrigation of crops but also for domestic use and livestock

consumption. As such, water harvesting and productive use

of blue water sources, have positive effects on nutrition and

poverty through increasing crop production and improving

food security. An extra 10 – 25 percent of water runoff harvested

and made available during critical periods of plant

growth can double or triple yields (Liniger et al., 2011) or

simply allow crops to regularly succeed in places with high

risk of crop failure (Critchley and Gowing, 2012).

In areas with low and insecure rainfall, irrigation continues

to play an important role in increasing crop production and

food supply. However, large irrigation schemes have proved

to be controversial due to problems of high costs, misman-agement, damaged ecosystems, limited water resources,

salinization, over-abstraction and increasing conflicts over

scarce water. Often, a more viable alternative for small-scale

production is supplementary irrigation, which complements

precipitation during periods of water deficit or stress at sensitive

stages of plant growth. There are many technologies

that help supply water for supplementary irrigation. These

range from dams collecting water for large-scale water supply

and irrigation, to farm ponds and shallow wells from

38
which water can be extracted with treadle (or other) pumps

for micro-irrigation.

To unlock the potential of small-scale rainfed agriculture,

investments in better water management need to be emphasised.

In drier areas water harvesting coupled with in situ

water management as well as improved soil, nutrient and crop

management have great potential. In humid areas, in situ

water management technologies such as conservation agri Previous

The aim of water harvesting is to collect runoff or groundwater

from areas of surplus or where it is not used, store it

and make it available, where and when there is water shortage.

This results in an increase in water availability by either

(a) impeding and trapping surface runoff, and (b) maximising

water runoff storage or (c) trapping and harvesting

sub-surface water (groundwater harvesting, also see Box 6).

Water harvesting makes more water available for domestic,

livestock and agricultural use (Annex 2) by buffering and

bridging drought spells and dry seasons through storage

Box 3: A transect of water harvesting through history

Water harvesting has been used in India, the Middle East, the Americas and

Africa throughout history, and was the backbone of agriculture especially in

arid and semi-arid areas worldwide. Some of the very earliest agriculture,

in the Middle East, was based on techniques such as diversion of wadi flow

onto agricultural fields. In India, water harvesting is an ancient technique

dating back some 4,000 to 5,000 years. In North America the agriculture of

39
many indigenous peoples in what are now the southern states was historically

dependent on simple methods of floodwater harvesting.

In the early 20th century, the primary focus of conservation agencies was

soil erosion control aimed at reducing soil losses; this progressed to soil

and water conservation, based particularly on structural measures (terraces;

gabion weirs etc.). The harvesting of runoff that went with some soil

conservation measures was more or less a side-effect whose potential was

unappreciated. Furthermore, the success of the green revolution, based on

hybrid seeds, inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, resulted in a rapid expansion

of irrigated areas – and this was seen as the ”modern” way forward

to improving agricultural water management. However, this expansion soon

reached its limits due to over-abstraction, declining water resources and

salinization, which led to further impoverishment and in some situations to

conflicts. Furthermore the ecological problems associated with dam building

became barriers to new construction.

Water scarcity and the widespread droughts in Africa led to a growing

awareness of the potential of water harvesting for improved crop production

in the 1970s. After a quieter period in the late 1980s, water harvesting

again became the subject of study and project implementation at the turn

of the century, and indigenous practices regained credence. In China today,

water harvesting is seen as a major component in reducing the rural exodus

and controlling severe soil erosion and is subject of dedicated projects,

aimed at helping millions of people.

Source: Hudson, 1987; Critchley and Siegert, 1991; Prinz, 1996;

Falkenmark et al., 2001; Worm and Hattum, 2006; Critchley and Gowing,

2012; Oweis et al., 2012; Scheierling et al., 2013.

Figure 3: Productive water and losses without water conserving

40
or harvesting measures in drylands. (Liniger et al.,,2011 based on Rockström et al., 2007) Note: Water stored in

the soil and used directly by plants through transpiration istermed “green water”. Runoff, deep drainage,
recharging ofgroundwater and feeding of streams is called “blue water”.

culture (based on no-till, muching and crop rotation) are generallymore suitable and appropriate (Wani et al., 2009;
Linigeret al., 2011; Critchley and Gowing, 2012). These guidelineslimit themself to water harvesting, while being
aware that in

situ systems of water management are equally important, but

are relevant to zones with less dry conditions where the priority

is to keep rainfall in place, rather than actively attempting

to increase its availability through capturing runoff.

