Linking Upstream and Downstream Landscape Communities for Integrated Land Resource Management Project

Full Solution
Capacity Building
NDRC

The solution was carried out to minimize a set of environmental challenges like floods, wildfires, landslides, biodiversity loss and land degradation in the Jagdishpur wetland (a Ramsar site) and its upstream area. These threats are linked to harmful anthropogenic activities such as slash and burn practices and shifting cultivation in the Banganga River Basin. The project reached 14,168 indigenous households highly dependent on forest resources, improved their livelihoods and increased food security up to 9-12 months. Project objectives were achieved through awareness campaigns, agro-forestry practices, sloping area land technology, bioengineering techniques, a revamp in irrigation and water recharge systems, and installations of cooking stoves, solar home systems, as well as biogas plants. For co-funding and sustainability, relevant government and non-government stakeholders were involved from the start.

Last update: 02 Oct 2020
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Context
Challenges addressed
Drought
Erratic rainfall
Floods
Loss of Biodiversity
Wildfires
Erosion
Ecosystem loss
Lack of alternative income opportunities
Lack of technical capacity
Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness
Lack of food security

Floods in the Banganga River cause the loss of 8,000 ha of land annually (VCA reports-2016). In the past 53 years, 16 major landslides in the upstream area destroyed 6,112 ha of land. Erratic rainfall patterns and longer drought reduced the average crop production by 60% (DADO, 2016). About 3-5 forest fires are reported every year (DFO, 2015), amounting to tremendous biodiversity losses. Located in the downstream area of the Banganga River Basin, the Jagadishpur wetland has been highly impacted by annual flooding and siltation. Its bed is increasing by 0.02m/ year (DSCO Kapilvastu, 2015). This wetland is one of the 27 'important bird areas' of Nepal and harbors 118 species, of which 4 are on the verge of extinction.

Beneficiaries

The target communities are comprised of 14,168 households with a total population of 72,751, of which 47.6% are male and 52.4% female. The area is dominated by indigenous Magars, Tharu and Madhesis groups that are highly dependent on forest resources

Scale of implementation
Local
Ecosystems
Agroforestry
Theme
Disaster risk reduction
Erosion prevention
Food security
Health and human wellbeing
Local actors
Watershed management
Agriculture
Forest Management
Location
Sitganga Municipality, Arghakhanchi district, Nepal
Southeast Asia
Process
Summary of the process

We connect 'sustainable livelihoods' with 'alliance development'.

 

Components of 'sustainable livelihoods' include (i) productivity enhancement, (ii) linkage with value chains, (iii) entrepreneurship and employment. 'Alliance and partnership development' supports 'sustainable livelihood' through resource leverage, market linkage, policy formulation/improvement and mainstreaming. 'Sustainable livelihoods' encourage coordination and collaboration among agencies and foster 'alliance and partnership development'. For the sustainability of the project, relevant government and non-government stakeholders were involved as lead executors from the start. Good practices have been mainstreamed in their plans and programs, hence allocation of a part from their fiscal budget is ensured for economic sustainability. Local communities contributed 300% more than the grant amount for small scale construction activities like bio-engineering. The project worked to link farmers directly with market networks so that they continue to receive fair prices for their produce. After continuous advocacy and campaigning, the poor and marginalized farmers are now getting inputs from government and non-government entities in subsidized rates.

Building Blocks
Alliance and partnership development

The purpose of this building block is to engage different stakeholders for ownership and sustainability. It works by creating a platform for leveraging resources, market linkages, policy formulation/ improvement and mainstreaming. For instance, NDRC Nepal actively engaged relevant government agencies for the project’s implementation, namely District Forest Offices (DFOs), District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs), District Livestock Service Offices (DLSOs) and District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCOs). Local cooperatives, CBOs, NGOs and INGOs like Heifer International were also mobilized in the project’s endeavors for ownership and sustainability. The project efforts had direct benefits for the farming, forestry and fishery sectors. The involvement of local financial institutions helped link poor families to banks for financial stability. The project worked to link farmers directly with market networks, so that they continue to receive fair prices for their produce. Working with other relevant stakeholders, NDRC Nepal was successful in pressuring the Government of Nepal to draft a policy for addressing the issue of shifting cultivation in 2014.

Enabling factors

For the success of this building block, three conditions are imperative: First of all, desired actors need to be included from the very beginning or planning phase of the project. Secondly, continuous communication and collaboration are vital to avoid misunderstandings and lay a strong foundation of partnerships. Finally, mutual review and reflection on a periodic basis provides insights for improving the alliance and partnership development.

Lesson learned

During the implementation of this building block, multiple benefits of partnerships were realized. Cross sectoral collaboration is greatly useful for resource leverage. Including a variety of actors in the project is crucial to ensure market linkages. Also, if policy change or modification is needed, it is helpful to include the government sectors as intensely as possible. Including key government decision makers from the initial phase helps earn goodwill and catalyzes the policy formation or modification process. Collaboration and coordination with government bodies are pivotal in integrating important initiatives in the annual plans and programs for long term sustainability.

