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Changing Scenario of Saurashtra
“Water – A colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the large seas, lakes, rivers, and rain. It is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.”
This is a very simple definition of water is often not treasured as a precious and inseparable part of every human life. People living in the drought prone areas know the real value of water and take to desperate water conservation measures so that water availability is present for them as well as for their future generations.
This is the sphere where the District Watershed Development Unit intervenes in providing important measures and steps towards providing sustainable means of conserving water for drinking purpose as well as for irrigation and its allied activities. The success of the watershed activities in Shishak village of Rajkot was visibly scene in the post Hariyali and IWMP era.
Shishak is a village in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat which is characterized by low and uneven rainfall area with average productive soils and to make agriculture more sustainable in such circumstances is a major task. The main challenges which makes agriculture more difficult is scarcity of water for agricultural and domestic purposes, low crop productivity and environmental degradation, low crop productivity, high rate of migration, low wages of labour and lack of awareness regarding farm mechanization. All these factors yield to decrease in per capita income which ultimately responsible for their poor standard of living.
Various activities were undertaken to solve the problem of water scarcity such as afforestation, construction of check dams, deepening of the existing check dams, farm bunds, etc. groups were also formed such as user groups, watershed committees and SHG groups so that people themselves take of the structures built an feel a sense of responsiveness towards the structures built and they save it for their future generations.
All these improvements has caused betterment of the environment which majorly talks about the increase in ground water table by 1.2 meters and tree cover has increased by 7.65 ha. and 390 tons/hectare/year.
The impact of these watershed activities could be seen with the naked eyes. As the village is in a drought prone area hence the first impact was seen on the agricultural production in the mentioned village. The water table has increased due to the efiicient and effective use of the watershed activities (average water level has risen upto 2m). This has resulted in reduced cost of producing irrigated crops and because of which the quality of these crops would be benefit the farm operator as they can now provide 2-3 irrigation to the standing crops which ultimately increases the net farm revenues by 4 times and its yield has increased the income and opportunity of farm labour. As a result of such huge benefits, the costs of check dams and farm pond have recovered in the very first year of project. Due to the construction of check dams and farm ponds the farmers are now able to get 100%crop production of the Kharif crops such as groundnut, cotton, etc. the rabi crop production has also taken an invariable toll such as the production of wheat, green fodder and gram. Not only in the agricultural sector but also the animal husbandry sector has also achieved great improvement. The ultimate result can be seen in better standard of living of the people of Shishak village. Harvesting of rainwater and treating runoff is the prime objective of construction of such watershed management activities. Before the check dams and farm ponds were made the recharge open wells was poor due to inefficient management of rainfall and runoff. The water present in the wells was used for crops of cotton and groundnut and it was exhausted before the summer season arrived. The depth of wells could not be increased due to the inference of rocky layer in those wells. But after 32 numbers of water harvesting structures constructed with a total surface storage capacity (of all the water harvesting structures) of 701190 cum the average water level increased. As many as 190 open wells existed in 2002-03, with very poor yield with an average water column of 3.0 m in 2003, but presently there are 244 wells with mean water column of 4.2 m. The total recharge taking place through natural and water harvesting interventions is greatly affected by the amount of rainfall, its intensity, duration of monsoon, ground and sub-surface characteristic (i.e., percolation rate and runoff coefficient). Another major breakthrough is that the average pumping duration of 4.15 hours per day in 2002-03 has increased to 5.45 hours per day after watershed implementation.
Social benefits cannot be left out as they are the main pillars behind the success of any project or programme. The social benefits gained from the post Hariyali era are women empowerment and increase in social capital. There has been tremendous involvement of women through the formation of SHG’s and this has resulted in their overall development. As already mentioned the formation of a number of village level committees, the social capital has also been on a rise.
After the hariyali project was over then IWMP came up as a hero and after a study found out that the Hariyali project only covered 500ha of land but there was still a large part of area in Shishak village which needed treatment and hence, in Batch I(2009-10) total area proposed to be treated is 435.50 against the cost of Rs. 65.33 lakh. 46 User Groups (UGs) were formed to carry out the work, monitor their progress, enjoy their benefits and take care of the assets thus created. Along with the UGs, 4 women-Self Help Groups (SHGs) and 1 men-SHG were created to participate in the project and take benefits. There is adequate involvement of women in these groups and their opinions were also taken into consideration.
