This document summarizes watershed management approaches for sustainable development of rainfed areas in India. It discusses that watershed development is an eco-friendly approach to manage rainwater and address issues in rainfed areas. Over 120 million hectares of land in India are degraded. Objectives of watershed management include controlling soil erosion and runoff, rehabilitating degraded land, and improving agricultural production. Different management practices discussed include check dams, contour bunding, strip cropping, and agroforestry. Research findings show that watershed programs in India have increased crop yields and resource use efficiency while reducing soil erosion.

1. Watershed Management for Sustainable
Development of Rainfed areas
PALLI- SKISHA BHAVANA
(INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE)
VISVA-BHARATI, SRINIKETAN
PRESENTED BY
SOUMYAKANTI MANDAL

2. CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Watershed
• Types of Watershed
• Objectives of Sustainable Watershed Management
• Factors Affecting Watershed Management
• Different Approaches of Watershed Management
• Management Practices in Watershed
• Watershed Management Programmmes in India
• Research Findings
• Conclusion
• References

3. ► Development of watershed is one of the most trusted and eco-friendly approach to
manage rainwater and other natural resources, which has paid rich dividends in the
rainfed areas and is capable of addressing many natural, social and environmental
issues. (Wani et al., 2003).
► Over 120 million ha land area has been declared degraded (Maji et al., 2007) in
India.
► The annual soil loss rate in India is nearly 16.4 t/ha (Mandal and Sharda, 2013).
► The loss of sediments caused by soil erosion not only deteriorates the quality of
surface water, nearby water bodies, and wetlands but also reduces the
productivity of agricultural land (Issaka and Ashraf, 2017).
► Watershed technology is suitable to protect and enhance soil fertility, which is
deteriorating at an alarming rate with agricultural intensification.
INTRODUCTION

4. ❑ Rainfed agriculture is a type of farming that relies on rainfall for water.
❑ Rainfed agriculture occupies about 51% of country’s net sown area and
accounts for nearly 40% of the total food production (MoA&FW, GoI,2020).
❑ The eastern region of India constitutes about 63% of the net sown area under
rainfed supporting a population of 290.8 million (Madhu et al., 2013).
❑ In view of the growing demand for food grains in the country, there is a need to
develop and enhance the productivity of rainfed areas.
❑ If managed properly, these areas have tremendous potential to contribute a
larger share in food production and faster agricultural growth compared to the
irrigated areas which have reached a plateau.

5. A watershed, also called a drainage basin or
catchment area.
⮚ It is an area in which all water flowing into
it goes to a common outlet.
⮚ Watershed is not simply the hydrological
unit but also socio-political & ecological
entity.
⮚ It plays crucial role in determining food,
social, and economical security and
provides life support services to rural
people.
(Wani et al. 2008)
WATERSHED

6. Fig: Profile of a managed watershed
Source: International Irrigation Management Institute

7. Watershed
Macro watershed
(>50,000 ha)
Sub-watershed
(10,000–50,000
ha)
Milli-watershed
(1000–10,000 ha)
Micro-watershed
(100–1000 ha)
Mini-watershed
(1–100 ha)

8. ✔ To control and preserve soil and water from harmful runoff and degradation.
✔ To preserve, maintain, and enhance watershed land to increase production efficiency and
sustainability.
✔ To control soil erosion and reduce the effects of sediment.
✔ To rehabilitate deteriorating land.
✔ To moderate flood peaks in downstream areas.
✔ To increase rainwater infiltration.
✔ To improve and increase the production of timber, feedstock, and wildlife resources.
✔ To enhance groundwater recharge, wherever applicable.
Objectives of Sustainable Watershed Management

9. Different approaches of Watershed Management
• Eg:-Terraces, Contour drains, Contour earth bunds, Small
dams
Engineering
Approach
• Eg:- Changing forest cover, Changing the perennial tree
species, Changing crop patterns and agricultural
intervention
Agronomic
Approach
• Eg: Attitudes towards sustainability and development,
Participatory approach, Changing the economic activities
of the area, institutional integrity and efficiency
Socio
Economic
Approach

10. Management Practices in Watershed
Check dam
Percolation pond
Micro catchments
Broad beds and furrows
Gully plugs
Tied Ridges
Summer ploughing
Agro-forestry
Vegetative barriers
Bunding
Tillage Practices
Strip Cropping

11. ZERO TILLAGE
❖ The no-till system is a specialized type of conservation tillage consisting of a one-pass
planting and fertilizer operation in which the soil and the surface residues are minimally
disturbed (Parr et al. 1990).
❖ The potential benefits of no-till fallow, compared with other tillage systems, are more
effective control of soil erosion, increased water storage, lower energy costs per unit of
production and higher grain yields

12. Summer Ploughing
⮚ Ploughing the field across the slope during hot summer
with the help of specialized tools.
⮚ Off season tillage increases water content of soils and
reduces runoff.
⮚ Facilitate easy sowing and to establish good seed soil
contact.
⮚ For easy absorption of moisture.
⮚ Provide sufficient aeration.
⮚ Improve water holding capacity.

