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Watershed Management

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

Perera, Muditha Prasannajith (2019),

Watershed Management: Theories and Practices,
Colombo; Godage International Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

Chapter 7

The Concept of Watershed Management

“Managing land resources, water resources, forest resources and

social system of specifically identified geo-hydrologic area (watershed)
can be identified as watershed management”.

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

7. The Concept of Watershed Management

Although there are some records regarding ancient watershed management techniques in
some countries, the current watershed management concept has emerged as a “latest
approach of managing natural resource base with human interaction within a watershed
area”.

7.1 Introduction
Watershed is a geo-hydrologic area consisting land, water, forests and man made
environment, which absorbs, stores and discharges water through a common drainage
point. Further it is a resources unit, identified accurately according to the drainage
pattern. The entire system is closely related to the socio economic situation of the area
and a number of watershed areas especially in the tropical countries suffer from an
unhealthy situation due to various issues related to the watershed degradation (Perera,
2011). That’s the reason for implementing a lot of watershed management programmes,
by minimizing land degradation and to increase the river base flow as well as the
productivity.

“Process of utilization, conservation and development of land, water and forest

resources of given watershed, for continuously improved live hood and human
development”
-P.N. Sharma, 1997

“Watershed Management is a ecosystem based holistic, integrated and

effective action”
- Florida Watershed Management Programm

“Watershed Management embraces all human activities and natural events in a

stream basin, oriented towards optimizing the productive use of its resources
holistically”
-C.M .Madduma Bandara, 2011

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

Soil and water conservation practices are the primary step of the watershed management
program. Land and water conservation practices, those made within agricultural leads
like construction of contour bunds, graded bunds, terraces building, broad bed and furrow
practice and other soil-moisture conservation practices, that are known as in-situ
management. These practices protect land degradation, improve soil health, and increase
soil-moisture availability and groundwater recharge. Moreover, construction of the check
dam, farm pond, gully control structures, pits excavation across the stream channel is
known as ex-situ management. Ex-situ watershed management practices reduce peak
discharge in order to reclaim gully formation and harvest substantial amount of runoff
which increases groundwater recharge and irrigation potential in watersheds (Wani and
Garg, 2009).

Figure 7.1: Scope of the watershed management

On the other hand, watershed management is an adaptive, comprehensive, integrated

multi-resource management planning process that seeks to balance healthy ecological,
economic, and cultural/social conditions within a watershed. Watershed management
serves to integrate planning for land and water; it takes into account both ground and

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surface water flow, recognizing and planning for the interaction of water, plants, animals
and human land use found within the physical boundaries of a watershed. Watershed
management provides a framework for integrated decision-making to help assess the
nature and status of the watershed; identify watershed issues; define and re-evaluate short
and long-term objectives, actions and goals; assess benefits and costs; and implement and
evaluate actions (http://www.rdrwa.ca/node/27).

Considering all the ideologies, the term Watershed Management can be defined as
“managing land, water and forest resources with the social system within

a specifically identified geo-hydrologic area (watershed) in order to

minimize the land degradation, maintain the river base flow and increase

the productivity”.

7.2. Different approaches of watershed management

Managing process of the above resource base can launched by using three approaches.
There are three main approaches for watershed Management as, engineering, agronomic
and socio-economic approaches.

Watershed
management

Engineering Agronomic Socio-economic

Approach Approach Approach

Engineering Approach: In this approach engineering techniques and methods are being
used for watershed management and conservation.

Ex:-Terraces, Contour drains, Contour earth bunds, Small dams

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

Agronomic Approach: Managing watershed by using forest management or crop

science techniques.

Ex:- Changing forest cover, Changing the perennial tree species, Changing crop patterns
and agricultural intervention

Socio Economic Approach: Managing watershed by changing or developing socio -

economic intervention pattern and attitudes, Institutional development and integration

Ex:- Changing attitudes towards sustainability and development, Participatory approach,

Changing the economic activities of the area, institutional integrity and efficiency

7.3 Different aspects of watershed management

The all activities related to watershed management in a geo-hydrologic area can be
concentrated into a few aspects. If some of stakeholder group wants, they can manage a
watershed by applying more irrigation and water management techniques, or applying
soil conservation and land management techniques or applying ecological and forest
management techniques or applying institutional and socio-economic techniques.

Most probably, selected aspects can be used by a recognized institutional body. As an

example Agricultural ministry of a country may use soil conservation and land
management techniques for managing a selected watershed. Then we call that the
watershed management programme launched through soil conservation and land
management aspect. However, if somebody or institutional body is going to mange a
watershed through all these four aspects, it becomes an integrated aspect or holistic
approach (Figure 7.2). Generally most suitable way is concentrating all these aspects for
a watershed management project.

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

Figure 7.2: Different aspects of watershed management

One of these aspects or all can use for studies in a particular educational body,
representing the relevant study aspect.

7.4 The scope and objectives of watershed management

When implementing watershed management activities, all the implementation lay out
through a wide range. It may differ simple to complex and large scale activities with
number of stake holders. The relevant watershed management strategies may apply, from
home garden development to river basin based integrated programme level (Figure 7.3).

Figure 7.3: Scope and the scale of the watershed management

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Muditha Prasannajith Perera

The activities spread out in a wide range including forest cover development, chena
stabilizing, conservation farming, tank and stream ecosystem development, irrigation
water management, groundwater management, and participatory planning and
development (Figure 7.4). However the entire watershed management activities will
fulfill the anticipated three generalized objectives as follows.
i. Minimizing the land degradation
ii. Maintaining the stream base flow
iii. Ensuring a better sustainable production system

Figure 7.4: Profile of a managed watershed

Source: Author modified from SCOR Monitor, 1994

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References

International Irrigation Management Institute, 1994, SCOR MONITOR, International

Irrigation Management Institute, Sri Lanka Country Programme, Colombo.

Madduma Bandara C.M., 2011, (Personal communications), University of Peradeniya,

Peradeniya.

Perera, M.P., 2011, Ancient Watershed Management Strategies in Sri Lanka. Proceedings
of 3rd International Conference on Water and Flood Management, BUET, Dhaka.

Sharma, P.N. (ed.), 1997, Participatory processes for Integrated Watershed Management,
P.W.M.T.A. & Farm: Katmandu.

Wani. S.P. and Garg. K.K., 2009, Watershed Management Concept and Principles
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266351616)

http://www.rdrwa.ca/node/27

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