"Approaches to Watershed Management and Sustainability of the Renewable Natural Resources: An Indian Experience "

Abstract

Sustainability of renewable natural resources, in general, and common pool natural resources (e.g., land, Water and Forests) in particular has now become a major concern to natural resources policy makers, planners, scholars and managers in both developed and developing countries of the world. The term "Sustainability" implies the ability of a natural resources system to produce socially optimum level of output which is necessary to meet in perpetuity the needs and aspirations of the people dependent on the system, with no detrimental effects on the resources system itself and the physical environment, and with no imposition of significantly greater risks on future generations. In other words, sustainabilify implies not only conserving natural products which are maintaining ecological functions and supply of natural resources products essential to the livelihoods of local people. Although the CPRs include such diverse things as common pastures or grazing lands, community forests, community fish ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, ground water basins, air sheds, etc., they all face one common problem and that is: how to co-ordinate the whole community. The occurrence to "the tragedy of the commons" implies loss of sustainability, which translates to loss of welfare on part of those who depend on the CPRs in question for their livelihood. Both developed and developing countries of the world are best with "the tragedy of the commons" and are in search of practicable strategies to resolve the problem. In this paper, drawing upon India's experience, an attempt is made to show how the watershed management approach could attain sustainability of the renewable natural resources of land, water and forest in general and CPRs in particular.