Watershed management in action - Food and Agriculture ...

1 Watershed management IN ACTIONL essons learned from FAO field projects This study reviews the achievements, and also the shortcomings, of 12 Watershed management projects technically supported by FAO over the past decade, with a view to learning from experience. Unlike sectoral development approaches, Watershed management involves examining the interactions among various natural processes and land uses and managing land, water and the wider ecosystem of the Watershed in an integrated way. Watershed management is best carried out as a stepwise multistakeholder process. The review identifies a sequence of steps that Watershed management projects or programmes should ideally follow.

2 The approach has demonstrated its effectiveness for responding to global challenges of water supply, land restoration, climate change adaptation, disaster risk management and fighting hunger. The study results suggest that future Watershed management projects and programmes must be implemented over longer time frames, and they require sustained and coordinated investment from the public and private sectors. The review identifies the following areas for moving forward: institutional strengthening for improved Watershed governance; Watershed monitoring; capitalizing on increased data availability; knowledge sharing and learning; and strategic partnerships for joint action on the and Agriculture Organization of the united NationsViale delle Terme di Caracalla00153 Rome, 978-92-5-130014-59789251300145 Watershed management IN ACTIONL essons learned from FAO field projects FAOWATERSHED management IN ACTIONL essons learned from FAO field projects Food and Agriculture Organization of the united NationsRome, 2017 Cover photos: Thomas HoferRecommended citation: FAO.

3 2017. Watershed management in action lessons learned from FAO field projects. Rome. The designations employed and the presentation of materialin this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the united nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

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5 And can be purchased publication has been printed using selected products and processes so as to ensure minimal environmental impact and to promote sustainable forest management . This publication has been printed using selected products and processes so as to ensure minimal environmental impact and to promote sustainable forest Foreword ..viAcknowledgements ..viiAcronyms and abbreviations ..viiiExecutive summary ..ixKey recommendations ..xi1 SETTING THE SCENE ..1 Global challenges and the need for integrated approaches ..2 Watershed management as an integrated landscape management approach ..2 FAO s work on Watershed management since 2006 ..4 About the study.

6 5 Projects included in the study ..62 ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR Watershed management ..11 Policy, legal and regulatory framework ..13 Institutional dialogue and collaboration ..15 Capacity on experience and communicating results ..20 Finance and investment for Watershed management ..213 SELECTION OF THE AREA FOR LOCAL INTERVENTIONS ..25 Type of management and number of selected watersheds ..28 Selection of watersheds: process and criteria ..314 FROM PROJECT BENEFICIARIES TO Watershed STAKEHOLDERS ..37 Identifying beneficiaries and target groups ..39 Mobilizing stakeholders ..415 ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE AND TRENDS IN THE Watershed ..47 Actors involved.

7 49 Assessment strategies, processes and tools ..52 Collecting the right information for use in Watershed management planning ..54 CONTENTSiv6 FROM PROBLEM ANALYSIS TO POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AND A TERRITORIAL areas for intervention ..60 Analysing problems and identifying solutions ..61 Priority setting ..657 THE Watershed management PLAN ..69 Formulation ..70 Validation ..778 IMPLEMENTATION ..81 Implementation of the Watershed management plan ..82 Implementation of area-based activities ..869 Watershed MONITORING ..93 Establishing a monitoring system ..95 Selecting appropriate indicators ..9810 CONCLUSIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD ..103 Building on global momentum: relevance of Watershed management in addressing major global challenges.

8 104 Issues for the future ..106 REFERENCES ..111 ANNEXES ..117 Annex 1. 2. List of project documents ..121 Annex 3. Further 4. Project fact sheets ..125v ivBOXES Box 1. Twelve principles of Watershed 2. Underlying commitment needed for effective Watershed management ..12 Box 3. Capacity development: definitions ..13 Box 4. Adjustments during project implementation: the case of Pakistan ..30 Box 5. Types of community-based organizations ..39 Box 6. Potential intervention areas in the Watershed ..59 Box 7. Format of the Watershed management plans in the OUBAME project ..73 Box 8. Planning of micro projects in the Chimborazo project ..75 Box 9. Support to vicu a management as an economic alternative to cattle grazing.

9 84 FIGURES Figure 1. Land cover in 1975 and 2010, Morocco ..50 Figure 2. Hazard map of Batora Watershed , Pakistan ..53 Figure 3. Present land use and localization of project activities, Kyrgyzstan ..72 TABLES Table 1. Overview of the projects included in the study ..7 Table 2. Watershed management units and main characteristics ..27 Table 3. Overview of project locations, Watershed areas and populations ..29 Table 4. Overview of criteria applied by projects for the Watershed selection ..33 Table 5. Analysis of priority problems, their causes and proposed activities in the Pakistan project (from the Gulmera Watershed management Plan) ..62 Table 6. Problems and development needs identified and solutions suggested by villagers in Telman, Kyrgyzstan: results of participatory rural appraisal.

10 63 Table 7. Problems and development needs identified and solutions suggested by technical experts and local government representatives in 8. Summary of the Watershed management plan for the Oued Outat Watershed , Morocco, as agreed by all partners ..74 Table 9. Changes that can be attributed to project action in the Oued Outat Watershed , Morocco, 2010 2014 ..98 Table 10. Changes that can be attributed to project action in the Oued Barbara Watershed , Mauritania, 2010 2014 ..99viFOREWORDA decade ago, FAO presented the results of a global review of Watershed management projects carried out between 1990 and 2000. The new generation of Watershed management programmes and projects, published in 2006, reflected the increasingly wide acceptance of Watershed management as an integrated approach to environmental protection and development, addressing conservation of water, land and biodiversity resources and improvement of local livelihoods through enhanced and diversified production.