Water its in our hands: successWater – its in our hands: success stories from Rajasthan

UNESCO G-Wadi meeting on water harvesting

Aleppo, November 20-22, 2006

1 R l t1. Rural poverty • In Asia and Africa, nearly 75% of the poor live in rural areas.• Increasingly, these rural poor live on fragile and degraded

lands. In 2002, there were 1.4 billion people living on degraded lands. More than three-fourths in Asia and Africa.

• Drought an increasingly frequent phenomenon.• Growing population in Asia and Africa

Ch ll M t f it t l b t• Challenge - Management of its natural resource base at increasing levels of productivity

• Greater challenge – Also in a manner that is sustainable and equitable

• Will require tremendous social discipline, political sagacity and technical ingenuity.technical ingenuity.

Challenge of the balance

1 Rural poverty1. Rural poverty • What is rural poverty ? Not shortage of cash, but shortage of

fodder, fuel, food, medicine, artisanal materials, the source of all which is the BIOMASS.

• Trees and the grasses are gone; land has eroded; and the• Trees and the grasses are gone; land has eroded; and the hydrological cycle has been disturbed.

• Agricultural production has been precarious and animal husbandry is equally threatened. All this leads to distress migration

• Therefore rural poverty is the shortage of GROSS NATURE• Therefore, rural poverty is the shortage of GROSS NATURE PRODUCT (GNP)

• Not Gross National Product (GNP)( )

2 W h d t t l lth2. Way ahead – create natural wealth• Challenge – Help the poor to get out of their g p p g

ecological poverty • The poor and the marginalised do not need aid; they

need support to help themselves• Challenge – Not just to maintain existing natural

capital, but to revive degraded lands• Starting point for biomass regeneration is water• Good water, land and forest management leads to• Creation of sustainable livelihoods and regeneration of

the rural economy.

3 Water the life giver3.Water – the life giver• Water brings land to life and

i ld bi i th f fyields biomass in the form of food, fuel, manure, timber and milk.

• The rural economy consisting of agriculture, animal production, trees and forests, is p , ,built entirely around the availability of water.

Therefore bringing water to villages is infusing a newTherefore, bringing water to villages is infusing a new economic life into poverty-stricken rural areas and moving towards poverty eradication.

Many examples of community action in India

4 C it i (2000)4. Community experiences (2000)• In Gelhar-Choti in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, villagers were

bl t h t t d i i t b t 91 h table to harvest water and irrigate about 91 hectares even though the rainfall was just about half of the usual average. (govt watershed development)

• Thunthi-Kankasiya, village in Dahod district of Gujarat, farmers were able to irrigate 135 ha and all 23 wells had enough water even though the rainfall was just 40% of normal(check dam on g j (a seasonal river)

• In Raj Samdhiyala village, villagers had built 12 check dams. Farmers were able to sow cotton wheat groundnut andFarmers were able to sow cotton, wheat, groundnut and vegetables even though rainfall was less than 2/3 of normal.

Many more

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar• Alwar district became

completely degraded incompletely degraded in the past 50 years. The Aravalli range denuded.

• According to remoteAccording to remote sensing data, Aravallis were shown as brown areas.

• If a farmer spent Rs. 10000 on cultivation he only got back Rs. 500 as returnreturn.•Acute distress migration; some blocks were all-women villages.W h d t lk l di t t ll t t•Women had to walk long distances to collect water.

•Less than 3% of cultivable land was irrigated

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar• Tarun Bharat Sangh began work in 1985• First work was of repairing a damaged johad• Johads – earthern dams to capture rainwater to percolate

down and moisten the soildown and moisten the soil• Impact of first dam was water in dry wells• Decided to focus on water harvesting• Three principles

1. Johads should be built to catch water;2 As the catchment areas are totally degraded the forest2. As the catchment areas are totally degraded, the forest

has to be protected and regenerated to halt soil erosion; 3. There should be consensus within the community on the works to be taken up.

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar• News of the success of the first

h k d h l d b i icheck dam helped bring in more villages to build johads

• Till 1999, there were over 3000 j h d i 650 illjohads in 650 villages

•An important way spreading the message of benefits johads has been the annual Pani Yatra (march for water)the annual Pani Yatra (march for water), •Of the 650 villages where TBS has worked, at least 500 were influenced by the Pani Yatra.

5 Waters of life Alwar5. Waters of life - Alwar

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar• For every Rs 100 invested in making

johads the economic production in thejohads, the economic production in the villages has risen by as much as Rs 400 per capita per annum

• Thanagazi, a ‘dark zone’ in the 1980s, was recently declared a ‘white zone’ bywas recently declared a ‘white zone’ by the irrigation department

• Official documents say that the forest cover is 40 per cent now, a rise of 33 per cent in the past 15 years for the Aravalli.