Watershed Development Programme is now a proven technique of livelihood enhancement through natural resource management. The programme is running throughout the country supported by different agencies; Ministry of Rural development (Department of Land Resources) being the most important one.
Contributors : Sharmeen Ahmad and DWDU Rajkot
Empowerment of Rural Youth through IWMP leading to Sustainability
Motivation of Youth by DWDU
The approach of Integrated Watershed Management Programme(IWMP) is completely based upon Participatory module, which includes Community Participation, Village Institutions, Enhancements of Productivity, Sustainable use of natural resource and Equity in distribution of benefits.
Livelihood approach under IWMP too focuses on sustainable rural livelihoods development through scientific and integrated watershed development approach so as to preserve the natural resources as well as enhance the socio-economic condition of the rural people especially those who are jobless and asset less people. Ecological Balance is the prime focus of IWMP and maintaining the Socio-Ecological phenomenon is the utmost important of the current era. Day by Day trees and other plants are being cut down by the human being and it had led to serious challenges against the nature. Obviously, IWMP understands these vagaries of nature and therefore is involved extensively in ecological restoration along with social strengthening.
Taking Inspiration from this programme, under District Watershed Development Unit, Amreli (DWDU, Amreli) a SHG of Youth has been formed named; "Navrang Yuvak Swaysahay Juth". This SHG works in SALADI Village, under LILIYA Taluka.
STUDY AREA: SALADI VILLAGE, LILIYA TALUKA, AMRELI.
SHG FORMATION
During the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) activity in Saladi Village, several Youth of the village enquired about IWMP and DWDU works. After that they showed interest in forming a SHG of their own interest, with DWDU facilitation. A total of Eighteen(18) young man formed a SHG which was named as ; "Navrang Yuvak Swaysahay Juth". Registration No: 20/9CG-December-2011. It was decided at the very first meeting of the group that a monthly sum amount of Rs.50 will be taken from all the members for SHG savings
ACTIVITY CHOSEN
Village Saladi is mainly an agriculture based income generation village with people engaged in various kinds of agricultural, animal husbandry activities along with afforestation activity was also needed, as procured from PRA and survey done by DWDU. Also, the youth of the village were nature lover and they took keen interest in Plantation and Gardening.
TRAINING
For any activity to be carried out successfully, there needs to be a proper training session to be conducted, so that a better knowledge could be gained for the people involved in that particular activity. A training cum exposure visit was being conducted for the NAVRANG YOUTH SHG on 17/12/12 for which they visited the "Hill Nursery" in Chavand, under Lathi taluka. The SHG was well trained with Nursery raising technique as well as concept of Green House.
Training of the Rural Youth
The training also emphasized on certain factors in nursery raising like
- Site Selection
- Soil Selection
- Plastic Bag for Sapling
- Plant type
- Fencing etc..
WORK OUT
After proper training of the youth, the group started to work out on the nursery raising. First of all a proper safe site was chosen where there should be availability of electricity, water, as well as safety could be maintained. They hired a nearby land on rent in the village itself (80x120 feet) the land was already fenced from three sides so the SHG needed only one side to fence the nursery plot. After that soil from nearby pond was brought according to nursery requirement. The SHG worked day night harder to bring out the nursery in good shape.
Within six months the results were seen clearly as plants were now being grown on large basis.
MARKETING
The SHG till date has sold out many plants locally in the village, and the neighboring villages. The local people from the nearby villages and Taluka are now being aware of the nursery. The SHG is working hard to get in touch with more and more people, to sell out there products. Till now a total plants of value Rs.1500/ had been successfully sold out by this NAVRANG SHG,who once were unemployed and idle.
