Integrated Assessment of Scale Impacts of Watershed Intervention Assessing Hydrogeological and Bio-physical Influences on Livelihoods

Integrated Assessment of Scale Impacts of Watershed Interventions is the outcome of a multi-disciplinary research team of social scientists, hydrologists (groundwater and surface water), modellers; and bio-physical scientists who have worked together over five years to develop an integrated model of the sustainability of biophysical, economic and social impacts of watersheds. Impacts of watershed interventions are assessed at upstream, mid-stream and downstream locations of two hydrological units that are characterised with differential bio-physical attributes. The editors propose that watershed interventions, when integrated with hydro-geology and bio-physical aspects, have greater influence on the resilience of the socio-ecological system. This book takes these aspects in to consideration and in the process provides insights in to watershed design and implementation.

List of ContributorsForewordAcknowledgmentsPart I. Setting1. Introduction1.1. Background1.2. Rainfed Agriculture and WSD in India1.3. Watershed Policies in India1.4. WSD and Importance of Scale1.5. Need for an Integrated Approach1.6. About this Book2. Analytical Framework, Study Design, and Methodology2.1. Introduction2.2. Strategic Conceptual and Methodological Issues2.3. Assessing Scale Impacts of WSD: An Analytical Framework2.4. Biophysical Modeling2.5. Assessing Socioeconomic Impacts2.6. Model of Integration: The BNs2.7. Equity and Justice Issues2.8. Stakeholder Engagement2.9. Approach and Sampling Design2.10. Profile of Sample SitesPart II. Hydro-geological and Bio-physical Aspects of the Watersheds3. Investigating Geophysical and Hydrogeological Variabilities and Their Impact on Water Resources in the Context of Meso-Watersheds3.1. Introduction3.2. Study Areas3.3. Materials and Methods3.4. Results and Findings3.5. Discussion3.6. Zones Suitable for Different Types of Artificial Recharge Interventions3.7. Conclusion4. Application of a Simple Integrated Surface Water and Groundwater Model to Assess Mesoscale Watershed Development4.1. Introduction4.2. Model Development4.3. Site Description and Model Parameterization4.4. Results4.5. Discussion4.6. Conclusions5. Modeling the Impact of Watershed Development on Water Resources in India5.1. Introduction5.2. Effective and Sustainable WSD: Hydrological Considerations5.3. Study Sites in West Bengal5.4. Data Collection5.5. Modeling Hydrological Response5.6. Application to Andhra Pradesh5.7. Modification of the Original Model5.8. Calibration and Validation Model on the Lakshmipuram Catchment5.9. Applying the Model on an Ungauged Study Site in Andhra Pradesh5.10. Discussion5.11. Conclusion6. Sustainable Watershed Development Design Methodology6.1. Introduction6.2. Methodology and Approach6.3. Characterization of Biophysical Resources of the Study Sites6.4. Description of HUNs6.5. Land and Water Management Interventions through Watershed Programs6.6. Assessment of Watershed Interventions on Hydrology of Watersheds6.7. ConclusionsPart III. Socio-economic and Livelihood Impacts of Watersheds7. Assessing Livelihood Impacts of Watersheds at Scale: An Integrated Approach7.1. Introduction7.2. Approach and Methods7.3. Sample Selection and Profile of the Study Sites7.4. Impact of WSD—The SRL Approach7.5. Impact of WSD on Resilience7.6. Factors Influencing Resilience7.7. Conclusions8. Evaluating the Determinants of Perceived Drought Resilience: An Empirical Analysis of Farmers’ Survival Capabilities in Drought-Prone Regions of South India8.1. Introduction8.2. Methodology and Findings8.3. Testing for the Impact of Watershed Interventions on Drought Resilience8.4. Conclusion9. Modeling Livelihood Indicators and Household Resilience using Bayesian Networks9.1. Introduction9.2. BNS9.3. Capital Strength and Resilience BNS9.4. Analyzing Social Capital using the BN Submodel9.5. Synthesis10. Justice and Equity in Watershed Development in Andhra Pradesh10.1. Introduction10.2. A Comparative Evaluation of the Concept of Justice in Water Resources Management in Australia and India: The Role of Participatory and Property Rights Approaches10.3. Collective Action and Property Rights for Poverty Alleviation: A Conceptual Framework Based on the Experience of WSD in Semi-Arid India10.4. Community Views on Collective Action and the Equity of the WSD Process10.5. ConclusionPart IV. Integrating Science into Policy and Practice11. High Stakes—Engagement with a Purpose11.1. Introduction11.2. Actual Process Adopted in the Project11.3. Outcomes of the Process Adopted and Lessons Learned11.4. Model for Effective Stakeholder Engagement—Need for and Issues Involved in Closer Engagement with Stakeholders12. Exploring Implications of Climate, Land Use, and Policy Intervention Scenarios on Water Resources, Livelihoods, and Resilience12.1. Introduction12.2. Analysis Tools12.3. Biophysical Scenarios12.4. Social Scenario12.5. Synthesis13. Summary and Conclusion13.1. Background13.2. Hydrogeology and Biophysical Aspects13.3. Socioeconomic Implications13.4. The Approach to Integration13.5. Putting Science to Practice13.6. The Way ForwardIndex

Hydrologists and natural resource managers

Dr. V. Ratna Reddy is the Director, Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management Institute, Hyderabad, India. He is an Economist specializing in Environmental economics and Natural Resource Management. He is a Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, Germany. He was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK and at the School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK. His current research interests include natural resources and environmental economics, livelihoods analysis and agricultural policy. He has more than hundred publications in International and Indian Journals. He has published Six books, including User Valuation of Renewable Natural Resources: The User Perspective (Nova Science publishers Inc, New York) and Managing Water Resources from Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Dr. Geoff Syme is Professor of Planning in the Centre for Planning at Edith Cowan University in Australia. Dr. Syme has 35 years of experience in social and interdisciplinary research on the effects of water management on societal outcomes. He has led large scale national and international research programs (>AUS 1.5 Mill) and has served as Research Director for CSIRO's Land and Water. He received a CSIRO medal for Research Excellence, and the Australian Water Association's Peter Hughes Water Award. He has published over 100 journal articles in a variety of disciplinary and multidisciplinary journals and is currently an Editor in Chief of the Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier). He regularly provides advice to National and International government and industry bodies. He provided substantial input to the National Water Commission's guide to incorporating ecological services into water planning. He is currently Project Leader on an ACIAR funded livelihoods based assessment of the effect of scale of Watershed Development in Andhra Pradesh, India.