• In 1995, the five rivers becameperennialp

• Milk production has gone up by tentimes

• In many villages, people have startedcultivating sugarcane and wheat whichcultivating sugarcane and wheat, whichare water-intensive

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - AlwarPromoting self reliance• First step – form a gram sabha, with

5 different committees for construction, water, forest, grazing g gand a womens’ committee

• Community participation – started with a minimum of 25% communitywith a minimum of 25% community contribution, now grown to 70%

• From only labour to labour and materials to cash as wellmaterials to cash as well

• If the structure will only benefit a few families, then contribution will be hi hhigher

5 W t f lif Al5. Waters of life - Alwar

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya • Till 1970s the pastures of Laporiya, near Jaipur, were degraded

and barren.• Government classification – drought-prone, saline, with starving

livestocklivestock• Village of agro-pastoralists• Government soil-conservation – contour bunds and trenches –Go e e so co se a o co ou bu ds a d e c es

did not work, as water could spread throughout the land; did not promote natural varieties of grassesI 1990 L k h Si h f d d th G Vik N k• In 1990, Lakshman Singh founded the Gram Vikas Navyuvak Mandal. He had been working on water conservation for over ten years on his owny

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya•First aim was to regenerate pasture lands. The nearly flat (1-2% slope) community pastureland on the upper reaches of the village form startingcommunity pastureland on the upper reaches of the village form starting points.

•This large patch is divided into rectangular units of varying sizes (the b i 66 t 132 t )average being 66 metres x 132 metres).

•Each unit is enclosed by 1.5-metre-high dykes, built from soil within the square, along the three sides that lie towards the lower part of the q g pgradient.

•Called chauka (square), this zigzag pattern on the land allows rainwater to enter the square and fill it up Excess rainwater then flows into the nextto enter the square and fill it up. Excess rainwater then flows into the next square, and so on.

•Apart from allowing the collected water to percolate, different moisture le els ithin a sq are add to the di ersit of grass that gro s herelevels within a square add to the diversity of grass that grows here --providing fodder security (to the 2,900 large and small animals in the village.

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya• In 1994, the old village tank was also restored. Impact –

b i 1996 Fi t ti h t I i t dbumper crop in 1996. First time, what was grown. Irrigated area rose to 300ha

• Restored two more percolation tanks p• In 2000, when monsoon failed for the third year, grass and

fodder available. • 900 hectares of community pastureland irrigated through this• 900 hectares of community pastureland irrigated through this

system• The villagers have rebuilt broken embankments, stored water in

it d d i d t t d t l b dcommunity ponds and repaired or constructed talaabs and johads. Now they divert water from these networks to agricultural plots and pasturelands through simple canals and

d taqueducts.

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya• At an investment of roughly Rs

250 000 th t h i250,000, the squares technique was implemented on 900 hectares of pastureland.

• In terms of milk yields, the total income from pastureland in Laporiya worked out to roughly Rs 10.5 lakhg y

• As the squares system improves water flow levels and management beyond the squares themselves the total landthe squares themselves, the total land area impact is now well over 30,000 hectares.

• Water table levels in the village have• Water table levels in the village haverisen to just 15 feet below the surface,from a depth of 60 feet in 1991

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – Laporiya• Social mobilisation by leveraging the rich

religious and cultural values and its traditionalreligious and cultural values and its traditional customs. There is a small shrine next to each little tank or well.

• On Dev Uthni Gyaras, women tie rakhisOn Dev Uthni Gyaras, women tie rakhis(wherein a sister ties a sacred thread to the wrist of her brother who then vows to protect her) to the tree. The tree is now family, assured of protection in return for its bountiesof protection in return for its bounties.

• Gram sabha has members from 189 families• Management challenges: As of now, village

councils do not have financial resources atcouncils do not have financial resources at their disposal. Dependent on support from the GVNML and volunteer labour.

• Plan is to reinvest a portion of the improved p pharvest from individual farmlands with the village council, to be used for maintenance and repairs

6 L b f l L i6. Labour of love – LaporiyaAfter five years ofAfter five years of drought, agriculture in Jaipur-Tonk district.

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - Jhabua• The government of Madhya Pradesh started a watershed management

i th di t i t f Jh b ( li d t th h l t t )t b iprogramme in the district of Jhabua (now applied to the whole state)to bringeconomic well-being from environmental regeneration.

• Effort to involve the people in land and water management on a scale andd th th t th t h tt t ddepth that no other government has attempted.

• Result of political will combined with bureaucratic competence andcommitment

• In 1994, some 22% of Jhabua’s land area was brought under the RajivGandhi Watershed Development Mission, covering 374 villages, to develop249 micro-watersheds.

• Today, the programme is being run in all 48 districts, covering 6253watersheds in 8692 villages. The programme covers 4.2 million hectares,which is a little more than 1% of India’s total land area. The total investmenti th f th t t h b R 1042 (US $in the programme for the past ten years has been Rs. 1042 crore (US $231.6 million), which works out a little over Rs. 4000/hectare.

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - Jhabua• Once a heavily forested

Jh b l t it t larea, Jhabua lost its naturalwealth over the last 50 years.

• More than 30% of its forestlands stood without any treecover.

• The district was dotted withThe district was dotted withrock-exposed hillocks.

