Global delegates provide perspectives on the sustainable watershed management

Bengaluru: Delegates from around the world shared insights on Watershed Management during the inaugural session of the International Conference on 'Watershed Resilience: Integrating Science, Sustainability and Society' on Wednesday. 

Organised by the Watershed Development Department (Government of Karnataka), Centre of Excellence on Watershed Management, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Department of Land Resources (DoLR), and The World Bank, New Delhi, the three-day event kicked off in the Bengaluru on  

The conference witnessed the participation of 240 delegates representing Ethiopia, Nigeria, Congo, Canada, Nairobi, France, and several other countries. CEOs and Directors of State-Level Nodal Agencies from 24 Indian states were also present. 

Speaking at the event, Giovanni Ruta, lead Environmental Economist, The World Bank (East Asia and Pacific, China), provided perspectives on the sustainable watershed management practices in China. Through watershed management, China has managed to increase the proportion of surface water rated as 'Drinkable Quality' from 667.8% to 90.4%, and bring down the proportion of 'Heavily polluted' water from 8.6% to 0.6%, and additionally improve forest cover and reduce poverty, shared Ruta. 

Ruta shed light on the various methods China deployed to achieve this, such as the 'Top-Down Institutional Backbone' and the 'River Chief System', to ensure accountability both at the top and local level. 

Cheikh DIA, Senior Agricultural Economist, The World Bank (Kinshasa, Congo), presented a talk on the recovery and renovation of degraded pastures, as applied by the Integrated Landscape Management in the Biome of Cerrado, Brazil. 

Among the other interesting talks during the session, one was presented by Rajeev Chawla, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, on the concept of AgriStack. The event also saw a panel discussion on the topic 'Policy Farming for the Future of Watershed Development in India'.

Agriculture Minister N Chaluvaraya Swamy, who inaugurated the conference, highlighted Karnataka’s four-decade leadership in pioneering innovative watershed management approaches. He noted that the recent LRI-driven watershed management under the World Bank–supported REWARD Program has strengthened resilience and appreciated the progress achieved.

Nitin Khade, Joint Secretary, DoLR, stressed that successful watershed development rests on technical strength and strong governance. S V Suresha, vice chancellor, UAS (Bengaluru), and Andrew Goodland, Lead Agricultural Specialist, The World Bank, were also present at the event. 

The second day saw three technical sessions on the topics 'Technological Advances in Soil Mapping, Hydrology, and Land Use of Resilient Watersheds', 'Role of Private Sector on Data Driven Watershed and Agricultural Transformation', and 'Impact Assessment and Community Engagement in Watershed Projects'. The delegates also visited the Maidalakere Watershed in Tumakuru District on Friday.