Jhanwar Watershed Project

Low erratic rainfall averaging 360mm per year, and recurrent droughts;
Soil erosion resulting in a reduction of cultivable land and the abandonment of severely eroded areas;
Infertile sandy soils with very low water retention and storage capacity;
Reduction in plot sizes due to land allocations to the homeless, population growth and inheritance laws;
Low crop yields and frequent failure due to drought;
Degraded communal grazing land due to overstocking;
Lowered water table because of over-exploitation;
Acute scarcity of fodder and fuelwood;
Seasonal migration of human and livestock populations;
Change from mix cropping to single crop system.

The solution

Introducing the management of natural resources - soil, water, vegetation and animals for increased production through an integrated sustainable production system over the whole watershed;
Field testing of nationally developed dryland farming technologies;
Increasing awareness among rural people to encourage participation in the new system.

The project achievements

Land protection using multi-purpose shelter belts against wind and water erosion;
Reclamation of 120 ha of wasteland through gully stopping;
Improved and sustainable source of fuelwood from shelterbelt prunings;
Increased yields from intercropping drought-tolerant high yielding crops with fast-growing, multi-purpose trees;
Increased acreages (3-4 times) of irrigated commercial crops and double cropping because of improved water harvesting;
Improved dairy output resultant on increased fodder availability;
Higher incomes through produce, sales and employmen opportunities - poverty alleviation;
Improved housing, access to education, nutrition and health.;
Improved vegetation cover and biodiversity.

The overall achievements

A rise in groundwater level;
Recognition of the value of the integrated management of natural resources widely recognized by government ministries with the consequent policy that dryland areas be based on watershed-based integrated management.;
Replication in other areas of Rajasthan and also Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana;
Development of an instruction manual for other users.

This project was implemented jointly by CAZRI, the State Department of Soil Conservation and the local communities with funds from the Government of India, ICAR and CAZRI.

Success Stories: Asia Pacific