Contributor: Nischal Chudasama and DWDU, Amreli
Tapping every drop of Water and Soil to Enhance Agricultural Productivity
As one approaches toward the farthest end of Gujarat, bordering Maharashtra the topography changes and beauty of the surrounding make one spell bound. View of valley from the hill top, the scattered fields and small white structures made us ask what are they?
Valsad is the southernmost district of Gujarat which includes five taluka namely Kaprada, Dharampur, Paradi, Umargaon & Valsad. Kaprada taluka is referred as 'Cherapunji 'of Gujarat but in summer season there is scarcity of water even for drinking purpose. The yearly rainfall of Valsad district is more than 2000 mm, the terrain is mostly hilly & undulating. The famer mainly cultivate Paddy (locally known as Dangar), Ragi. The major problem of the area is excess soil erosion during monsoon season.
Various activities have been undertaken under Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), in Valsad District from year 2009-10 like waste weir, contour trenches , check walls gully plugs, spring wells etc. One of major activity undertaken was waste weir locally known as Paka-Nakka. The structure generally controls soil erosion & as well maintains water level in paddy crop during transplantation and critical stages. The major objectives of the structures are:
- To decrease the soil erosion and excess runoff.
- Retain the soil fertility.
- To increases agriculture production.
Technical Specification of Waste Weir
Waste weir is a structure which is constructed to decrease the scouring of soil and excess runoff from fields suitable for agriculture purpose. It is constructed in fields towards a natural depression or where there is a temporary water outlet. It helps in safe passage of the excess runoff from the field and also stores a required amount of water level in the field as per requirement of the crop. Its height is normally 0.5 to .7 m. which facilitates in water storages. It is very economical structure.
Around 800 waste-weirs were constructed under IWMP during past three year. DWDU, Valsad and Forest Department, Valsad Division with Village watershed committee after a detailed survey in terms of both technical and socio- economic had finalized these structures. Around 848 waste-weirs were constructed for various beneficiaries
Table No. 1 - No. of Beneficiaries
| S.No. | Name of Taluka | Name of Project | No. of Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dharampur | IWMP-1 Pindaval | 215 |
| 2. | Dharampur | IWMP-2 Murdad | 258 |
| 3. | Kaprada | IWMP-3 Vavar | 196 |
| 4. | Kaprada | IWMP-4 Virkshetra | 183 |
| Total | 848 | ||
Benefits of Structure
A study was been conducted to verify the benefit of the waste-weir for farmers. A sample analysis was conducted on farmers’ field where this structure was constructed. All the farmers cultivated paddy crop.
Table No. 2 - List of sample farmers
| S.No. | Name of Taluka | Name of Project | Name of Village | Name of Beneficiaries | Survey No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dharampur | IWMP-1 Pindval | Pindval | Jamshubhai Kalubhai Dabkiya | 157 |
| 2 | Dharampur | IWMP-1 Pindval | Jagiri | Manirambhai Kakadbhai Khadkar | 128 |
| 3 | Dharampur | IWMP-2 Murdad | Pandavakhad | Tulsibhai Shankarbhai | 19 |
| 4 | Dharampur | IWMP-2 Murdad | Tutarkhed | Balubhai Pandubhai Bhoya | 120 |
| 5 | Kaprada | IWMP-3 Vavar | Vavar | Namubhai Govindbhai | 231 |
| 6 | Kaprada | IWMP-3 Vavar | Barpuda | Sityabhai Laxmabhai | 165 |
| 7 | Kaprada | IWMP-4 Virkshetra | Malghar | Tukaram Mavajibhai | 440 |
| 8 | Kaprada | IWMP-4 Virkshetra | Virkshetra | Namdevbhai Manubhai | 392 |
Paddy is the staple crop of Valsad especially Dhrampur & Kaprada Taluka where 100 Percent of population depends upon paddy for food. About, 80 percent farmer cultivate paddy in their field. The undulating land form limits the production and productivity of paddy crop because of high requirement of water. Paddy crop requires standing water during its cultivation. The daily water consumption of paddy is about 6-10mm.
Depending upon the variety, crop duration varies from 100 to 150 days. The total water requirement of paddy is 1200-1400mm depending upon the type of soils. The daily consumptive use of rice crop is 6-10mm. In Valsad district soil type is Sandy Loam which is having water requirement is 2261 mm.
