Jasbir Singh

Impact Assessment of Watershed Development Programme in Shivalik Hills Jasbir Singh

India since 1950?s has invested more than Rs. 170 billions (US $ 4 billions) on Watershed Development Programmes covering more than 45 million ha, for improvement of natural resources and promotion of sustainable growth in the areas facing severe soil and moisture stress. But the long history of WDP there are no systematic and large scale impact assessment studies on their performance. Moreover, there is lack of proper indicators and evaluation methods to assess the overall impact of these programmes. In the present book an attempt was made for assessing the impact of Chenani WDP of Udhampur district of J&k state, in terms of resource condition and availability. Both quantitative and qualitative parameters were used for impact assessment of the programme. The lessons learnt from previous (WDP) experiences could be very helpful in making future WDP?s more efficient, economical and sustainable. Therefore, a multilateral approach with qualitative and quantitative indicators like carrying capacity, soil erosion level, people's participation were used for measuring the impact of WDP on natural resources of the study area.