Water harvesting (WH) has been defined and classified in a

number of ways by various authors over the years. The large

majority of definitions are closely related, the main difference

being how broad the scope is: in other words what is

included and what is left out. Annex 1 presents an overview

of various definitions of water harvesting. After reviewing

these, and in the context of these guidelines, water harvesting

is defined as:

Evaporation

30-70%

Runoff

10-25%

Transpiration

25-40%

Rainfall

100%

Drainage 0-10%

Figure 3: Productive water and losses without water conserving

or harvesting measures in drylands. (Liniger et al.,

41
2011 based on Rockström et al., 2007) Note: Water stored in

the soil and used directly by plants through transpiration is

termed “green water”. Runoff, deep drainage, recharging of

groundwater and feeding of streams is called “blue water”.

“The collection and management of floodwater or rainwater

runoff to increase water availability for domestic and

agricultural use as well as ecosystem sustenance”. 1

Thus water harvesting deliberately reallocates the water

resource within a landscape, and over time. Water harvesting

captures water for domestic use, or replenishes green water

supplies, or increases blue water available locally.

Water harvesting must be seen as an integral part of sustainable

land (and water) management (Box 4).

The basic principle of water harvesting is to capture precipitation

falling in one area and transfer it to another, thereby

increasing the amount of water available in the latter.

The basic components of a water harvesting system are a

catchment or collection area, the runoff conveyance system,

a storage component and an application area. In some cases

the components are adjacent to each other, in other cases

they are connected by a conveyance system (Figure 4). The

storage and application areas may also be the same, typically

where water is concentrated in the soil for direct use

by plants.

• Catchment or collection area: this is where rain in

the form of runoff is harvested. The catchment may be as

small as a few square meters or as large as several square

kilometres. It may be a rooftop, a paved road, compacted

42
surfaces, rocky areas or open rangelands, cultivated or

uncultivated land and natural slopes.

• Conveyance system: this is where runoff is conveyed

through gutters, pipes (in case of rooftop WH) or overland,

rill, gully or channel flow and either diverted onto

cultivated fields (where water is stored in the soil) or into

specifically designed storage facilities.

• Storage component: this is where harvested runoff

water is stored until it is used by people, animals or

plants. Water may be stored in the soil profile as soil

Water harvesting may occur naturally, for example in

depressions, or “artificially” through human intervention.

Artificial WH often involves interventions to improve precipitation

collection and to direct runoff to the application

area. Runoff for WH is encouraged and, when it is very low,

it can be induced by, for example, smoothing or compacting

the soil surface, clearing rock surfaces, surface sealing or

using impermeable coverings.

moisture, or above ground (jars, ponds or reservoirs), or

underground (cisterns) or as groundwater (near-surface

aquifers) (Oweis et al., 2012). There, where concentrated

runoff is directly diverted to fields, the application area is

identical to the storage area, as plants can directly use the

accumulated soil water. A great variety of designed storage

systems keep the water until it is used either adjacent

to the storage facilities or further away.

43
• Application area or target: this is where the harvested

water is put into use either for domestic consumption

(drinking and other household uses), for livestock consumption,

or agricultural use (including supplementary

irrigation). End users manage water according to different strategies

and principles, depending on the amount of rainfall, potential

evapotranspiration and the cropping system (or other

use of water). Four different water management strategies

(based on Hudson, 1987) can be recognised:

1. Management of excess water from rainfall or seasonal flooding

through controlled drainage and water storage for future

use. Most suitable in humid and sub-humid conditions as well

as semi-arid and arid conditions (floodwater harvesting).

2. Increasing rainwater capture and availability, making use of

surface runoff; suitable for dry sub-humid to arid conditions

(rainwater harvesting).

3. Reducing in situ water loss: improving direct water infiltration

and reducing evaporation; soil water conservation practices

that prevent surface runoff and keep rainwater in place

(e.g. conservation agriculture, level bench terraces, mulching,

dew harvesting); suitable for sub-humid to semi-arid conditions

(in situ water conservation).

4. Increasing water use efficiency (e.g. good agronomic

practice, including use of best-suited planting material

and fertility management) In order to improve productivity in the most sustainable way

a combination of strategies to ensure these functions is

often required.

44
Water management is the overarching term that covers all

practices improving water availability. Figure 5 shows different

agricultural water management practices within the range

from purely rainfed to fully irrigated production systems.