Table No. 3 - Water requirement for Rice Crop at different stages
| S.No. | Satge of Growth | Avg. water requirement (mm) | % of total water requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursery | 50-60 | 5 |
| 2 | Main field preparation | 200-250 | 20 |
| 3 | Planting of main panicle preparation | 400-450 | 40 |
| 4 | Planting to flowering | 400-450 | 30 |
| 5 | Flowering to maturity | 100-150 | 5 |
Table No. 4 - Depth of water to be maintain in during different crop growth of stages of rice
| S.No. | Satge of Crop | Depth of Crop(cm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | At transplanting | Shallow (2-3) |
| 2 | After transplanting (5-20 day) | 4 to 5 |
| 3 | During tillering (22-42 day), Mid season drainage, (24-48 hrs), 20-25 DAT (heavy soils), 20-25 DAT (very heavy), 40-45 DAT soils | Shallow (2-3) |
| 4 | Reproductive stage, panicle emergence, flowering | 4 to 5 |
| 5 | Ripening stage, milk stage, dough stage, maturity | Drain the field gradually to saturation, withdraw the water 12 days before harvesting |
Waste weir act as the best engineering option for this problem. The structure facilities in creating water logging condition in the field as per requirement, there is also an option to drain out the excess water from the field.
Sectional View of Waste Weir
The study conducted highlights that the structure has great significant outcome on the production of paddy crop especially rainfed. It is always observed that the biological potential of the crop cannot be utilized to its prospects until suitable inputs are supplied in right time. Paddy crop is highly sensitive to its water deficit especially during its critical stages. Restricting water supply during these stages affects productivity more severely. Paddy crop require water during Tillering, Panicle Initiation, Heading and Flowering. The excess runoff and erosion of top soil generally had prevented the output of crop.
Table No. 5 - Output of sample analysis
| Name of Taluka | Name of Project | Name of Village | Name of Beneficiaries | Survey No. | Name of Crop | Area (in ha) | Production before waste weir (kg) | Production after waste weir (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dharampur | IWMP-1 Pindval | Pindval | Jamshubhai Kalubhai Dabkiya | 157 | Paddy | 1 acre | 700 | 839 |
| Dharampur | IWMP-1 Pindval | Jagiri | Manirambhai Kakadbhai Khadkar | 128 | Paddy | 20 | 347 | 409 |
| Dharampur | IWMP-2 Murdad | Pandavakhad | Tulsibhai Shankarbhai | 19 | Paddy | 20 guntha | 365 | 429 |
| Dharampur | IWMP-2 Murdad | Tutarkhed | Balubhai Pandubhai Bhoya | 120 | Paddy | 21 guntha | 330 | 406 |
| Kaprada | IWMP-3 Vavar | Vavar | Namubhai Govindbhai | 231 | Paddy | 1 acre | 678 | 779 |
| Kaprada | IWMP-3 Vavar | Barpuda | Sityabhai Laxmabhai | 165 | Paddy | 1 acre | 689 | 765 |
| Kaprada | IWMP-4 Virkshetra | Malghar | Tukaram Mavajibhai | 440 | Paddy | 20 guntha | 357 | 398 |
| Kaprada | IWMP-4 Virkshetra | Virkshetra | Namdevbhai Manubhai | 392 | Paddy | 20 guntha | 430 | 489 |
The study shows that the structure has helped in increasing the water holding capacity of soil and also helped in providing water during the required stages of water requirement of the crop. Another benefit of the structure was that this also provided residual moisture for a pulse crop in the same filed thus supporting the food and nutrition security of the farmers.
The increase in production and productivity of Paddy crop in the field have resulted a positive and visible impact of watershed. Further the general perceptions of farmers have changed that only large checkdam will show results. This structure has also helped in equitable distribution of the output of the programme to large number of beneficiaries.
