Local Governance, Communities and Climate Change - WOTR

“CONNECTING THE DOTS”:
Evolving Practical Strategies for Climate Resilient Development
Local Governance, Communities and Climate Change
Draft Paper for Discussion
Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)
www.wotr.org
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Phone: +91 20 24226211, email: info@wotr.org

1. Introduction:
Local Governance, Communities and Climate Change
Each locale is unique. It is the local community living therein that best understands its ecospace,
its situation and senses the early warning signs and symptoms of sudden or slow onset
disasters. In the context of preparedness for and mitigation of crises related to climate change,
four important components have to be addressed: security for water, food, energy and
sustainable livelihoods. The depth and range of response will depend upon the extent of
vulnerability which differs according to geographic regions, location of villages and also of
households within villages. Addressing these challenges falls within the purview of the local
governance establishment, (the Gram Panchayat and local government agencies) and its
community.
It is an alert and mobilized community, supported by sensitive and empowered local governance
that can take preventive measures, respond quickly, take appropriate action in times of crises
and disasters and facilitate effective and speedy rehabilitation. Such an organized response is
only possible when both the community and the Gram Panchayat (GP) routinely work together
for achieving common goals, in the normal course of business. Yet, even where such a happy
situation exists, a community cannot face exogenously driven crises altogether on its own. It
needs the support of higher levels of governance (the Panchayat Samitee, the Zilla Parishad and
the related government agencies), for which it is necessary that linkages and good
communication with these bodies and agencies be established and maintained on a regular
basis.
Climate change will adversely impact ecosystems and the range of environmental services
available to the local communities. This in turn will affect the sustenance and livelihood
prospects of rural households and the local economy which are heavily dependent on natural
resources-land, water, flora and fauna - for food, energy, shelter and income.
This paper focuses on the role and challenges the local self government agencies, notably the
Gram Panchayats (GP) and local communities will likely face in undertaking adaptive and
mitigative measures in the context of climate change.
2. Local Self Governance and Adaptation to Climate Change
While the process of decentralization began way back in the 1950s 1 , the 73rd amendment of the
Panchayat Raj in 1994, the PESA and subsequent policies have envisaged a greater role for
village level PRIs - the Gram Panchayat (GP) and the Gram Sabha (GS) - in local development.
Since then, various initiatives have rightly placed the GP at the centre of the development
process.
(i) The Common Guidelines for natural resources management (NRM) has the Watershed
Committee as a sub-committee of the GP;
1 The Bombay and Village Panchayat Act, 1958, is one such example which introduced the 3-tier system of
governance.
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(ii) In the MGNREGS, the GP has a pivotal role in implementation, planning, allocating
employment, and monitoring at the village level. In this program, various village level
developmental activities that build adaptive and mitigative capacities can be
undertaken.
(iii) The NRLM mission places responsibility on the PRIs for identification of BPL households,
their mobilization into SHGs and federations; prioritizing demands and allocating funds
in the annual PRI plans; and executing and monitoring the works through these SHGs. 2
With its focus on livelihoods, the NRLM gives an opportunity to provide sustainable
livelihoods particularly for the vulnerable.
(iv) The Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) Scheme 3 proposes holistic and
accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram
Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through Public Private Partnership (PPP)
framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the
quality of life in rural areas to bridge the rural-urban divide 4 .
For these programs - the IWMP, MGNREGS, NRLM, PURA and the various departmental
schemes, large funds are allocated. It expresses the Government’s seriousness in decentralizing
governance for poverty alleviation, strengthening the resource base and creating local
livelihoods. The Eleventh Schedule 5 transfers to the PRI mandates related to 29 areas, 6 all of
which are directly related to promoting development, building adaptive capacities and disaster
preparedness. It is pertinent to note that all these sectors have a direct bearing in building
resilience, reducing risks, mitigating disaster and crises and strengthening the adaptive
capacities of local communities.
Various government policies, programs and guidelines are in place that seek to address water,
food, and livelihoods security as also to provide weather related products and services (such as
forecasts, crop and fishing advisories), given the sensitivity of the rural economy to weather.