• This forest degradationmeant that the impact wasmeant that the impact wasfelt most by the tribals whoform 83% of the population.

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - JhabuaWhat was done • As a first step to arrest the water falling on the slopes,

small tanks were built on the slopes to hold the water.• Some 143 tanks were built initially• Land in the watershed was protectedp• Pasture improvement through planting pasture

grasses• Community afforestation was undertaken• Seed banks were set up p

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - Jhabua

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - JhabuaHow was it done • Multi-layered institutional structure set up• At the state level was the Chief minister, chief secretary and the

Mi i i hMission in charge• At the district level was the district collector, CEP of zilla

panchayat, advisory committee and technical committeepa c aya , ad so y co ee a d ec ca co ee• At the watershed level was the project implementation officer

(govt or NGO) • At the village level was the village watershed committee, user

groups, self-help groups and womens’ groups

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - JhabuaHow was it done• Once the plans prepared by the watershed committee are

approved, the govt releases 75% of the total budget to the committee

• Every fortnight the watershed committee together with the villagers decide on the expenditures

• The watershed committee maintains two accounts one for• The watershed committee maintains two accounts – one for expenditures and 10% of the project money is set aside as a fixed deposit. This is meant for post project maintenance & repairsrepairs

• When villagers volunteer labour a part of the wages is also set aside in this account.

• The district or zilla parishads also keep some money for their expenditures

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - JhabuaImpactsp• Increase in groundwater levels• Reduction in wasteland area up to 66% in 11 microReduction in wasteland area up to 66% in 11 micro

watersheds• 2 million trees regeneratedg• Cropped area increased by 7%• Food availability increased from 1 month to 4 monthsFood availability increased from 1 month to 4 months• 313 grain banks established• Increase in grass up to 5-6 timesIncrease in grass up to 5 6 times

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - Jhabua

7 T l f d I di Jh b7. Temple of modern India - Jhabua

8 L l t8. Lessons learnt• Let people control their own natural resources• Respect the knowledge of the people• Harvest the rainwater endowment of your village• An average Indian village has access to 340 hectares of land

which gives a rainfall endowment of 3.75 million m3 of water.• Paradigm of community-based water management is spreading• Paradigm of community-based water management is spreading• Over 15,000 villages are involved in water harvesting• Those who started 15-20 years ago have no problem of droughty g p g• Their Village Domestic Product has increased

W t it i h dWater – its in our hands

2 G t ff t ***2. Government efforts***• India has spent till date Rs. 292767 crore (US $ 650)

billion(Source: Planning commission) on water supply projects.• Investments focussed on irrigation development;• Drinking and water supply programmes• No investments for rainfed areas suffering from high

rainfall variability ie No investments for DROUGHTrainfall variability. ie. No investments for DROUGHT-PROOFING

• Government intervention in the hydrological system inGovernment intervention in the hydrological system in a big way – but nothing done to sustain the integrity of the hydrological system

2 G t ff t ****2. Government efforts****

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi• Ralegan Siddhi, in AhmednagarRalegan Siddhi, in Ahmednagar

district of Maharastra State • Arid land,average annual rainfall

ranging from 450mm to 600mmranging from 450mm to 600mm 1975: hardly one acre of irrigated land per family;

• Food production was only about ood p oduct o as o y about30% of the requirements;

• Average annual income was Rs.270 (US $ 6); high level of ( $ ); gdistress migration; in the clutches of money lenders and private bankers.

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi***4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi***

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi• 1975: Began by constructing storage ponds, reservoirs and

ll l t t h th i d i t th ilgully plugs to catch the rain and moisten the soil. • Very next year after the first check dams were built, the water

level in the wells near the barrages started rising.g g• Soon, government stepped in with financial help and a total of

47 check dams were built in four micro watershed areas• Total water storage capacity 300 cubic metres approximately• Total water storage capacity 300 cubic metres approximately• Diverse methods used - percolation tanks, boulder checks,

brushwood dams, staggered trenches, nullah bundings, check d tdams etc

• Gradually, total watershed development activities were undertaken

• Including modern agricultural methods like drip irrigation

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi• Some 14 water cooperative societies catering water to 600

acres of 157 farmers in Ralegan Siddhi today. • Members decide on system for distribution of water equitably to

allall• Society determines crops to be sown depending on availability

of water• Drinking water is also rationed.• Water distributed through water ration cards• Other social disciplining – ban on tree felling; over grazing; too

much importance is not given to milk to prevent over grazing

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi

4 1970 T f ti f R l Siddhi4. 1970s: Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi• In 1998 the top 28 per cent of the

households in this village had an annualhouseholds in this village had an annual household income of more than Rs. 4,80,000 (approximately $ 12,000) a year.

• The village had a branch office of a major bank with nearly Rs. 3 crore ($ 750,000) in deposits of villagers

• The village today makes use of solar power, biogas, drip irrigation

• Took nearly 5 years for first impacts to b i iblbecome visible.

From one of the most destitute villages of India to one of the richest28% of population earn more than Rs. 40,000/month (US 10,000/annum)