Contributors: Dipali Khatal, Technical Expert Valsad and DWDU, Valsad
Use of Hi-Science Tools in IWMP
INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development of India (as different from the India growth story fuelled by the IT revolution) of India depends largely upon three things: i) how we increase our agricultural growth rate, ii) how we improve rural livelihood options, and iii) how we conserve our natural resources. Today, along with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Integrated Watershed1 Management Programme (IWMP) has the biggest potential to propel this sustainable development. Watershed development in India is at a crossroads at the moment, looking forward to a whole new approach and a new focus. The directions have been provided by the New Common Guidelines, 2008. But the ideas envisioned therein need to be translated into reality on the field. For this to happen, appropriate technology, latest practices in natural resource management, appropriate livelihood strategies and indigenous knowledge base have to go hand in hand.
A major portion of the agriculture in India is rain-fed. The increasing pressure of population on land has resulted in over exploitation of land, water and other natural resources, resulting in water scarcity, land degradation and rapid depletion of ground water-tables. As a consequence, the agricultural growth rate is stagnating, and inflation in food prices is spiralling. Agriculture being the main source of livelihood, the rural mass are increasingly migrating to the urban centres, which in turn puts pressure on urban centres & resources. A solution demands integration of traditional local knowledge with modern agricultural research, high end science, quality human resources and strategic investment.
Background
The Government of India adopted Watershed Development as a strategy to address issues of natural resource degradation & stagnating agricultural growth way back in 1994-95 with the Hanumantha Rao committee report advocating for such an approach. The Watershed Guidelines, 1995 mandated the Watershed approach for Area Development Programmes like Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP). Since then, thousands of projects involving billions of rupees have been invested in these programmes all over the country. Several Guidelines thereafter emerged from different Ministries depending upon the developmental schemes under implementation. Finally the New Common Guidelines, 2008, based on the recommendations of the Parthasarathy Committee Report were issued which integrate all the watershed based programmes into a common programme called Integrated Watershed Management Programme from 2009-10.
During the pre-IWMP watershed development programme, some of the main concerns were:
1. Prioritization of the watersheds: This task was with the respective district authorities which were granted projects by the Government of India, mainly based on socio-economic parameters. Without any scientific criteria or scientific tools, the district authorities chose the villages to be taken up under the projects either on the basis of their conscience or some political considerations. The prioritization was never scientific or objective.
2. Technical inconsistencies: Some of the technical inconsistencies in project implementation came from improper site selection for water harvesting structures and other engineering works as the technical persons did not have sufficient knowledge of the geo-hydrology of the area.
3. People vs. Technical Experts dilemma: The exercise of planning and implementation in the past generated conflict between the people living in the project area and the technical personnel regarding site selection and appropriate interventions in project areas.
4. Developing a scientific action plan: Without a proper GIS of the area, a scientific action plan was difficult to arrive at. At best, the concerned persons would come up with some activities which sometimes proved to be unsuitable for the area in the long run.
5. Preparation of Detailed Project Report: There was no established mechanism for DPR preparation. Without the village level GIS based maps, the action plan was never mapped. This made the relevance of DPR limited.
6. Monitoring and evaluation: Poor quality DPRs led to poor quality monitoring and evaluation mechanism to start with. Without an appropriate MIS, the task became tough and it was done arbitrarily and randomly.
7. Impact assessment: Any kind of impact assessment in the post project period was too heavily dependent on socio-economic researches. These studies have their limitations looking at the nature and enormity of the task.
Watershed Development in Gujarat
From the very beginning, Gujarat has been at the forefront of Watershed Development Programmes in the country, both in terms of quantity and quality. By the end of the year 2008, more than 8000 micro-watershed projects utilizing more than Rs.25000 million have been either completed or are ongoing in the state. However, a lot remains to be done in overall project planning, implementation and post project management so as to make the projects sustainable. Over the next two decades, Gujarat proposes to cover all the micro-watersheds in the state and to adopt science and technology in a big way to enhance the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.
Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency (GSWMA) was constituted with the specific objective of managing and upgrading this massive programme that includes construction of water harvesting structures, soil conservation activities, afforestation, agriculture development, dairy development, micro enterprise development and creation of other direct livelihood opportunities & to ensure the necessary technical rigour to the process.
