Improved Options for Water Management: PARDYP Experiences from the Himalayan Watersheds

The ICIMOD-coordinated “People and Resource Dynamics Project (PARDYP)” was implemented from 1996–2006 in five mid-mountain watersheds in 4 countries - China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The watersheds were located between 800 to 4000 masl. They had -high erosive potential due to short and intense rainfall; high degree of human impact and pressure on natural resources, poverty, land-use change and subsistence agriculture; highly seasonal availability of water resources. PARDYP analyzed water supply and demand situations in the watersheds by considering people's perceptions and high-resolution hydro-met data. The analysis showed that the concern in the watersheds was both terms of water quantity and quality. The project team then conducted participatory action research for generating improved technological and institutional options for water management. The following technological options were found promising: low cost drip, sprinkler and pitcher irrigation; System of Rice Intensification (SRI); Roof-water harvesting systemsandcatehmem conservation and Conservation Ponds. InNepal,.drip irrigation in bittergourd cultivationsaved60%and50% water and labour, respectively with drip plots showing early fruit formation and better crop yield, compared to the bucket irrigated plots. In Nepal and Pakistan, the rice grain and straw yields in the SRI plots were more than in the traditional plots. According to the farmers in the PARDYP-Nepal watershed, SRI consumed 5070% less water. PARDYP also promoted conservation ponds for cash crop cultivation and for rehabilitation of degraded lands. In India, raising fish in the ponds was a bonus for the farmers. This paper presents the PARDYP lessons learned in water management. The current water shortages in the Himalayan mid-mountains are due to increasing population leading to increased water demand for agriculture and domestic use, and also due to lack of proper management of the existing resources. Promotion of the technologies presented here following community-based approach can certainly provide new opportunities for the mountain communities and beyond. ICIMOD has started building on and institutionalizing the learning from PARDYP and other similar initiatives in the region. Documentation and sharing of PARDYP-recommended soil and water conservation technologies and approaches is also going on using the globally-recognized WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies; www.wocat.org) methods and tools.