Adaptation through Watershed Management in the Changing Climate

The developing nations are worst affected as they are largely dependent on the local precipitation and soil moisture for their livelihood generations. The changing climate with extended summer, change in the rainfall pattern (intensity and duration) and variations of onset and departure of seasons are directly impacting the cultivation, status of natural vegetation, surface and sub-surface water, and other natural resources in a watershed area. Among the various efforts, watershed development approach, in which intervention is more site-specific in nature and can address the local requirements, is found to be more effective at micro levels. The vulnerability of climatic changes is mainly due to water stress, degradation of natural vegetations, degradation in the health and hygiene conditions, and poor information communication technology. The present article highlights these issues, impact of watershed development project in the Himalayan region and identifying the adaptation mechanism through watershed programs. A site specific action, research methods including primary and secondary data collections, GIS, remote sensing and statistical techniques were used. The study on the Jusho Bakro micro-watershed treated by TERI under the program DROP has been found to be effective in drawing possible adapting mechanism to withstand the changing climate and its severity on the natural resources and the livelihood of the community.