USE OF GIS IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT:
Use of GIS and other high science tools at all stages such as prioritization, planning, implementation and consolidation has helped Gujarat to address most of the oncerns regarding pre IWMP watershed programmes.
The strategy regarding application of GIS and other high science tools involved the following steps:
· Identification of fields in which these tools can be utilized
· Collaboration with institutions that can provide suitable back end support
· Placing competent human resource to handle these tools at different levels
· Capacity Building of different stakeholders in application of these tools
Among all the High Science Tools, the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) is perhaps the most significant.
The GSWMA which is the state level nodal agency (SLNA) for IWMP, in collaboration with Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG) have taken the initiative of integrating GIS based data at both micro and macro level of planning.
BISAG formerly known as Remote Sensing Communications Centre (RESECO) is a State Level Nodal Agency of Gujarat state which started its operations in April 1997. It was renamed to its present name in December 2003. The institute was formed to facilitate the use of spatial & geo-spatial technologies for planning & developmental activities pertaining to Agriculture land & water resource management, wasteland/watershed development, Forestry, Disaster Management and Rural & Urban planning activities.
Geographic Information System may be defined as “A system which provides a computerized mechanism for integrating geo-referenced data sets and analyzing them in order to generate information relevant to management needs in a given context.”
A Geographic Information System (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. It allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. A GIS helps answer questions and solve problems by looking at data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared. (-ESRI) The New Common Guidelines for Watershed Programmes, 2008, Government of India, have prescribed use of High Science tools like Remote Sensing & Geographic information System (GIS), Management Information System (MIS) and other Information & Communication Technology (ICT) tools.
The use of GIS in IWMP in Gujarat spans all three phases of watershed development:
During Planning period
During Implementation phase
During Consolidation phase
PLANNING:
Planning of a Watershed Development Project involves the use of GIS in various aspects of prioritization, development of action plan and later for monitoring and evaluation of these projects. The initial process involved creation of different spatial layers from the non-spatial dataset collected from various sources.
Due to the focus provided by the State Government to the need for scientific planning and management, substantive data was already mapped and available with BISAG (Table – I).
The approach followed for planning involved three basic activities:
· Creation, development and management of the geo-spatial data base depicting current conditions of land, water and vegetation with respect to watershed incorporating different ownerships and administrative boundaries at village level.
· Incorporation of socio-economic aspects and their analysis.
· Incorporation of historical perspective of watershed development in the area.
The planning started with the state level satellite imagery where the natural boundaries were identified. The administrative boundaries were obtained from revenue records which were overlayed onto the satellite imagery. Imagery was panned upto the village level where land parcel level information was collected. Survey number wise plotting of land was prievously done based on the data collected from the village level. For example as shown in the image a survey number in Fajalpur village in Vadodara taluka in Vadodara district will contain details on Slope, Soil type, ownership, programme under which the land was prievously treated etc.,
Prioritization Of all the tasks, the most important and difficult step was the prioritization of watersheds. The difficulty lay in the fact that Gujarat State is delineated into a total of 13,587 Watersheds (Geographic area – 196.024 L. Ha.). The Pre-Hariyali, Hariyali programme and similar other schemes had already covered 4,540 watersheds in the state. The Irrigation Command area, the Rann of Kutch (desert) and similar other untreatable area constituted another 1,005 watersheds which left us with a total of 8,042 watersheds (131.076 L. Ha.) to be prioritized. The first step was to overlay all watershed boundaries onto a cadastral map. The treatable watersheds were then ear-marked and a ranking was assigned to each based on clear cut parameters identified by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR). The parameters included Natural Resource Indicators, the Socio-Economic Indicators, the Contiguity factor and the Cluster approach. Factors such as the Poverty Index, percentage of SC/ST and the small and marginal farmers provide focus to provision of better livelihood options to the local population in project areas. The Natural resource parameters which include factors such as Moisture Index and the Productivity potential of the land ensured true representation of the watershed. Contiguity factor and the cluster approach ensured that the watersheds would be treated through holistic area development. The overall goal was to ensure prioritization based on objective and equitable criteria.