13. REDUCED TILLAGE
❖ This system covers other tillage and cultivation
systems not covered above but meets the 30%
residue requirement (Laryea et al. 1991).
❖ Reduced tillage means a decreased reliance on
inversion tillage.
❖ It means less intensity, shallower depth, and less
area disturbed, either in the bed, field or across
the farm.

14. Agro-forestry
❖ Agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive
benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or
livestock .
❖ It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more
diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use
systems.
► Agri-silviculture system
► Silvo-pasture system
► Agri-silvo-pastoral system

15. Vegetative Barriers
⮚ Vegetative barriers can be established either on contour or on moderate
slope of 0.4 to 0.8%.
⮚ In this system, the vegetative hedge acts as a barrier to runoff flow.
⮚ The grass species such as vetiver, sewan (Lasiurus sindicus), sania
(Crotalaria burhia), and kair (Capparis aphylla) are used.

16. STRIP CROPPING
• Growing erosion permitting crop alternating with erosion resisting
crop
• Erosion permitting crop: Cotton, Maize, Sorghum etc.
• Erosion resisting crop: Cowpea, Chickpea, Pea, Soybean etc.

17. Broad beds and Furrows
❖ The raised bed portion acts as an in-situ ‘bund’ to conserve
more moisture and ensures soil stability.
❖ The shallow furrows provide good surface drainage.
❖ The BBF system consists of a relatively raised flat bed or
ridge approximately 95 cm wide and shallow furrow about
55 cm wide and 15 cm deep.
❖ It reduces runoff and soil loss and improves soil properties
over the years.

18. Check Dam
⮚ Constructed on small streams and long gullies formed by
erosive activity of flood water
⮚ The stored water improves soil moisture of the adjoining area
and allows percolation to recharge the aquifers.
⮚ Height depends on the bank height, varies from less than a 1 m
to 3 m and length varies from less than 3m to 10m.
⮚ The water can be used for agriculture purpose, fish rearing and
increase the utility of water based activities.
⮚ It can be built as permanent concrete structures or with stones,
Bamboo and wooden planks as temporary measure.

19. Gully Plugs
❑ To prevent erosion, barriers or plugs are put across the
gully, at certain intervals.
❑ Allows groundwater recharge and sediment to settle out
(reduces sediment transport).
❑ No trench design required, just uses existing gully drainage
pattern.
❑ Cost effective – these dams can use locally available
materials.

20. Micro Catchments
✔ Circular basin of one m diameter for level lands
depending upon infiltration and rainfall.
✔ Micro catchments size of (5m x 5m) and the quantum of
rainfall is 20 mm will give 500 liters of water.
✔ It is suitable for fruit crop. Bunds are formed
individually for each tree.
✔ Circular bunding recommended for plain land area,
whereas sloppy lands with semicircular or crescent
bunding.

21. Tied Ridges
❑ The ridges are vertically tied at shorter interval to create rectangular
water harvesting structures.
❑ The slight sloppiness in the tied ridges facilitates draining of excess
water.
❑ For black and red soils these cause an increase of up to 15 per cent in
crop yields.

22. Bunding
Contour
Bunding
Bench
Terracing
Graded
Bunding
Field
Bunding
Compartmental
Bunding

23. Contour Bunding
⮚ A series of such bunds divide the area into strips
and act as barriers to the flow of water, thus
reducing the amount and velocity of the runoff.
⮚ To intercept the runoff flowing down the slope by
an embankment.
⮚ It can be adopted in light and medium textured
soils.
⮚ It can be laid up to 6% slopes.
⮚ It helps to retain moisture in the field.

24. Compartmental Bunding
✔ Compartmental bunding is an effective
moisture conservation measure in dryland.
✔ It is suitable for lesser rainfall areas and the
slope is < 1%
✔ Small compartments act as a dam and store the
rainfall received in the compartments for
longer period.
✔ It increases water holding capacity of the soil.
✔ Suitable for rainfed red soils and short duration
crop

25. Graded Bunding
• Constructed in areas with slope upto 6-10%
• In high rainfall areas (>600 mm) excess rain water is removed using
graded bunds
• Suitable for all soil

26. Bench Terracing
⮚ On steeply sloping lands, the slopes where such terraces are
found useful vary from 6 to 30 per cent.
⮚ Bench terraces are suitable where soil depth is more than 21/2
feet and it can be laid in slopy land ranges from 16.67 to 33%.
⮚ In highly slopy lands (8-15%) three types of bench terraces are
planned viz., horizontal, inward and outward based on soil type
and water holding capacity.
⮚ It also reduces soil erosion

27. Percolation Pond
✔ To improve the ground water recharge.
✔ Shallow depression created at lower portions in a
natural or diverted stream course.
✔ Located in soils of permeable nature.
✔ Adaptable where 20-30 ground water wells for
irrigation exist with in the zone of influence about
800 X 900 m.

28. ⮚ To recharge the wells (open and tube
wells) particularly abandoned wells by a
runoff collection system.
⮚ Direct on-use of collected water if storage
facility is available.
Roof top rainwater harvesting
Tube-well Recharge
⮚ To directly feed depleted aquifers to fresh water
from ground surface so that the recharge is fast
without any evaporation loss.
⮚ Depth of recharge tube well depends on the
present depth of bore wells in the area.

