The general idea is not only to ensure the survival, but also the economic and social development of the people of the upland watershed areas and at the same time to increase productivity of the natural renewable resources: soil, water, plants and especially: forests, pastures and wildlife.
We may wonder if this view of the problem is sound and if the main objectives are compatible. Experience has shown that it is, except in special oases (too steep land and superficial and unstable soil, which will have to be treated with care and protected).
On the other hand, we may also wonder about the maximum anthropic pressure that the environment will be able to withstand. In this regard, an interesting projection was made during an FAO project in Indonesia.
In a determined area, crop yields "before" and "after" management were expressed in calories, taking into account the gradual expected yield increase. At the same time, the food requirements of the people of the area until 2017 were taken into consideration (for an average population increase of 2 percent per annum).
The conclusions to be drawn from this projection are as follows:
In brief, stable systems of mountain economics must be established, based on the harmonious combination of plant and animal production and economic activities, excluding agriculture and forestry, with the consent and collaboration of the people concerned, for it is vital that they be prepared to participate in the programme and take charge of their own development. (This essential aspect will be expanded in other chapters of this guide.)
It is accepted, therefore, and all the examples given in Annex II prove, that watershed management would not be possible unless the human factor were taken into account and. That this factor must be coordinated with others which are as vital: soil, water, forests, pastures, etc., in short, with all the components of the ecosystem.
They are numerous, varied and interdependent.
If first the human element is considered, the overall objectives are:
The role of the forest is to protect and produce. It must prevent soil compaction, the silting up of rivers, lakes, dame and reservoirs; it must help in preventing floods and contribute to minimizing the effects of drought.
In upland watershed areas it will be expected to:
As regards water, the aim is to control the rise of river waters and prevent floods, maintain the quality of the water and control the flow:
The soil must be conserved and improved. It represents a basic resource for the present and the future. Its real value greatly exceeds its monetary value. The aim is:
There may be competition among the crop and livestock farmers and foresters as regards land use. In this case, priority consideration must be given to land potential, followed by the specific needs to be met and the economic importance of the different production possibilities.
Permanent awareness-creating and extension campaigns must be conducted. Land management requires a strong will and a coherent strategy. It would be ideal to be able to diversify in order to reduce risks.
While in the past and even in recent times in many countries, the strategies adopted often contributed to promote the expansion of production for the benefit of a small, essentially urban-industrial modern sector and no attention was paid to who was being exploited and who was benefiting; the current trend is to give preference to strategies which load to exhaustive development through integration of all development activities based on the participation of the people.
The now strategy also seeks in the first instance, to favor the poorest members of the mountain and rural communities.
Forestry is no longer considered an end in itself, but a moans to improving the standard of living of those who are trying to survive, today, in forest areas.
The trend of an increasing awareness of the real problem is revealed in the descriptions of both long-term and immediate objectives in watershed management projects and programmes.
When evaluation was carried out during implementation of older projects and programmes, basic changes in the strategy were recommended and applied to take account of the human factor.
While the implementation team referred to in the documents relating to initial projects comprised only technical experts (foresters specializing in the various fields of forestry, soil scientists, soil and water conservation specialists, hydrologists, etc.), gradually, the teams began to include agronomists, animal husbandry experts, agropastoralists, horticulturalists, planning economists, and finally, sociologists, extension experts and ecologists. However, in these programmes, there are still too few experts in community development and. rural institution (cooperatives, credit, marketing) or small scale industries, as well as in women's activities and youth motivation. It would also be desirable to complete these tease with literacy programmes, public health and housing exports, etc.
What exactly does this new strategy consist of? According to the document mentioned below, a forestry strategy should be unequivocally geared to the following objectives:
This strategy also applies to mountain watersheds which are usually areas with forestry potential.
A new strategy to manage and develop the upland areas is required ... This is a restored landscape in Cyprus.
In these areas, however, the role of the forest is not merely to protect and conserve water and soil. It must also produce and this is a further aim of the strategy. Wood fuel in vitally important in the rural areas of developing countries. It represents an average of 24 percent of the total energy consumption in these countries. An estimated 1 500 million people depend on wood as their only source of household energy, especially for preparing meals. Sometimes, when wood is not available, the solid excrement of domestic animals is used as fuel to the detriment of soil manure. Furthermore, wood will continue to be an essential building material in rural areas. Forests also supply a wide variety of plants, seeds, fruits, flowers and other products such as honey, wax, resin, essential oils, mushrooms, as well as game.
Forest industries provide jobs for the local population.
| Forestry programmes alone, however, cannot solve all the problems of the poorest inhabitants of the forest areas. Consideration must also be given to other technical aspects and to requirements of a socioeconomic and political nature. |
All activities in mountain watershed management in highly populated forest areas must be geared to integrated rural development.
The strategy must rest on the active and willing participation of the rural people. Participation cannot be forced or restricted to a mere consultation of those concerned, it must be based on a true partnership from the planning stage right up to the choice and implementation of the programmes.
Forestry should also provide additional remunerative job opportunities. To facilitate the transition of the poor people from their marginal state to the modern sector of the economy, advanced techniques and complex management methods which improve productivity must not be excluded a priori. There is no reason for utilizing "parallel development" structures, one for the poor and another for the modern sector of the society. The technology selected must however be suited to local conditions and to the level of competence of available labour. At the start of a development programme it would be preferable if the technology respected traditions and required few inputs (e.g. use of manure and compost prior to that of commercial fertilizer). It must generate permanent jobs.
Through cooperative and rural organizations and the like, the small farmer can assert his ideas and rights in more meaningful ways.