However, the big question is: How prepared is the GP and its community to handle their roles
and responsibilities in situations where temperatures are rising, rainfall is erratic, more extreme
meteorological events are occurring (droughts, dry spells, cloud bursts, cold waves, storms), all
of which adversely affect ecosystems and, thus, the lives and livelihoods of rural communities?
2 Mission Document, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), MoRD, New Delhi. Available at:
http://aajeevika.in/nrlm/NRLM-Mission-Document.pdf
3 http://rural.nic.in/sites/downloads/budget/Outcome_Budget_2012_13.pdf. An allocation of Rs. 248 crores for
pilot implementation has been provided for in the 11th Five Year Plan.
4 Amenities to be provided: water and sewerage; construction and maintenance of village streets; drainage; solid
waste management; skill development; economic activities; village street lighting; telecom; electricity, rural
markets, agricultural services centers, etc.
5 11 th Schedule to the Constitution, inserted by the 73 rd Amendment, Article 243G, accessed from
http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend73.htm on 30.5.12
6 Such as agriculture, land improvement and soil conservation; minor irrigation, water management and watershed
development; animal husbandry, dairying and poultry; fisheries; social forestry and farm forestry; minor forest
produce; khadi, village and cottage industries; rural housing; drinking water; fuel and fodder; PDS; health and
sanitation
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3. Panchayati Raj Institutions: Current Experiences
There are a few good experiences, across the country where GPs are efficiently and effectively
utilizing financial, natural, human resources and have ignited a “spiral of progress” in their
village. 7 Yet, in most of the country, GPs struggle to fulfill their mandate and meet the basic
needs of their people. It is this underdevelopment that aggravates vulnerability to climate
change in rural India. Though well known, let us look at some important issues that significantly
affect progress:
(i) The Gram Panchayat (GP):
It gets elected every 5 years. Generally, those that get elected are the same elderly men who
wield power, election on election, refusing to let the younger, more capable and willing to take
over.
There is a 50% representation for women and a reservation for a woman as Sarpanch. While
women are capable, even educated women need immense courage to assume their role in a
male-dominated arena. When women become Sarpanchs, their husbands (who usually belong
to a power clique in the village) represent them in the GP, thus continuing their sway
(“democratically”). Women have much to contribute, particularly to conservation in the climate
change context. It is they, indeed, who provide for the bulk of household needs most of which
come from nature’s goods and services. They are best attuned to events unfolding in the
environment and are the first to feel their consequences. It is they also who are best placed to
undertake adaptive and ameliorative measures. Sidelining them and not providing a potentially
effective platform for women, such as the Gram Panchayat, to be engaged in developing her
village would be a case of great opportunities lost.
The GP is encouraged to have sub-committees of members who are not elected. This is to give
an opportunity for educated, capable and dynamic persons to play a role in effective
governance. However, the fact is that there is a severe dearth of such skilled people in a village –
they would rather migrate than stay in the village. In terms of good managerial skills,
accountability and reporting, capability within the village is limited. A serious, sustained and
adequately funded effort to build capacities of PRI institutions is urgently required.
(ii) The Gram Sabha (GS) and the village as a whole are not sufficiently aware of their roles, the
various government programs and their rights. Caste, class, and community barriers are strong,
giving progress the backseat. Forward communities, being generally better informed and
powerful, grab opportunities and channel funds their way. The landless, marginalized poor and
single headed women households are barely informed of development schemes and are often
left out from the BPL list. Although SHGs are extensively promoted, the separate ‘Women’s
Gram Sabha’ is a barrier to mainstreaming women in the development process 8 . Women are not
aware of the funds available and allocated for them. With regard to the youth, after high school
the majority of them see rural India (and their villages) as ‘backward’ and ‘opportunity-less’;
hence they set their eyes on cities for better options.
