Transcript Integrated Natural Resource Management for Sustainable

Integrated Natural Resource Development
for
Sustainable Growth, Food Security & Poverty Alleviation
in
Rain-fed Areas
Issues for Policy & Action
A Presentation by PRADAN
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Context: The Rain-fed Regions
• 60% of Country’s NSA (~85 m Ha)
• Typically, UHM (undulating, hilly & mountainous)
• Cereal-based, Monsoon Dependent, Monocropped Farming System
– Highly Vulnerable; Unstable/Unsustainable
• Low Inputs, Yields, Outputs & Incomes
– Yields 1/3rd of country average; Value ~Rs 7,000/Ha
• Low Capital Investment, Poor Husbandry,
Resource Degradation
• Little Scope for Large & Medium Irrigation
• Huge Ecological Variation, Locally & Globally
– Within Villages/Micro-watersheds; Across Regions
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Context: The Rain-fed Regions
• Poorest States/Regions
– A Majority of 100 Poorest Districts
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Distinctly More Rural – 80% to 90%
Home to Almost All the Scheduled Tribes
Most Food Insecure (3 to 9 months)
High Involuntary Migration
High Consumption-related Indebtedness
– Often Leads to Land Alienation
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Determinants of Policy & Action
• UHM Terrain Ecologically “Connected”
– Need Integrated NRM with Watershed Approach
– Need to Plan & Act Across Large Area/Basin
– Need to Broaden Participation; Build Institutions; Integrate
PRI
• Main Source of Livelihoods; Privately Owned
– Need to Integrate Livelihoods & Productivity with
Conservation
– Plan to Maximize “Sustainable Livelihoods”
• Huge Ecological Diversity
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Need for Diversified Farming Systems
Flexible Programming
Integrate “Micro” with “Macro” at All Levels
Cross-Sectoral Integration
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Determinants of Policy & Action
• Low Productivity, Mass Poverty, Capital Erosion,
Subsistence-centered Economy
– Need Larger Investments (Rs 15 to 25,000 /Ha or
/Family)
– Need Longer Planning Horizons (7 Yrs+)
– Need to Assign Key Role to Women in Planning &
Action
– Need a “Deliberate”/Interactive Planning Process
(“contra-extension”)
– Need Infusion of Quality Human Resources (sensitivity
& creativity)
– Need to Invest in (People’s) Capacity Building
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Determinants of Policy & Action
• Limited Experience But Isolated “Success Stories”
– Need to Systematically Create Scale Demonstration
– Need to Build & Consolidate Process Know-How
– Need to Develop Benchmarks
• Sectorally Fragmented Administration
– Seed New Institutional Mechanisms
• Limited Human Resources
– Need to Document Processes
– Need to Develop Education & Training Materials
– Need to Institute Training/Education Programmes
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Way Forward
• Carefully Designed Pilots
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An Intensive Rain-fed Area Development Pilot (IRDAP)
At Least One in Each Sub-Agro-Ecological Region
In all, 25 Sites of 5,000 to 10,000 Ha or Families
Total Investment Rs 250 to 500 crore in Seven Years
8 to 10 NGOs Selected for Experience, Field Presence, &
Good Internal Systems & Governance
– Unified Funding & Management
– Broad Design Parameters; Outcome Focused
– Systematic Documentation, Monitoring & Review
• A Long-Term Vision Needed for Development of
Rain-fed Regions as the Arena for Future Growth
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Outputs of the Pilot
• Know-How for INRM in Rain-fed Regions
• Knowledge for Education, Training & Policy
Development
• Know-How for Scaling Up
• Training Sites for Personnel for Expansion
• Nuclei for Institution-Building for Expansion
• Benchmarks for Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes
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Integrated NRM in AEZ VII: An Example
Plantation
Sabai + 30X40
Gully plugging
5% + WHS
Seepage tank
Kharif paddy
growing area
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Problems in Implementing Watershed Programmes
PRADAN’s Experience
• Whimsical Selection of NGOs
– Often No Consideration for Experience, Present Base
• Fragmented Implementation; No Perspective
– District Targets Distributed Across Blocks (2’s & 3’s)
• Delayed & Highly Uncertain Fund Flow
– Unrelated to Plans; Merely Ration Available Funds; March Bias
– No Project Completed in Jharkhand; Many Closed
• Arbitrary Allocation/Cancellation
– Large Number of Projects Withdrawn Arbitrarily
• Corruption
– At Dealing Level; Among Auditors!
• Tensions with Forest Department
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