The applicability and impact of water harvesting technologies

depend on local conditions. There are specific “pros”

and “cons” associated with water harvesting (Table 3). On

the “pro” side, improving the efficiency with which rainfall

is used reduces pressure on traditional water resources and

hence on water itself. It can meet water needs for domestic

uses and animal production where public supplies are

not available (Oweis et al., 2102). Water harvesting offers

a cheaper alternative to expensive water schemes in areas

with low-input agriculture, particularly if the technology

implemented builds on traditional practices. These are the

direct benefits of WH; however there are also hidden indirect

benefits such as environmental protection and socioeconomic

advantages which are less obvious and more

difficult to quantify. For example when water harvesting is

used to improve domestic water supplies: helping to make

clean drinking water available throughout the year – this

can reduce the burden of women and children who in many

parts of the world have the responsibility of fetching water

Water harvesting technologies also come with uncertainties

45
and risks; the first is their dependence on variable

rainfall. In developing regions, the prevailing climatic

conditions include strong seasonality and erratic rainfall.

While water harvesting can help manage these, where

they are extreme they can make specific technologies less

effective or even lead to increased soil erosion if structures

breach. Water harvesting structures may take land out of

productive use, though this in fact may be an illusion as in

many cases there may be no productivity without a catchment

and the runoff this provides. Water harvesting can

lead to loss of habitat of flora and fauna due to clearance

of slopes, or where harvested water fills up depressions

(Oweis, et al., 2012).

Integrated watershed management (IWM) is an

approach that aims to improve both private and communal

livelihood benefits from wide-ranging technological and

institutional interventions. The concept of IWM goes beyond

traditional integrated technical interventions for soil and

water conservation, to include strong institutional arrangements

for collective action and market-related innovations

that support and diversify livelihoods. This concept ties

together the biophysical notion of a watershed as a hydrological

landscape unit with that of community and institutional

factors that regulate local demand and determine the

viability and sustainability of such interventions (Liniger et

al., 2011; WOCAT, 2012)

46
Multiple-use water services (MUS) is an approach to

water services that considers the multiple needs of water

users. This approach considers water from various sources,

existing infrastructure and the priorities of the community as

the starting point for investments in improved management

and governance of water (Van Koppen, 2006, cited in Adank,

van Koppen and Smits, 2012). In both the domestic and irrigation

sectors MUS started with the growing recognition that

Conclusion

With increasing population, climate change, higher food

prices and growing shortages of safe drinking water,

increasing emphasis must be put on better water management.

Water harvesting in particular has high potential: not

only for increasing crop production in dry areas, but also in

providing drinking, sanitation and household water as well

as water for livestock. However, initiatives are still too scattered,

and experiences related to “best” WH practices are

poorly shared. Policies, legal regulation and governmental

budgets often lack the inclusion of water harvesting in integrated

water resource management and poverty reduction

strategies. To address water scarcity and growing demands, there is

no other option than to improve agricultural production by

increasing water availability and water use efficiency in drylands.

In addition, provision of water for drinking, domestic

and livestock use needs to be decentralized and water itself

used more efficiently by harvesting local resources. Today

47
water harvesting is being increasingly promoted as a coping

strategy, and both national and international organizations

are beginning to invest more in WH for domestic water

supply, livestock consumption and for plant production.

However, to support and stimulate this development more

attention needs to be paid to:

• Facilitating sharing of knowledge and decision support

for local implementation and regional planning.

• Upscaling the wealth of WH knowledge and successful

WH practices based on informed decision making.

• Demonstrating the benefits of WH, including cost and

benefit assessments.

• Capitalizing from local and traditional knowledge, as well

as innovations by water users and research.

• Mainstreaming WH implementation into development

projects, investment frameworks, national strategies and

action plans.

• Building up effective and well experienced extension and

technical advice services.

• Encouraging coordination and collaboration among

stakeholders.

• Assuring an enabling framework from the policy level:

especially securing land and resource use rights.

• Supporting effective decentralization and good governance

by offering capacity building and training

Socio-economic, institutional and human/ cultural aspects

as well as appropriate approaches are crucial for successful

48
implementation. Use of subsidies and incentives; capacity

building etc. are key aspects behind adoption and upscaling.

Standardized documentation of SLM and WH related

approaches has been initiated (WOCAT, 2012) and first

analyses of these approaches are available (e.g. Liniger

and Critchley, 2007; Critchley and Gowing, 2012). However,

the focus of these guidelines is on water harvesting technologies.

Part 2 presents four water harvesting groups and a

selection of case studies of relevant WH technologies.