Based on the ground level data obtained from each watershed area a database was created linking the village level data with their respective Census 2000 (C2K) code and mapping of this data was done accordingly. Satellite images of all the parameters mentioned in Table 2 were collected as different layers and then superimposed to get a composite picture of the prioritized areas. This process led to the formation of a ‘Priority Map’ for the whole of Gujarat state. The priority map elicits the areas to be selected in the order of priority for the next 18 years. Thus, project areas were identified and awarded with a specific identity name.
Prioritization:
The prioritization process has helped in the following ways:
1. The projects could be equitably distributed among all the districts.
2. The most needy watershed areas could be identified; the districts were able to take those watersheds on priority.
3. The planning for convergence of IWMP with other developmental schemes of various Government Departments is prepared on the basis of thematic maps.
4. The state was able to plan for the next 18 years; the GIS based plan for the 18 years.
Developmental Planning
A Developmental Action Plan Matrix was developed by GSWMA in collaboration with BISAG for various land forms (viz., Forest, Wasteland, Agriculture) which involved the parameters of land use and land cover, slope percentage, soil depth, Soil texture, Erosion as given in Table no. 3, 4 and 5. The treatments recommended in the Action Plan Matrix were based on the technical guidelines and published literature.
The exercise of developing Detailed Planning Reports (DPR's) is therefore assisted by the prepared GIS maps & indicative Action Plan generated using the Matrix. These provide accessible scientific tools to the Watershed Committees or the Watershed Development teams to take decisions on physical to be carried out in different survey numbers. Further, the State has mandated convergence of programmes and resources at the planning stage itself to ensure focused development in watershed areas and to enhance the livelihood security of the rural people.
Geographic Information System can also be used as a tool to identify different areas of convergence of IWMP with various departmental schemes. This would help in generation of Watershed Annual Action Plan map with the consent of Gram Sabha & optimization of village level resources.
IMPLEMENTATION:
Extensive capacity building of different stake holders on how to use the technical knowledge and scientific tools are planned to ensure that technical personnel and local population have a better understanding of each other and conflicts are minimized. WDT members would be equipped with the tools like GPS machines, GIS based geo-hydrology & geo-morphology maps to enable them to take informed & technically correct decisions.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION:
Use of GIS has been planned for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation of IWMP projects. Customized mobile based software is being developed in collaboration with BISAG which will enable updating maps through mobile text messages received from WDT’s & incorporating GPS coordination. Each WDT member of PIA will be allotted a unique code for their respective districts. Timely updating of the data regarding the project implementation on GIS maps will help in generating regular summarized and specialized reports for the decision makers. Data will be translated at State level onto GIS maps through which monitoring before, during & post implementation will become possible.
For e.g. if a check dam is constructed at a certain place, sending a text message containing the details of the structure and the longitude and latitude will ensure that the check dam is marked on the map. Pre-monsoon and post-monsoon images of the area will reflect whether the structure has been effective in water storage. Such mapping of structures periodically will reflect whether the ridge to valley approach is being followed or not during the implementation of the project. Also if the need for some changes in the sites selected is realized during the works phase, an informed decision can be made based on the maps depicting the work done so far and their implications reflected in the pre and post monsoon images. In all, such a mechanism where the progress of the works phase can be monitored on a map with coordinates can reveal whether the works are being undertaken according to the plan and schedule, the ridge to valley approach and also the need for changes in the plan can be detected early.
Often it has been observed that water storage structures are constructed in the downstream valley areas without treating the upper ridges. This often results in damage to the structures and in some cases, the entire structure gets washed away. While the ridge to valley approach has been adopted at the planning phase, implementation in the same sequence is to be ensured. A GIS based monitoring system will help in better implementation of the ridge to valley approach.
