Women as Milieu Managers in Integrated Watershed Management: Perspectives from the Hilly Areas of Uttarakhand
Abstract
Integrated watershed management provides a viable mechanism for managing land, water and biomass of a region, especially in the rain-fed areas of India. It foresees a sustainable conservation of available natural resources and embarks upon collective action irrespective of gender bias. In the marginal hilly areas of the country, the burden of livelihood directly falls upon the womenfolk. This is because due to lack of off-farm activities the hills of India see a lot of male outmigration in search of better employment activities. The degradation in the ecosystem/natural resources thus has a direct bearing upon the women of the region, as they are the ultimate stakeholders of the natural endowments. Integrated watershed management provides a ray of hope amidst the swarm of faulty and borrowed developmental plans, especially for the womenfolk of the marginal hilly areas of the country. The present paper assesses the role the women play in managing their immediate surroundings and argues that the level of participation of women remains paramount in integrated watershed management in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand.
Keywords
Integrated watershed management, marginal hilly areas, women as managers, environmental degradation, Uttarakhand, India
References
Alkire, S.,Foster, J. E., Seth, S., Santos, M. E., Roche, J. M., and Ballon, P. (2015). Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ch. 2, retrieved from, http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/OPHIWP083_Ch2.pdf (accessed 05-02-2015)
Alkire, S. and A. Sumner (2013). Multidimensional Poverty and the Post-2015 MDGs, Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative, retrieved from, http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MPI-post-2015-MDGs-FINAL.pdf (accessed 05-02-2015)
Bhattacharyya, R. (2013). Are We Empowered? Stories of Young Indian Working Women, Saarbrücken, Germany: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, ISBN: 978-3-659-20580-4
Bhattacharyya, R. and Vauquline, P. (2013). A Mirage or a Rural Life Line?: Analysing the Impact of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act on Women Beneficiaries of Assam, Space and Culture, India, 1(1), 83-101
Bhattacharyya, R., Vauquline, P. and Singh, S. (2011). Towards a Socially Sustainable India: An Analysis of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2006. In S.K. Singh,
Raj Kumar, H.P. Mathur, N.B. Singh and V.K. Kumar (eds). Energy Resources, Alternative Search and Sustainable Development, New Delhi: Shree Publishers, 73-88, ISBN: 978-81-8329-395-2
Bhattacharyya, R., Vauquline, P. and Singh, S. (2010). Towards a Socially Sustainable India: An Analysis of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2006. Conference Proceedings, Strategic Management of Energy, Environment and Disaster for Sustainable Development organised by Global Strategic Management Inc, Saxon Drive, Beverly Hills, Michigan, USA in collaboration with Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, 1, 62-74
Bhattacharyya, R. (2009). Examining the Changing Status and Role of Middle Class Assamese Women: Lessons from the Lives of University Students, PhD thesis, Newcastle University, UK
Bulkley, Jonathan, W. (2011). Integrated Watershed Management: Past, Present, and Future
Dyson, Jane (2014).Working Childhoods: Youth, Agency and the Environment in India. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
Dyson, Jane (2008). Harvesting Identities: Youth, Work, and Gender in the Indian Himalayas, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 98:1, 160-179, DOI: 10.1080/00045600701734554
Government of India (1980). Sixth Five Year Plan 1980-85. Planning Commission GoI, New Delhi.
Government of India(1991). National Sample Survey, 38th Round. National Sample Survey Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, GoI, New Delhi.
Government of India(1994). Guidelines for Watershed Development. Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi.
Government of India (2000a). Report of the Inter-Ministerial Sub-Committee on Formulation of Common Approach/Principles for Watershed Development.Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
Government of India (2000b). Annual Report 1999-2000. Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi.
Momsen, Janet (1991). Women and Development in the Third World. London: Routledge
Sarma, R. B. (2009). Feminist Political Economy. In Kitchin R, Thrift N (eds), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Oxford: Elsevier, 4, 79–86
Shiferaw, B and Bantilan, M C S and Wani, S P (2008). Rethinking Policy and Institutional Imperatives for Integrated Watershed Management: Lessons and Experiences from Semi-arid India, Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, 6 (2). pp. 370-377. ISSN 1459-0263
Shi, Z.H., Ai, L., Fang, N.F. and Zhu, H.D. (2012). Modeling the Impacts of Integrated Small Watershed Management on Soil Erosion and Sediment Delivery: A Case Study in the Three Gorges Area, China, Journal of Hydrology, 438-439, 156-167
Shiva, Vandana (1988).Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India, Zed Press, New Delhi, ISBN 0-86232-823-3
Shiva, Vandana (2013a). Vandana Shiva Interview about Ecofeminism, retrieved from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM8TLXjpWk4
Shiva, Vandana (2013b). Making Peace With The Earth, Pluto Press ISBN 978-0-7453-33762
Singh, Suman (2014). Women, Environment and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Khul Gad Micro Watershed of Kumoun Himalaya, Journal Space and Culture, India, 1 (3), 53-64
Singh, S.B, Juyal R and Singh, Shyam B. (2004). Endangered Human Settlements of Pathari Rao Micro Watershed, Uttranchal, National Geographer, 39 (1&2), 87-95.
Singh, S.B, Juyal. R and Singh Shyam B. (2005). Integrated Watershed Management in a Hill Area of Uttranchal, Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies, ILEE, 28.
Qi, Honghai and Altinakar, Mustafa S. (2011). A Conceptual Framework of Agricultural Land Use Planning with BMP for Integrated Watershed Management, Journal of Environmental Management, 92 (1), 149-155
Raju KV, Aziz A, Sundaram MSS, Sekher M, Wani SP and Sreedevi TK.( 2008). Guildelines for Planning and Implementation of Watershed Development Program in India: A Review, Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report 48. Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.
Rao, H, 2005, Introduction, in Iyer, G K and Roy, U.N, Watershed Management and Sustainable Development, Kanishgka Publishers/Distributors, New Delhi.
Singh, Shyam B. (2012). Impact of IWM in Sustaining Socio-Economics and Eco Development of Begampur and Rajpur Villages of Pathari Rao Micro Watershed, Haridwar, National Geographical Journal of India, 58(2).
Wani Suhas P, Joshi PK, Raju KV, Sreedevi TK, Wilson JM, Shah Amita, Diwakar PG, Palanisami K, Marimuthu S, Jha AK, Ramakrishna YS, Meenakshi Sundaram SS and D’Souza Marcella (2008). Community Watershed as a Growth Engine for Development of Dryland Areas. A Comprehsive Assessment of Watershed Programs in India. Global Theme on Agroecosystems, Report No 47. Patancheru 502324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Rural Development.