Introduction

Harmonised and standardised documentation of the wealth

of experiences in water harvesting (WH) facilitates knowledge

sharing, exchange, evaluation, direct comparison and

identification of knowledge gaps. A well-structured and

user-friendly database helps give access to knowledge; its

analysis then assists informed decision making, dissemination

and upscaling. In Part 2 the WH groups and technologies

introduced in Part 1 are presented in such a standardised

way: based on the World Overview of Conservation

Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) methods and tools.

First a structured overview and short description of relevant

and common technologies within each of the WH groups

is given. Some less well-known, localized technologies that

are relevant to some users were not included in this edition

of the guidelines. Such technologies include dew, fog

and snow harvesting, coastal tide harvesting, and so forth.

Furthermore these guidelines are biased towards information

49
and knowledge that is published in English, and

to a lesser extent in French. It might, therefore, not give

adequate consideration to WH technologies and practices

that are widespread and/or of local importance in countries

where information is recorded in other languages: thus

in Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian,

Chinese, Arabic and other languages

The overview of technologies is followed by standardised

presentation of a selection of site-specific WH practices,

termed case studies. This presentation (in the form of a

4-page summary) can be automatically generated from

the publically accessible WOCAT database, which hosts the

documentation of Sustainable Land Management (SLM)

Approaches and Technologies, under which water harvesting

practices fall. A case study consists of a description,

technical specifications, implementation activities, costs, an

overview of the natural and human environment as well as

an analysis of impacts, economics and adoption of the technology

applied in a specific context. This publication is a guide: and as the name suggests it

provides guidelines to good practice. It does not propose

silver bullet solutions, nor give step-by-step “how to do”

instructions. There are many variations and adaptations of

the technologies presented: already existing, local innovations,

research-based, or still to be explored possibilities.

These guidelines are only a starting point and far from being

comprehensive. They demonstrate the value of a worldwide

knowledge sharing platform and standardised methods and

50
tools for knowledge management. The data available in the

WOCAT global database and additionally compiled local

experiences can form the basis for informed decision making

for upscaling of WH good practices at local and national

level. For sound decision making it is necessary to analyse

not only so-called “successful” examples, but also those

which may be considered – at least partially – “failures”.

The reasons for failure are equally important for analysis.

We could start this by complementing and expanding these

guidelines towards a new edition.

51
Y = f (K, L, R, W) …………………………………………………………..……………… (i) In this production function, total
value of output/product (TVPY) is represented by: TVPY = PK×QK + PL×QL + PR×QR + PW×QW
………………………………………….. (ii) Where, Pi stands for price of input ‗i‘ (i = K, L, R, W), and Q i is the
quantity of input ‗i‘ used Pi×Qi represents the share of input ‗i' in the value of output ‗Y‘. When all
variables in equation (ii) are known except PW and QW, the contribution of water to production
process of a crop can be derived as: Value of water (PW×QW) = TVPY – (PK×QK + PL×QL + PR×QR)
……..………...………………(iii) Equation (iii) gives the net benefit imputed as the value of water input in a
crop produced. However, this technique may give misleading result in case if any important input is
omitted. In such case, the productivity of omitted input gets attributed to the residual claimant
(water in our case) and inflates its value. Alternately the value of irrigation water in the Nepalese
context, where input prices often don‘t reflect the real price, could be estimated by comparing the
difference in net returns from irrigated and unirrigated farming for a crop within a homogenous
farming area having similar other factors such as soil type and climate. This difference amount could
be attributed to the irrigation water. This method allows the separation of normal profits from the
value of the water. Since water is turning into a scarce good in many parts of the world and because
developing nations are more vulnerable especially in the face of climate change, it is important to
make decisions about conservation and allocation of water that are compatible with social objectives
such as economic efficiency, sustainability and equity. In Nepal, the majority of people depend on
agriculture for their livelihoods and over two thirds of cropped lands are still rain fed. Any threat to
irrigation water availability or change in rainfall pattern would severely affect agriculture and
especially the livelihoods of 23 the poor who depends on subsistence farming. As several academics
hold that water will be ‗the oil of the twenty-first century‘, improved water resources management
gains importance, and considering water as an economic good and assigning economic value to it
can be one of the most important tools in this respect. However, the task of water valuation has
been a complex and controversial issue as it is available without cost at some locations while at a
high cost at others. The method is based on assumption that the prices of all resources are equated
to their value of marginal product7 which exists in perfectly competitive markets for agricultural
inputs. In such situations, a rational producer goes on adding inputs up to the point where the value
52
of marginal products is equal to the cost of the additional inputs. The residual imputation value of
water can be derived by using a production function where the output (Y) is produced using four
factors of production namely capital (K), labour (L), other natural resources (R), and water (W) 21
The method is based on assumption that the prices of all resources are equated to their value of
marginal product7 which exists in perfectly competitive markets for agricultural inputs. In such
situations, a rational producer goes on adding inputs up to the point where the value of marginal
products is equal to the cost of the additional inputs. The residual imputation value of water can be
derived by using a production function where the output (Y) is produced using four factors of
production namely capital (K), labour (L), other natural resources (R), and water (W) 21