Sustainable livelihoods

The purpose of income diversification is to protect biodiversity, discourage environmentally degrading practices and improve the overall health of the environment. It works by providing incentives to the community people for switching to healthier livelihood options.  Measures include: the application of Sloping Area Land Technology (SALT), climate resilient crops and cover crops, construction and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, and conservation and recharge of ponds to protect soil biodiversity. In addition, these activities improve agricultural productivity and boost income. Cultivation of climate-resilient crops with high local demand, namely banana, turmeric, ginger, sweet potato, taro and pineapple not only enrich soil fertility but also increase the resilience of farmers in the face of climate change and augment their income. Construction of bioengineering sites reduces soil erosions along river banks and mountain slopes. New catchment ponds in the upstream and maintenance of wells/ponds in the downstream help to irrigate fields, feed livestock, and retain soil moisture. Collectively, these activities decrease siltation in the downstream and consequently conserve the flora and fauna diversity.

Enabling factors

Community participation and confidence in the initiatives are the major success factors for this building block. It is essential for the project to understand the needs and capacities of the community and keep them at the forefront, so that their livelihood strategies, ability to adapt and social environment are considered. While designing livelihood diversification initiatives, it is crucial to recognize the dynamic nature of livelihood strategies and respond flexibly to changes in people's situation.

Lesson learned

A project can be successful if the livelihood options offered are technologically affordable, economic, environment-friendly and locally acceptable. Such activities not only increase productivity but also save beneficiaries' time, which can be invested in profitable activities. It is important to link livelihood initiatives with entrepreneurial skills through different trainings and orientations to ensure continuity. In order to achieve better environmental health and eliminate environmentally detrimental livelihood practices, environmental conservation activities must be linked with lucrative but environmentally sustainable income generation alternatives. Deep understanding of the interconnectedness of nature, such as the linkage between upstream and downstream ecosystems, is beneficial. It is important to develop local people as resource persons. Creating and employing resource persons within the locality is not only cheaper in the long term, but also increases benefits through ripple effect and favors sustainability of high technique livelihood diversification initiatives.

Impacts

For ecologically sound and profitable land-use, the project eliminated the traditional unsustainable slash-and-burn farming practices through awareness campaigns in local languages. Agro-forestry (broom grass, lemon grass, etc), Sloping Area Land Technology (SALT), climate resilient cash crops (banana, turmeric etc), climate adaptive leguminous cover crops and zero tillage farming systems were introduced as better alternatives through farmers groups. These techniques have not only helped to restore soil biodiversity and control erosion but also increased poor families’ income. The cultivation of cash crops has ensured higher food security. In the lead role of user groups, conservation ponds and wells were constructed for irrigation as well as soil moisture maintenance and water source recharge. Bioengineering techniques were applied to reduce the impact of floods in the Banganga River and save cultivable land. Installations of Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS), solar home systems, and biogas plants have proved effective in minimizing the use of woods thus conserving forest biodiversity. Awareness raising campaigns were organized to control human-induced forest fire and biodiversity loss. Advanced animal husbandry through stall feeding, improved sheds, and use of fast growing fodder and grass have further helped in protecting local biodiversity and increasing livelihood resilience.

Story
NDRC
Readying for plantation
NDRC

"Until last year, we could not imagine earning money from barren land as there was no irrigation facility here. We’d been living in the area for generations without realizing that the command area of our irrigation system could be increased. The overhaul of the irrigation system has brought about a number of positive changes. First, the number of water management-related disputes related to water theft has declined. The price of land has increased because irrigation facilities are better. The time we need to clean our canals each year has decreased drastically. We have started to cultivate climate-resilient crops like ginger, turmeric, and taro as well as seasonal vegetables like cucumber and pumpkins, all of which fetch a good price in local markets. We are happy because we are now making a good income using previously barren land. I think bio-engineering is a huge success. It has not only safeguarded our farmland from destructive floods but also brought social harmony. To complete the bio-engineering project, we provided seven days of labor. We have prepared a plan of action to conserve the bio-engineering sites that includes educating shepherds, introducing grazing-control measures, and CFUG-regulated monitoring on a rotational basis. It would be nice to replicate this technology in other villages along the riverbank. Before the bioengineering work, the river was a scourge for us. The Banganga River has destroyed many lives, houses, cattle, crops, and hectares of land right in front of our eyes. Over the last 60 years, it has eroded a quarter of the land of Pawora. I am glad that the irrigation water users’ committees have appointed “chaukidar” (watchman) for water management. Not having to go to the field at night to check if irrigation water is flowing is a huge relief for women. Nighttime is a risky time for women, especially with wild animals roaming around.  A reliable supply of water for irrigation can ensure a reliable income. My husband used to go to Punjab for work but since the irrigation has been improved, my husband has stopped going to Punjab and is instead engaged in vegetable farming. We earned NPR 46,500 from the sale of garlic and NRS 68,250 from the sale of onions from the five ropani of land that we have planted. Local vendors from Kapilvastu now come to our village to buy vegetables from the field, so we don't have to share our profits with middlemen." – Kalpana Magar (female farmer)

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Other contributors
Dhruba Gautam, Ph.D.
National Disaster Risk Reduction Center Nepal (NDRC Nepal)