"Sprawl" - the spread of development from urban centers into the countryside - is recognized as one of the most serious threats to watershed functionality and health. Introduction to Watershed Development: Understanding and Managing the Impacts of Sprawl presents a logical framework to measure, minimize, and manage the problem of development. From the viewpoint of understanding the responses of watersheds to sprawl, this book addresses issues such as: how water bodies are linked to the land, what the horizon issues and problems are in watershed management, which surveying approaches can be used to monitor the change to watersheds, and how new, water-sensitive developments can be planned. Exploring what landscape architecture approaches cna be used to mitigate the problems of development, Introduction to Watershed Development is Robert L. France's distinctive and extremely well-informed perspective on watershed management, culled from the author's many years of research, scholarship, consulting, and teaching. -- from back cover.

The Green Revolution that transformed irrigated agriculture elsewhere in India had little effect in the rainfed, semi-arid regions. Agricultural productivity remained low, natural resources were degrading, and the people were poor. In the 1980s and 1990s, planners turned to watershed management to develop rainfed agriculture while conserving natural resources. By the late 1990s, India was spending US$500 million a year on watershed development projects. Strategies ranged from the purely technical to those that emphasized social organization. Little systematic analysis exists, however, on the success of the different approaches. This study, based on a survey of 86 villages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states, attempts to fill that information gap by evaluating the projects' relative success in raising agricultural productivity, improving natural resource management, and reducing poverty. In looking at the question of what approaches enable a project to succeed, it uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis to compare project and nonproject villages before and after the projects were implemented. The authors find that projects involving the villagers in planning and decisionmaking performed better than their technocratic, top-down counterparts, but projects that combined participation with sound technical input performed best of all. All projects faced difficulties in ensuring that poor people shared the benefits of watershed development.

A key question for individuals involved in managing watersheds is, "What is an effective process that will integrate science, policy, and public participation in order to help manage water resources effectively?" The Watershed Project Management Guide presents a four-phase approach to watershed management that is based on a collaborative process th

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of the realization of improved rainfed agriculture yield in semi-arid and dry land areas. The incentive of watershed programs is to increase the return on investment with over 20% for 65% of the projects that are currently underperforming. Besides techniques to improve the livelihood of the many small-scale farmers in developing countries, it includes examples and case studies for further support. The methods discussed have recently shown to be successful and economically remunerative in India and in various African countries. Intended for professionals (investors, policy makers), researchers and (post) graduate students working on dry land and sustainable agriculture and water and natural resources management. Suited for courses in dry land agriculture, soil and water management and watershed development.

Focusing on the technical, social, and economic issues involved in watershed management, this interdisciplinary author team focuses on bettering land use practices and the condition of soil water resources. Integrated Watershed Management in the Global Ecosystem is a volume composed from an international symposium of the world's leading experts

Land use and water resources are two major environmental issues which necessitate conservation, management, and maintenance practices through the use of various engineering techniques. Water scientists and environmental engineers must address the various aspects of flood control, soil conservation, rainfall-runoff processes, and groundwater hydrology. Watershed Management and Applications of AI provides the necessary principles of hydrology to provide practical strategies useful for the planning, design, and management of watersheds. The book also synthesizes novel new approaches, such as hydrological applications of machine learning using neural networks to predict runoff and using artificial intelligence for the prediction of groundwater fluctuations. Features: Presents hydrologic analysis and design along with soil conservation practices through proper watershed management techniques Provides analysis of land erosion and sediment transport in watersheds from small to large scale Includes estimations for runoff using different methodologies with systematic approaches for each Discusses water harvesting and development of water yield catchments This book will be a valuable resource for students in hydrology courses, environmental consultants, water resource engineers, and researchers in related water science and engineering fields.