7 A case of Zada village in Vidarbha given in Deshpande and D’Souza, Panchayat Raj on the ground, Issues in
village level Panchayat Raj operations, WOTR, Pune, June 2009. pp 73
8 WOTR, “Women, Panchayati Raj Institutions and Climate Change Adaptation” (under publication)
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(iii) Implementation of Schemes at the GP level: These activities are carried out through the Gram
Sevaks, government functionaries and contractors. Generally, people do not know what is being
done and the costs involved. Furthermore, the level of procedural compliances imposes a heavy
burden on these functionaries, especially the Gram Sevaks, leaving them very little time to
interact with beneficiaries and village representatives. Since these functionaries are government
servants, they do not, in any way, feel accountable to the GPs and data collected from surveys
conducted is never shared with the village and the GP, nor is information on government
schemes adequately conveyed to the entire village.
4. Climate Related Challenges in Search of Solutions
(a) Water Scarcity: In semi-arid regions, drought and untimely erratic rains are experienced as a
normal phenomenon. However, as a changing climate unfolds, this situation is expected to
become more pronounced - more extreme events (floods, droughts, longer dry spells, less
predictability in rainfall patterns, cloud bursts, cold waves, etc) will become the new “normal”.
In villages where ground water is available 9 , in the rush to maximize agricultural output
(primarily for meeting market and cash needs), indiscriminate digging of open wells, spudding of
bore wells, excessive pumping of water and planting of water intensive crops is resorted to
resulting in mining of a scarce resource. This is true even of formerly “tanker villages” 10 which
became “water sufficient” due to watershed activities being implemented there. In 23 villages
where WOTR supported watershed development works, on average, the number of dug wells
increased by 26% and the area under irrigation by 156% within a period of 5 years from
initiation of project. The situation is further compounded by the erratic supply of electricity and
the high cost of micro-irrigation sets - farmers resort to indiscriminate pumping of ground water
whenever electricity is available storing the water in huge so-called “farm ponds” as well as
adopt flood irrigation practices, thus further stressing scarce water resources. With a handful of
irrigated farmers extracting maximum ground water, thousands of cultivable rain-fed hectares
(and the farmers depending on them) are left water stressed, despite adequate rainfall and
water harvesting measures. 11
Water for agriculture is given preference over that for household consumption. While the norm
exists of ‘a ban on bore wells within a 500 metre radius around community wells’ in water
stressed regions, this is little respected. Hence in times of scarcity, water for household
consumption and livestock is met through tankers. The responsibility of obtaining the same lies
with the GP.
9
Either naturally occurring or due to replenishment of aquifers following undertaking of recharge works or
watershed development
10
Villages where drinking water has to be brought by road from outside, often for several months in the year
11
In a once drought prone village (in the Ahmednagar Dt) that became water surplus due to watershed development
works, farmers indulged in large scale drilling of bore wells; drinking water had to be brought in through tankers –
a throwback to the pre-watershed situation. The villagers decided to ban new bore wells and restricted use of those
near the drinking water sources. This revived ground water aquifers and the village became self sufficient in
drinking water.
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Water scarcity, the result of climate variability, is resulting in “climate refugees” migrating to
cities in droves, for mere survival 12 . Although reduced rainfall may be a factor, it appears that
water extraction and indiscriminate use are the greater culprits for the more severe drought
experienced 13 . While there are a few good experiences on community / GP management of
water resources, in most villages, the individual farmers decide. There is little concern for the
water needs of tomorrow, or that of others. There is no community planning and budgeting of
water to meet the domestic, agriculture, ecosystems and other needs of the village. Water
scarcity will get more severe in dryland regions due to climate change and will have to be
addressed before it is too late for rural communities.
(b) Food Insecurity: The Growth Assessment of the under 5-years old (most vulnerable group) and
the hemoglobin levels of adults are indicators of food security. Despite the government
promoted schemes, the PDS, school mid-day meal program and the ICDS in all villages, the
HUNGaMA Report shows the poor state of nutrition in rural India 14
Farming households are increasingly giving preference to commercial crops rather than to food
crops, thus putting household food security at risk. Milk, meat and poultry products are
generally sold, as cash is valued more than nutrition. For the poor, who form about 70% of a
village, only their carbohydrates need is met from cereal grains (wheat and rice only) ) procured
from the PDS; they have to fend for themselves in regard to obtaining the needed protein,
minerals and vitamins. But, as there is little knowledge of health care and the need for a
balanced diet and slim resources to procure nourishing foods, “killing hunger, filling the
stomach” is an overriding compulsion.
