Impact assessment of watershed development programme - A case study of Itagi watershed

Abstract

Soil, water and vegetation are the important gifts of nature to mankind. Welfare and development of mankind and its civilization revolves around conservation and development of these vital natural resources, which are so interdependent that one can not be managed efficiently without the other two. Watershed Development Programs (WDP) going on in India basically as soil and water conservative programs (as a policy response to the increasing environmental crisis and non-sustainability of agriculture especially in the dry land/semi-arid regions) has modified substantially with the introduction of watershed guidelines in 1994 by the Government of India. In the present study the area considered for assessment is Itagi sub watershed in Ranebennur taluk, Haveri district, Karnataka. During the watershed development programme soil and water conservation structures were constructed in the study area in the year 2004. The analysis of data reveals that there is an improvement in the groundwater recharge, increase in yield of the wells, increase in agricultural production, reduction in soil erosion and many other tangible and intangible benefits as a result of this watershed development programme. © 2010 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.