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The watershed management implies, the judicious use of all the resources i.e. land, water, vegetation in an area for providing an answer to alleviate drought, moderate floods, prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase food, fodder, fuel and fiber on sustained basis. Watershed to achieve maximum production with minimum hazard to the natural resources and for the well being of people. The management should be carried out on the watershed basis. The task of watershed management includes the treatment of land by using most suitable biological and engineering measures in such a manner that, the management work must be economic and socially acceptable

Concept of Watershed

1. Watershed is a geo hydrological unit or piece of land that drain at a common point.
2.  A watershed is defined as any spatial area from which rain or irrigation water is collected and drained through a common point.  
3.  The watershed and drainage basin are synonymous term indicating an area surrounded by a ridge line that is drained through a single outlet.

Classification of watershed according to size of the area

• Hydrologic unit -          Size (in ha)
• Region            -           > 300 lakh
• Basin                -        30-300 lakh
• Catchment        -         10-30 lakh
• Sub catchment -          2-10 lakh
• Watershed        -        50,000-2, 00000
• Sub-watershed -         10,000-50,000
• Mili-watershed -          1,000-10,000
• Micro watershed -       100-1000
• Mini watershed -        1-100

Principles of Watershed Management

The main principles of watershed management based on resource conservation, resource generation and resource utilization are:

• Utilizing the land based on its capability
• Protecting fertile top soil
• Minimizing silting up of tanks, reservoirs and lower fertile lands
• Protecting vegetative cover throughout the year
• In situ conservation of rain water
• Safe diversion of gullies and construction of check dams for in creasing ground water recharge
• In creasing cropping intensity through inter and sequence cropping.
• Alternate land use systems for efficient use of marginal lands.
• Water harvesting for supplemental irrigation.
• - Maximizing farm income through agricultural related activities such as dairy, poultry, sheep, and goat forming.
• - Improving infrastructural facilities for storage, transport and agricultural marketing,
• - Improving socio - economic status of farmers

Objectives of Watershed Management

• The term watershed management is nearly synonymous with soil and water conservation with the difference that emphasis is on flood protection and sediment control besides maximizing crop production.
• The basic objective of watershed management is thus is thus meeting the problems of land and water use, not in terms of any one resource but on the basis that all the resources are interdependent and must, therefore, be considered together.
• The watershed aims, ultimately, at improving standards of living of common people in the basin by increasing their earning capacity, by offering facilities such as electricity, drinking water, irrigation water, freedom from fears of floods, droughts etc.
• The overall objectives of watershed development programmers may be outlined as:
•   Recognition of watersheds as a unit for development and efficient use of land according their land capabilities for production,
•  Flood control through small multipurpose reservoirs and other water storage structures at the head water of streams and in problem areas,
•  Adequate water supply for domestic, agricultural and industrial needs.
•  Abatement of organic, inorganic and soil pollution,
•  Efficient use of natural resources for improving agriculture and allied occupation so as to improve socio-economic conditions of the local residents, and
•  Expansion of recreation facilities such as picnic and camping sites.

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