Information of the nutritional status (Growth monitoring) of children is given to individual
mothers and to the respective ICDS authorities by the Anganwadis. But the overall picture of
the nutritional status of the village is not provided to the GP or GS, even though the Anganwadi
worker resides locally. A perverse consequence of this, albeit unintended, is that nutrition and
food security becomes entirely the responsibility of the government, with the community having
no role in achieving it. Therefore, when government services are not available or are of poor
quality, the toll in human lives, health and well being is needlessly very high (especially in the
case of children) when simple changes in habits, behavior as well as knowing how to use locally
available resources can make a life saving difference. There is no concerted attempt to
empower people with appropriate knowledge so that they can take responsibility for their own
health, drawing upon locally available resources as much as possible.
(c) Agriculture: Agriculture, especially in rainfed fed regions, is largely considered a losing
proposition and farming is not seen as a career option by rural youth. The large number
12 Times of India, 16 th May 2012, pg.3
13 Ashwin Aghor, Down to Earth, May 23, 2012; reporting how overexploitation of ground water in Jat and Atpadi
talukas of Maharashtra has resulted in severe water scarcity, more than in previous years, for a similar amount of
rainfall.
14 HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) Survey Report 2011.The HUNGaMA Survey shows that positive change
for child nutrition in India is happening, including in the 100 Focus Districts. However rates of child malnutrition
are still unacceptably high particularly in these Focus Districts where over 40 per cent of children are underweight
and almost 60 per cent are stunted.)
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of farmer suicides (2,56,913 as in 2010 15 ) as well as the declining rate of capital formation
in agriculture reflects the dire straits agriculture is in. The problem is further
compounded by local weather variability which is already causing substantial crop losses
in many places 16 . Due to declining soil health, rising temperatures, growing water
scarcity, excessive use of inorganic fertilizers and volatile market conditions, agriculture
on which over 60% of India’s population depends for livelihoods, is in a state of serious
crisis. India is estimated to lose 1.8 million tonnes of milk every year due to climatic
stress 17 . With a growing population, and food production required to grow at a
minimum of 2% annually 18 to meet food requirements by 2020-2021 19 , agriculture
needs a fresh approach, substantial deployment of resources, knowledge and
technology transfer, market integration and political commitment in order to sustain
and enhance its contribution to India’s development.
(d) State of the “Commons”: The commons are the lifeline of the poor of the village. The commons
have drastically reduced primarily due to human and livestock pressure, which now is being
compounded by stresses induced by climate change. And together with the decline of these
ecosystems, the services they provide have also reduced 20 . This, in particular, adversely affects
the quality of life of the poor since as much as 70-80% of their basket of consumption comes
from natural resources. With increasing pressure on productive lands (due to increasing
population, industrialization, urbanization, infrastructural needs, increasing land deterioration,
etc), the commons spaces and the ecosystems they support have reached a “tipping point” and
in many ecologically fragile regions have, in all likelihood, gone into irreversible decline. This has
serious implications for agriculture and the lives of vast numbers of the rural poor whose
livelihoods depend on them.
(e) Meeting Energy Needs: While energy spells progress and the grid has reached most villages,
electricity for lighting, for agriculture and cottage industry in rural areas is erratic, and uncertain,
with even upto 12-14 hours (or more) of power cut. Hence, to ensure agriculture productivity,
farmers lift water whenever electricity is available 21 which leads to wastage of both electricity
and water. Frustrated with the poor service, and accustomed to ‘free’ (subsidized) service, many
households tap energy directly from grid. Throughout, there is excessive wastage.
15 http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article2577635.ece quoting the National Crime Records
Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ which places the number for 2010 at 15,964. The
cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data — to 2010 to 2,56,913,
the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history.
16 http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/dec/agr-meltdown.htm
17 India: 2 nd National Communication to the UNFCCC, 2012, pg. xv.
18 This is double the average growth of 1% that India achieved between 1995 and 2005.
19 Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh as quoted in “India have to double up agriculture production to meet the
demand: PM” on 17 th Feb 2012, accessed on 2.6.12 at: http://goindocal.com/india-%25BB-general--india-have-todouble-up-agriculture-production-to-meet-the-demand-pmgo-3776.htm
20 Examples of these would be quality, quantity and length of availability of water, food, fibers, fruits, wood, soil
fertility, nutrient cycling, air quality, genetic material, etc.
