1.1 Background
1.2 Objectives
The "Inter-regional Project for Participatory Upland Conservation and Development" (GCP/INT/542/ITA) has been operational in the Bhusunde Khola watershed1 in Gorkha district since September 1992. During many Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning exercises, water source protection has been the most popular activity to be included in Community Action Plans2. Water Source Protection includes the capturing of a water source, the construction of a water collection tank or reservoir, and - usually - the laying of PVC water pipes and installation of one or more water taps.
1 The 3200 ha Bhusunde Khola sub-watershed is located within the Middle Hills of Gorkha District. The altitude ranges from 500-1500 m asl, and topography is steep. Annual rainfall is around 1, 900 mm. The average family landholding is under 1 ha, with under 0.2 ha arable land per person.2 Where participatory planning in 1992 was almost random, it became more structured, involving PRAs and ward level plans in 1993, was subsequently scaled down to hamlets or communities in 1995/96, and further down to "real" user groups in 1996/97. This was accompanied by more and more attention to capacity building of user groups to make the whole development process more sustainable.
Water Source Protection works are jointly implemented by the local population, organized in user groups, and the project3. The user groups provide local material, typically sand and stones, as well as unskilled labour. The project provides outside materials, such as cement, iron rods, pipes, taps, as well as skilled labour. About 60 water sources have been treated to date by the project in the Bhusunde Khola watershed.
3 Poor peasants are clearly willing to contribute a large share of costs of development activities targeted at the improvement of their own living conditions, especially when fully involved in the planning process. Effective user groups are essential in the participatory development process.
Because of the importance of the activity for the local population and for the project, it seemed imperative to know whether water source protection works implemented with the assistance of the project were actually functioning or not. Therefore, a first round of monitoring an evaluation of water source protection works was carried out in the month of Chaitra 2052 (March-April 1996), in which 25 protected sources and 45 associated tap stands were included. The results of this evaluation have been presented in Field Document 1/97.
It was concluded in the 1996 evaluation that in general water source protection works completed between 2050 and 2052 were functioning acceptably well in the dry month of Chaitra 2052 (March-April 1996). There were signs of wearing and deterioration with age of these installations, especially pipe leakage and malfunctioning of taps increased significantly through the years. It was observed that sanitary conditions of both tap stands and water tanks did not seem to depend much from cleaning arrangements (most were fairly clean). It was also recommended to repeat the evaluation exercise on an annual basis to monitor further developments and trends.
Since the Chaitra 2052 (March-April 1996) evaluation, the number of completed water source protection works has increased substantially. Apart from this physical activity, continuous efforts have also been made by the project to increase the capacity of the user groups in the watershed to become more active and self-reliant. This was done through many training workshops (self-reliance, record-keeping, and so on), and through the regular support through the Group Promoters. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the number of active user groups, especially women groups.
A second water source protection works evaluation exercise was carried out in the dry month of Jesth 2054 (May-June 1997), covering 52 protected water sources and 76 associated water points in the Bhusunde Khola watershed. This report presents the results and conclusions of this evaluation.
The objectives of the Jesth 2054 (May-June 1997) evaluation of water source protection works completed with project assistance between 2050 (1993) and the beginning of 2054 (1997) were to:
1. Establish whether and how the water source protection works were functioning, used and maintained;2. Assess whether any significant changes had taken place concerning functioning, use and maintenance of protected water sources, as compared to the Chaitra 2052 (March-April 1996) evaluation.