IMPLEMENTATION:
Extensive capacity building of different stake holders on how to use the technical knowledge and scientific tools are planned to ensure that technical personnel and local population have a better understanding of each other and conflicts are minimized. WDT members would be equipped with the tools like GPS machines, GIS based geo-hydrology & geo-morphology maps to enable them to take informed & technically correct decisions.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION:
Use of GIS has been planned for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation of IWMP projects. Customized mobile based software is being developed in collaboration with BISAG which will enable updating maps through mobile text messages received from WDT’s & incorporating GPS coordination. Each WDT member of PIA will be allotted a unique code for their respective districts. Timely updating of the data regarding the project implementation on GIS maps will help in generating regular summarized and specialized reports for the decision makers. Data will be translated at State level onto GIS maps through which monitoring before, during & post implementation will become possible.
For e.g. if a check dam is constructed at a certain place, sending a text message containing the details of the structure and the longitude and latitude will ensure that the check dam is marked on the map. Pre-monsoon and post-monsoon images of the area will reflect whether the structure has been effective in water storage. Such mapping of structures periodically will reflect whether the ridge to valley approach is being followed or not during the implementation of the project. Also if the need for some changes in the sites selected is realized during the works phase, an informed decision can be made based on the maps depicting the work done so far and their implications reflected in the pre and post monsoon images. In all, such a mechanism where the progress of the works phase can be monitored on a map with coordinates can reveal whether the works are being undertaken according to the plan and schedule, the ridge to valley approach and also the need for changes in the plan can be detected early.
Often it has been observed that water storage structures are constructed in the downstream valley areas without treating the upper ridges. This often results in damage to the structures and in some cases, the entire structure gets washed away. While the ridge to valley approach has been adopted at the planning phase, implementation in the same sequence is to be ensured. A GIS based monitoring system will help in better implementation of the ridge to valley approach.
One of the institution building activities under IWMP is formation of User Groups. The members of User Groups will be those farmers who will benefit the most from the construction of a water harvesting structure. The User Group will also be responsible for maintenance of the structure and appropriate use of water. A GIS based monitoring mechanism will ensure that members of User Groups are actually only those farmers whose land plots lie in proximity to the water harvesting structure and that no potential beneficiary is excluded from the User Group.
Thus a GIS based monitoring mechanism will not only help in site selection in planning phase and scheduling of works phase but will also strengthen the institutions that are visualized to sustain development in the consolidation phase of IWMP.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT:
On completion of the project, impact assessment becomes essential. GIS will be used to map the environmental as well as social impact resulting from implementation of IWMP. Natural parameters such as ground water recharge, forest cover, salinity ingress, soil erosion and biodiversity will be studied through remote sensing and GIS. Also parameters such as crop pattern and irrigated area which have a direct impact on society can be studied. Analysis of data available from satellite images at regular intervals will help in generating an idea of the changes occurring in the baseline data due to implementation of IWMP. Detection of changes in forest cover may be possible only after a certain duration but IWMP is to continue over a long period.
Collection and analysis of data at regular intervals along with the mapping of project activities before, during and after implementation will create a very useful database which is at the core of any impact assessment process.
Based on the impact of IWMP on environmental and social factors input for future planning of the projects will be generated. This will help in continual improvement in the scientific planning process that is essential to the successful implementation of IWMP.
Thus a GIS based monitoring mechanism will not only help in site selection in planning phase and scheduling of works phase but will also strengthen the institutions that are visualized to sustain development in the consolidation phase of IWMP.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT:
On completion of the project, impact assessment becomes essential. GIS will be used to map the environmental as well as social impact resulting from implementation of IWMP. Natural parameters such as ground water recharge, forest cover, salinity ingress, soil erosion and biodiversity will be studied through remote sensing and GIS. Also parameters such as crop pattern and irrigated area which have a direct impact on society can be studied. Analysis of data available from satellite images at regular intervals will help in generating an idea of the changes occurring in the baseline data due to implementation of IWMP. Detection of changes in forest cover may be possible only after a certain duration but IWMP is to continue over a long period.
Collection and analysis of data at regular intervals along with the mapping of project activities before, during and after implementation will create a very useful database which is at the core of any impact assessment process.
Based on the impact of IWMP on environmental and social factors input for future planning of the projects will be generated. This will help in continual improvement in the scientific planning process that is essential to the successful implementation of IWMP.