This report published by the Asia Development Bank includes a case study that attempts to understand the potential of watershed development in addressing the issues of poverty alleviation. The important issues in this regard include:
- Assessing the linkages between watershed development and rural livelihoods & poverty,
- Type and nature of benefit flows accruing to various sections of the community
- Challenges in making the watershed programme pro-poor and sustaining it in the long run.
The study stems from the authors’ longstanding experience in the region and some intensive field visits and discussions with various sections of society and also other stakeholders in the programme such as NGOs, administrators, policy makers, etc. The case study is located in one of the most drought prone districts of Andhra Pradesh i.e., Anantapur district of the Rayalaseema region. The main focus here is on the watersheds that are implemented by the Rural Development Trust / Accion Fertarna (RDT / AF), a local NGO 3.
This case study is organised in five parts. The introduction is followed by a brief description of the study region in section two. The linkages between watershed development, water and poverty are explored in section three. While the impact of the watershed development and other supportive programmes on poor is examined in section four, the last section makes some concluding remarks and recommendations.
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