Implementation of this strategy depends essentially on a government policy choice, especially since most of the upland watershed lands are state lands. On the other hand, governments must have the necessary means to pursue the objectives. The departments in charge will often have to be overhauled. and strengthened.
Large-scale investment is needed to finance rural development in upland watershed management. Another aspect of the new strategy is to prepare programmes that are financially and economically profitable. Such programmes must be acceptable to the international financing agencies. Implementation will require a large, qualified, specialized staff at all levels, and this is often a restrictive factor of these programmes which will have to be given priority attention.
IN BRIEF: The new strategy must be deliberately geared. To rural development and the eradication of poverty; it calls for a multi-disciplinary approach requiring the close coordination of all government departments and of all the bodies concerned. Programmes of this sort imply important changes in the lives of the rural communities and it is clear that no lasting result is possible without the total participation of these communities from the planning stage to implementation. Introducing this change remains the privilege and responsibility of the national authorities and governments.
| It is preferable if the programme authorities are more involved in "animation", technical and financial assistance, rather than in the implementation of measures, which would result in their virtually replacing the farmers. |
Good tactics and logistics are vital for the implementation of this strategy.
Before undertaking vast, costly operations, it would be advisable to carry out experiments in one or several "pilot" areas, to finalize methods and patterns appropriate to the particular conditions of the region.
The feasibility of the programme, and if necessary the constraints and major obstacles which are likely to stand in the way of its implementation, will be determined by means of a preliminary basic survey. Constraints of a socio-economic nature are usually the most serious and difficult to eliminate (system of land ownership in conflict with the farmers' interests, illiteracy, beliefs opposing development, etc.).
Certain preliminary actions will be undertaken prior to actual operations:
Priorities as well as the logical follow-up to the various measures to be undertaken will also have to be determined. In principle, priority should be granted to smallscale operations and biological methods which do not call for large resources but which are capable of checking erosion on moderately degraded lands which are still in use.
All operations (terraces, bench terraces, fruit-tree plantations, reafforestation, etc.) must have the people's approval; for this, it is essential that they be very useful measures, i.e. they must bring about a noticeable improvement in yields, earnings and living conditions. Only those changes wanted by the people are likely to be accepted by them.
Some countries, such as India and Jamaica, in particular, carried out surveys at the national level to determine the areas to be managed and drew up an order of priority.
The first step is to plan an overall programme to be implemented over several years. Isolated operations dc not give satisfactory results in watershed management. On the basis of an integrated development strategy, the whole of the territory to be managed should be sub-divided into smaller units (approx. 2 000 ha) to be more easily managed by the people directly concerned.
It would be ideal to be able to count on "chain" development, whereby the first improvements would not only serve as an example to the neighboring areas, but would draw them along. However, unless these actions provide very important advantages for the local people, which is unlikely in these marginal areas with reduced potential, we must be prepared to have to make a great effort to motivate the people and obtain their participation.
The following are the criteria used by the World Bank for selecting the catchment areas to be included in the initial phases of projects it is financing:
The following could be added:
The stakes are so high that it is preferable to proceed with the management of small areas, on an experimental basis, so as to develop patterns and methods and train personnel before undertaking a large-scale programme. Errors could have serious consequences.
When choosing these small, experimental sub-catchment basins, care shall be taken:
Distance and facility of access are important criteria, but are debatable subjects. Some experts consider that easy access allows more regular follow-up of operations and helps in informing, popularizing and convincing the various groups of the population, while others think that difficult access is a feature of mountain watersheds and consequently, the location of the small, experimental catchment basins must conform to reality. ,It would be best not to exaggerate in either direction.
The options will result from the combination of all the available human and physical resources in the area. The first stage consists of drawing up a list of these resources: soil and sub-soil, water, climate, plants, fauna, local art and crafts, culture and traditions, the aptitudes of the people, tourist potential, etc.
Fortunately, modern technology offers an increasingly wide choice of options (high-yielding varieties which are appropriate for use in arid conditions, multiple-purpose, fast-growing forest species, improved animals, etc.) which provide a number of alternatives.
It has often been said, about certain developing countries, that their wealth lies in their people. This wealth must be developed. In the case of rural development of highly populated upland watersheds, priority must be granted to labour intensive activities, especially those which most contribute to the development of the human personality.
See Annex II. (Return)
See: Agriculture: Toward 2000. FAO 1979 Chapter 7, Rome. and "The State of Food and Agriculture" 1979 FAO. 1980 Rome. (Return)
New strategy adopted by the Forestry Division of FAO established following the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) as set out in document COFO-80/3 April 1980, FAO Rome. (Return)
New strategy adopted by the Forestry Division of FAO established following the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and. Rural Development (WCARRD) as net out in Document COFO-80/3 April 1980, FAO Rome. (Return)
"Rural development is the result of a series of quantitative and qualitative changes which occur within a given rural population, with its active participation, the effects of which give rise, in time, to improvements in standard of living and to positive changes in life-style." (Meeting of experts on the Development of Rural Life and Institutions in West Africa, Accra, Ghana. July 1970. CEA UN) (Return)
One of the conclusions of a UNDP/FAO project "Erosion control and soil conservation" Morocco/1./536. Final report, 1977. Rabat. (Return)
The problem of "constraints" will be expanded in Part III. (Return)
World Bank, November 1980. Preliminary guidelines for designing watershed rehabilitation projects for bank financing, by John S. Spears and Raymond D.H. Rowe. Paper prepared for the World Bank's Second Agriculture Sector Symposium - January 5-9, 1981. (Return)