53
54
 (rep2007) 122The development of the forestry sector is especially important for promoting livestock,
making compost fertilizer, conserving environment and for watershed management by
conserving ground water resources

S.N. Adaptation IUPA score Preference

practices to
water shortage
1 Conservation 8.30 First
pond
construction
2 Water source 8.00 Second
protection
3 Modification of 7.45 Third
cropping
practices
4 Construction of 7.19 Fourth
irrigation
channel
S.N. Adaptation IUPA score Preference
practices to
water shortage
1 Conservation 8.30 First
pond
construction
2 Water source 8.00 Second
protection
3 Modification of 7.45 Third
cropping
practices
4 Construction of 7.19 Fourth
irrigation
channel
Two conservation ponds were constructed in the subwatershed to store water. The stored water was used for irrigation in
agricultural lands. Local people depend on only one source of water inside community forest. They have adapted to this water
shortage by proper protection of this water source. Local community had developed a punishment policy for the persons who
conduct any activities towards degradation of the water sources. The vegetation around the water source was protected, and
cultivation of grasses was observed. Generally protection of forest is the main way to conserve the sources of water. The local
people informed that the vegetation cover helped to maintain water level, reduce runoff and sediments in the water and maintains
landscape intact. Protections through sub-committee, control grazing and daily visit of forest by forest guard (daily Laure Palo)
were successful.
Local people had adapted water shortage in irrigation by constructing one large irrigation channel connecting to the nearby stream.
Most part of the channel is cemented and some parts still need to be cemented, which directly helped to reduce the drought impact.
Even though it does this, cost of maintenance was high as well as water supply was still insufficient. Similarly second one was
under the way of construction but due to limited fund it has not been completed yet. Farmers have practiced rotational irrigation, 7
days rotation, for each farmer. Hand pumps are also used as coping measures to water stress to lift water from ground water storage.
Farmers have adapted to climatic stresses by altering the cropping pattern. Farmers have gradually shifted perennial crops towards
the vegetable and fruit species cultivation. Similarly plantations of drought resistance species were also practiced by local
community as adaptive measures against drought. Plantation of maize in late march or early April, plantation of hybrid species of
paddy (Ghorakhnath, Champion) etc. were common.
Farmers used late cultivation- January cultivation was shifted to April to catch the rains. Legumes were integrated much than
previous to improve soil productivity. Minimum tillage with mulching was adapted to conserve soil moisture and reduce erosion.
BuThere were about 7 small landslides in the subwatershed. The scale of damage was different in different areas. Last year there
was large landslide near to higher secondary school which was immediately treated by local people by engineering structures and
bamboo plantation. Adaptation measures were more seen effective to reduce the incidence and effect of landslides. The ranking
of the adaptation practices is summarized using IUPA index as below:

S.N. Adaptation IUPA score Preference

practices to
water shortage
55
 1 Conservation 8.30 First
pond
construction
2 Water source 8.00 Second
protection
3 Modification of 7.45 Third
cropping
practices
4 Construction of 7.19 Fourth
irrigation
channel
nds have been developed in the agricultural lands/terraces to improve rainwater retention in the field.

S.N. Adaptation IUPA score Preference

practices to
water shortage
1 Conservation 8.30 First
pond
construction
2 Water source 8.00 Second
protection
3 Modification of 7.45 Third
cropping
practices
4 Construction of 7.19 Fourth
irrigation
channel
Areas near to river of side of river were mostly affected by flood. Constructions of Spurs, embankment, gabion check dam etc. were
mostly seen in study area. Area where river velocity was required to break there was gabion check dam, area where river need to be
diverted there was spur and protection of wings of river was done with spurs.
Bamboos were planted in area where sail was collected after successful establishment of engineering structure. Plantation of
bamboo in area where intensity of flood was high resulted in failure of bamboo even though it survived. But after 4-5 years of
establishment of bamboo flood velocity was highly broke down.

