Original Query: Ravi Niwash, United Nations Volunteers, Jharkhand
Posted: 7 September 2006
I am a United Nations Volunteer (UNV), coordinating a project in Karra Block, Ranchi district, Jharkhand on social mobilization of women’s groups for natural resources management, with support from UNDP and Ministry of Rural Development, GOI. The project is taking up construction of 10 water harvesting structures (ponds) and other land development work in the project area through water user groups and about 300 SHGs.
In order to enhance the way in which communities manage their water resources, I am interested in initiating a process to facilitate village communities to undertake in selected (micro) watersheds in Karra block. Using this, communities should be able to analyze the demand and the supply of water resources in their (micro) watershed and analyze the ways in which they will adapt their demand to supply.
In this context, I request members to kindly respond on the following:
- Experiences from other projects/ states on the methodology/ process of empowering communities to conduct water budgeting exercises. Members may also suggest possible topics for capacity building in this regard.
- Details of follow-up interventions needed after the budgeting has been done and examples from other projects/states where operationalisation of such water budgeting exercises have led to successful management of surface and groundwater resources by local communities.
- Advice on precautions to be taken while scaling up water budgeting programmes with communities, local governance institutions and government line departments.a
Please see attachment below for the responses.