NREGA / Watershed Development; Implications for Green Jobs and Climate Change Prof. Ravindranath Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
What is the issue • Can Employment Generation, Rural Development, Agricultural Development and Poverty Alleviation programs – create Green Jobs? – lead to adaptation to climate risks and climate change – contribute to Mitigation of Climate Change – generate Environmental Services • YES
Developmental Programs 1. MG-NREGA – Rural Empl. program 2. Watershed Development 3. National Afforestation Program – Community forestry/JFM/Greening Mission 4. Desert Development 5. Minor irrigation program 6. Soil and Water Conservation program 7. Sustainable Agriculture Development
Implications of Developmental Programs • Most of these program aimed at Natural Resources lead to conservation / regeneration of NR – Soil, Water, Forest, Grazing land • Generate Environmental Services – Ground water recharge, Soil and Water conservation, Biodiversity conservation • Climate Change related implications – Adaptation; Ground Water recharge, soil & Water conservation, Agro-forestry, soil organic matter enhancement, etc – Mitigation; Agro-forestry, Afforestation, Soil Org. Matter enhancement
Two Programs 1. MG – NREGA – National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2. Watershed Development
Objectives of MNREGA Program • To enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing – at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household • whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work
Works / Activities implemented under NREGA 1. Water conservation and water harvesting; 2. Drought proofing, including Afforestation and tree plantation; 3. Irrigation canals, including micro and minor irrigation works; 4. Provision of irrigation facility, plantation, horticulture, land development 5. Renovation of traditional water bodies, including de- silting of tanks; 6. Land development; (Conservation bench terracing (CBT), Contour and graded bunding, field bunding, pasture development) 7. Flood-control and protection works, including drainage in waterlogged areas; 8. Rural connectivity to provide all-weather access. 9. Any other work that may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government .
NREGA Employment Generation Type of works 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 No. of households 3,82,94,824 5,57,63,244 52,8,64,608 4,55,18,907 3,43,26,563 provided employment No. of households who 3,78,55,866 5,49,54,225 5,25,30,453 4,51,15,358 3,39,09,132 have demanded employment Total Person 1208 2571 2835 2163 1436 days in Women millions 1227 1364 1035 610 596
NREGA Activities & Employment Type of works 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 Land Development 107,965 425,494 342,465 189,517 Flood control 34,103 111,054 95,953 62,554 Water conservation & 121,809 537,848 629,833 248,167 Harvesting Drought proofing 48,270 142,963 115,843 75,443 Micro Irrigation Works 26,780 232,384 151,655 66,173 Provision of Irrigation facility 116,966 408,582 360,831 238,088 to Land Renovation of Traditional 39,067 236,166 162,736 92,519 Water bodies
Environmental and socio-economic Services: NR conservation & Socio-Economic Benefits from NREGA Works • Groundwater recharge Water conservation • Reduced water erosion & harvesting • Irrigation availability • Sustained livelihoods • Irrigation water availability Irrigation • Improved agricultural crop yields, sustained yields • Secured livelihoods • Reduced soil erosion, hence improved soil quality Land development • Improved / sustained agricultural yields • Agricultural productivity • Fuelwood and fodder availability Drought Proofing - • Biodiversity conservation Afforestation • Erosion control and soil quality improvement • Flood control • Ground water recharge, soil fertility Renovation of traditional water bodies improvement, increased crop productivity
Environmental Services from NREGA Local ES Regional / Global ES 1. Soil fertility improvement 1. Carbon Sequestration 2. Groundwater recharge 2. Biodiversity conservation 3. Increased irrigation water availability 3. Improved adaptive 4. Increased drinking water capacity availability 4. Vulnerability 5. Soil & water conservation reduction to current 6. Increased grass, climate risks fuelwood, NTFP availability 7. Erosion & Flood control
Approach for assessment of Environmental Services
Desilting of water storage bodies • Loss of vegetation cover, over grazing and inappropriate cultivation practices in the catchment – leads to soil erosion and silting – loss of water storage capacity • Reduction of ground water recharge – due to silt pan formation --------------------------------------------------------------------- • Desilting activity involves removal of silt from the water body using human labour • Farmers are encouraged to collect the silt and apply to crop fields to improve soil fertility – The tanks are largely used as percolation tanks
Environmental services from desilting: indicators and methods Methods of estimation Environmental Indicators of environmental services service and units Increased water Groundwater level in bore wells PRA and hydrological availability (meters water level) measurements PRA and secondary data Area irrigated (hectares) Water storage capacity (cubic Hydrological modeling meter) Groundwater Groundwater level in bore wells PRA and hydrological recharge measurements (meters water level) Hydrological modeling Water percolation (cubic meter) Increased and stable Soil fertility (percent organic Soil sampling and crop yields matter, silt and clay percent, laboratory analysis nitrogen in kg/ha) PRA Changes in crop yield (percent)
Impacts on groundwater level and area irrigated – pre and post NREGA Depth of borewells
Changes in soil organic carbon of cropland soils with silt application In all 6 villages silt was removed and transported In 5 of the villages silt was applied to cropland
Vulnerability Climate Risks Assessment 1. Water vulnerability 3. Livelihood index vulnerability index – changes in groundwater level (m) – work availability during – area irrigated (ha) summer – irrigation availability (days/y) – changes in wage income – storage capacity of the water body – financial investment under (cubic meter) NREGA at the village level 2. Agriculture vulnerability 4. Overall vulnerability index index – area irrigated (ha) – linear aggregation of – irrigation availability (days/y) • Water – soil fertility index (OC and NPK) • agriculture and – groundwater level (m) • livelihood indices
Vulnerability Reduction; different indices- water, Agric., Livelihood 12.0 12.0 11.9 9.1 11.4 Dharmapura Kandikere 8.3 7.1 8.0 8.0 6.3 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 2.4 2.2 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 Water Agriculture Livelihood Water Agriculture Livelihood 12.0 12.0 11.0 10.6 Koverahatti Gowdanahalli 8.0 8.0 5.9 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Water Agriculture Livelihood Water Agriculture Livelihood Bars represent Pre and post NRGEA respectively
Overall Vulnerability Reduction – Pre and post NREGA 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 Dharmapura Gowdanahalli Kandikere Koverahatti Pre NREGA Post NREGA
Conclusions from NREGA - Chitradurga Study • The study demonstrated the potential of Employment Focused NREGA activities to provide environmental services – Increased ground water percolation & recharge – Enhanced water storage in water bodies – Increase in soil fertility – Reclamation of degraded lands – Carbon sequestration • Reduce vulnerability of production systems and livelihoods – Improved Water supply, soil fertility improvement,
Conclusions 1. Rural Employment programs aimed at Natural Resources (soil, water, forests, grassland) contribute – Generation of Env Services + Conservation / Regeneration of NR + Adaptation to CV / CC – Sustain water, Agric production, livelihood 2. Need for convergence of Empl Scemes with NR conservation - National level at the Ministry level - Village level – technical capacity 3. Adaptation current climate risks – also enhances Adaptation to future CC
Watershed program; Mitigation and Adaptation Synergy
National Watershed Development Programme Ministry of Rural Development has administered 3 area-based watershed programmes for development of wastelands/degraded lands namely Drought Prone Areas Programmes (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) Details of projects sanctioned and funds released from 1995-96 to 2007-2008 No. of project Total funds released by Area covered (in sanctioned Centre (Rs. in crores) million ha.) DDAP 27439 2837.81 13.0 DDP 15746 2103.23 7.8 IWDP 1877 2797.56 10.7 Grand Total 45062 7738.60 32.3
Recommend
More recommend