Plantation of bamboo, fruit species, amliso etc. was seen common practice for poor and marginalized people. This option directly
reduces the flood velocity as well as income was also possible through this measure. But in this process only small engineering
structure where flood velocity was not much great were seen. Among the measures plantation of bamboos with gabions check dam
and amliso with spurs were frequently seen during field observation.

Diversion of flood by planks, timber and loose stone in other direction is major practice to reduce streambank cutting by the flooder
stream. Brushwood check dam was constructed with the use of local woody materials and stone to prevent channel scouring.
Extraction of all obstructing object/material on flood way was also practiced so it could drain as fast as possible.

Different types of adaptation practices are found in Himalaya and Terai region of Nepal. In Himalayan regions people have reduced
the livestock numbers as well as practiced rotational grazing and changed the occupation such as hotel business or migration from
that place in adapting to adverse impacts of climate change on their livelihood assets. Furthermore, in Mountain and Siwalik region,
local people have been managing forest as a community forest, Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) as an agroforestry
(Horti-Silviculture) practices in their steep land and vegetable farming instead of cereal crops as crop diversification, livelihood
diversification, modifying the practices to better adapt in context of changing climate. Utilization of marginal land by plantation of
fodder trees, fruit trees and other grasses etc. is common in mid hills of Nepal. People have been using rainwater harvesting,

conservation pond and utilization of excess drinking water for vegetable production. There is trend of replacing local varieties of
crops with hybrids, which in long run can threat to the agro-biodiversity, though may provide short term good outcomes compared
to local races. Additionally, those affected from loss of land from flooding and river bank erosion in the last downpour rainfall
events (1986 and 1993) were moved to encroach nearby forest land for agricultural cultivation and settlement in the foothills of the
Siwalik region. Moreover, communities have formed many groups such as Mothers’ group, Community Forest User groups, Buffer
zone User Groups, Community Managed Cooperatives, Vegetable farmer’s group for community level works such as, natural
resource management, awareness rising, and cleaning and fund collection to improve their livelihood assets in context of changing
climate. These local groups can become potential institutions to community as well as local level adaptation measures in the future.
The presence of many institutions influencing each and every aspect of the J Wet Eco 2012 (6): 44-51
Paudel and Kafle, 2012 50

56
community works is critically important in the design of adaptation projects (Tiwari et al., 2010; Agrawal et al. 2003). This study
has explored similar adaptation practices at local sub watershed level.

57
Coping strategies like encouraging short rotation commercial crops to annual crops, seed storing mechanism, mixed cropping
practices, use of chemical fertilizers to enhance productivity etc. have been adopted to combat with the risk of drought. Change in
crop planting time, type of crop, plantation of various plants in home garden, using improved stove, collection of rain water,
protection of forest, construction of irrigation channel from nearly torrent and soil conservation through embankment construction
are the adaptation measures in western part of Nepal (Bhatta, 2011).

In Nepal very urgent need is to reduce the problem faced by smaller farmers through drought & food, pest & diseases & hail, such
as construction of rain water harvesting structures, change in crop pattern etc. which is followed by reduction of climate disasters
(flood, landslide, hailstorm etc.) by construction of check dam, spurs, reforestation of denuded hills. The third priority should focus
on providing early warning and forecasting of weather, seasons & providing the information to community so that they can make
decision in advance to minimize or avoid disasters (Gurung, 2009). It is reported that activities such as awareness on climate change
causes, impacts and adaptation, drought resistant varieties of seedlings should be distributed and reforestation and afforestation
programs should be distributed to adapt with climate change have got more priorities in hilly area (Khadka, 2011).
This study is in line with the previous findings mentioned before, and the adaptation practices have been prioritized as new
initiative.

Description of study area

Attributes Masine khola Sub-watershed area

Location Latitude-27˚23’ 30”N to 27˚27’30”
Longitude-87˚ 52’30” E to
87˚ 54’30” E
Area 952.74 h
No. VDC and Handikhola -7
ward
Land use type Khet, Bari and Kharbari
Forest species Chirpine, sissoo, Sal
Climate Tropical
No. of SCUGs 30 since Fiscal year 2066/67
No. HHs 322
Involved HHs 322
no.
Population 2393
Involved 2393
Population
Major Ethnicity Tamang,
Chepang,Chhertri,Brahmin,Dalits

58