29. (P. L. Maliwal 2020)
Table 1: Watershed Development Program in India

30. RESEARCH
FINDINGS

31. Indicators Before (2008) After (2012-13) % Change
i. RWUE (kg/ha-mm )
Av. Cereals 2.14 2.35 9.9
Av. Pulses 1.47 1.63 11.2
Av.Food crops 1.95 2.15 10.2
Av. Oil seeds 1.04 1.11 6.9
Av. Vegetables 28.92 31.55 9.1
Av. Spices 23.44 25.71 9.7
Average for all crops 11.89 12.99 9.3
ii. EERW (MJ/m3 )
Av. Cereals 4.35 4.78 9.8
Av. Pulses 3.26 3.63 11.2
Av.Food crops 4.04 4.45 10.1
Av. Oil seeds 2.49 2.67 6.9
Av. Vegetables 7.15 7.78 8.7
Av. Spices 4.17 4.57 9.7
Average for all crops 4.71 5.12 8.7
Table 2: Resource use efficiency impact indicators in the tribal participated Lachhaputraghati watershed, Odisha
Source: MADEGOWDA, MADHU & Naik, B.S. & Jakhar, Praveen & H C, Hombegowda & Adhikary, Partha Pratim & Gore, K.P. & Barman, Dhananjay & Naik,
G.B.. (2016). Comprehensive impact assessment of resource conservation measures in watershed of eastern region of India. Journal of Environmental
Biology. 91. 391-398.

32. Table 3: Environmental impact indicators in the tribal participated Lachhaputraghati watershed, Odisha
Source: Madegwoda, Madhu & Naik, B.S. & Jakhar, Praveen & H C, Hombegowda & Adhikary, Partha Pratim & Gore, K.P. & Barman, Dhananjay & Naik, G.B..
(2016). Comprehensive impact assessment of resource conservation measures in watershed of eastern region of India. Journal of Environmental Biology.
91. 391-398.

33. Table 4: Crop yield under demonstration, non-demonstration and district average with per cent
increase at Radhamohanpur watershed project, Bankura,WB
Zaman et al. (2002)

34. Table 5: Change in land use and cropping pattern as influenced by the watershed programme
at Radhamohanpur watershed project, Bankura,WB
Particular Before Project After Project
Land use pattern
Area under crop cultivation 139 194
Area under irrigation 0 33
Area under double crop 0 30
Gross cropped area 139 224
Cropping pattern
Cereals (Rainy Season) 139 118
Oilseed (Rainy Season) 0 20
Pulse (Rainy Season) 0 12
Others 0 14
Cereals (Winter) 0 24
Oilseed (Winter) 0 20
Others 0 25
Cropping Intensity 100 150
Zaman et al. (2002)

35. Samanta & Jana (2020)
Table 6: Perception survey regarding various management strategies in Aduria Micro watershed,
Ausgram block, Purba Barddhaman

36. Conclusion
• Watershed is an essential in day to day life.
• A vast range of activities of every day life depends upon adequate supplies of water. For e.g.
Agriculture and Industry, power production, inland transportation, sanitation and public health
services and so on.
• Therefore to provide all these activities construction of watershed and manage is essential.
• Fast deterioration of natural resources is one of the key issues, threatening sustainable development
of rainfed agriculture as most rainfed regions are facing multifaceted problems of land degradation,
water shortage, acute poverty, and escalating population pressure.
• Poor watershed management is a major cause of land and water degradation, rural poverty in India.
• The management of watershed provides a means to achieve sustainable land and water
management.
• Improved and appropriate soil and water management practices are most important for sustainable
and improved livelihoods in the rainfed areas because other technological interventions such as
improved varieties, fertilizers, etc. are generally not so effective where soil is degraded and water is
severely limited.

37. References
• Joshi, P.K., A.K. Jha, S.P. Wani, J. Laxmi and R.L. Shiyani: Metaanalysis to assess impact of
watershed program and people’s participation. Research Report 8, Comprehensive Assessment of
watershed management in agriculture, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics and Asian Development Bank, p. 21 (2005).
• Madegowda, Madhu & Naik, B.S. & Jakhar, Praveen & H C, Hombegowda & Adhikary, Partha
Pratim & Gore, K.P. & Barman, Dhananjay & Naik, G.B.. (2016). Comprehensive impact assessment
of resource conservation measures in watershed of eastern region of India. Journal of Environmental
Biology. 91. 391-398.
• Madhu, M., B.S. Naik, P. Jakhar, H.C. Hombe Gowda, P.P. Adhikary and K.P. Gore: Impact
assessment of Integrated watershed development in Lachaputtraghati Watershed, Koraput, Odisha, p.
49 (2014).
• Jothiprakash, V. et al., 1997. Influence of percolation ponds: A recharging structure in a small
watershed. Paper in National Conference on Ground Water Sources at JNTU Hyderabad pp 280-289

38. Thank You