Enhancing Livelihoods Through Participatory Watershed Development in India

This paper uses the sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach to examine the impact of watershed development programs (WSD) on rural livelihoods in India. The paper examines the policy and institutional context for WSD, discusses their impact on livelihoods and capital assets. It then discusses WSD and their impact on livelihood strategies, particularly on agricultural intensification, migration and local participation. The author looks at the extent to which decentralization of responsibilities for management of natural resources to the community level results in the creation of new livelihood opportunities and whether these opportunities are equitably distributed and sustainable.

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