background and rationale

The northern dry agro-climatic region of Karnataka experiences repeated droughts and famines, which cause large scale suffering to the local population. Programmes related to participatory watershed development seem to offer the only long-term solution to the miseries caused by recurring droughts in the region.

Karnataka is one of the first states in the country to have introduced watershed based initiatives for developing the rain-fed areas of the state.

Over the years, the state has not only gained considerable experience, but has also strengthened the administrative machinery at state as well as at field level in planning, executing and monitoring these programmes, working according to the key principle of people's participation in sustainable watershed management.