21 Pumps are kept on “switch on” in a near continuous mode to catch electricity whenever it comes.
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While WSD and afforestation projects are implemented, limited efforts have been made to
address the fuel, wood and timber needs of the local people. 22 This leads to continued tree
felling. More efficient cooking stoves and affordable fuel sources are yet to be obtained.
Simultaneously, while livestock dung is mainly burnt as fuel, its duel use as fuel (biogas) and
fertilizer is missed out. 23
Though the Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) are in place wherever non-reserved
forests exist close to the village, they are largely non-functional and little control is exercised as
all households have the same fuel needs that are met only from these forest areas in the
absence of alternatives. People see no alternative assured energy sources. Besides, they have
yet to benefit monetarily from conservation of carbon sinks. Governance in the energy sector at
the local level, while urgently necessary, is not yet a priority.
(f) Disaster Preparedness: India passed the “Disaster Management Act” in 2005 and since
then has erected an institutional framework at the national and state levels and to an extent, at
the district levels. However, where disasters most often strike and where the impacts are most
keenly felt, namely, the rural areas, hardly anything is being done to establish Disaster
Management Committees at the village level nor have campaigns been undertaken to sensitive
and capacitate people to ameliorate disasters and manage their aftermath. While villages have
faced various types of sudden and slow onset disasters, except for fires, they largely look to help
from district authorities to manage them. The District Disaster Management Authority has still
to be activated, motivated and trained to play their role.
5. Bridging the Gaps:
While good projects and schemes are envisaged by government and important details
considered, much is required to bring a village into the development spiral. Even today benefits
to individual households (usually the better-offs) and that of caste & community take
precedence over progress and development of the village as a whole, although it is the latter
that brings about sustainable benefits to all. Hence, good governance that reaches out to all its
member households is essential. We shall now outline key steps in facilitating this inclusive
process.
(i) An empowered and sensitive GP is expected to:
(a) Make Development Plans: Knowledge and data of the village, the status of its resources and
its people, are necessary to make informed and objective decisions. Since much data is
collected, this should be returned to the village as analyzed data which will help them get an
understanding of their situation, gaps and opportunities 24 . We have found that when such
information is shared with the concerned villagers, they begin to see their village in a more
positive light and reassess the opportunities and resources available to them. The Village
Visioning Exercise 25 helps prepare Goal & Objectives Oriented Planning, in a step by-step
22
Shinde, Zade and Agarwal, Proect Trees: “Understand the villager’s need for wood”, in ‘What are we in for?’,
WOTR, Pune, 2011, pp. 43- 51
23
Feasibility study report CCA project, WOTR, 2010
24 A case of Zada village in Vidarbha given in Deshpande and D’Souza, Panchayat Raj on the ground, Issues in
village level Panchayat Raj operations, WOTR, Pune, June 2009. pp 73
25
WOTR, The WASUNDHARA Handbook, Village Envisioning, 2011,(under publication)
8

process, while prioritizing the most urgent and commonly felt needs. Remote hamlets,
otherwise forgotten in regular development plans, are also included.
(b) Give Preferential Benefits to the Marginalized and economically backward, as expected of
donor and government funded projects. This is important if the marginalized are to feel part
of the village community and actively participate in its developmental process; and equally
importantly, since they are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. Since
the regular BPL lists do not necessarily reflect the really poor nor include all of them, it is
necessary to deploy instruments like participatory wealth ranking to indentify the really
poor and needy in the given socio-economic context 26 . For this the entire village needs to
be motivated and mobilized. The list of persons/ households who fall in the poor category
should be approved of in a public meeting and specific developmental interventions tailored
to their specific needs should be identified for them. Regular updates in terms of progress of
implementation as well as of benefits provided would help in promoting transparency,
building trust and also facilitate greater integration of the poor in the village.
(c) Actively Engage Women in Village Development: The deep seated cultural biases prevent a
society from benefiting from the complementarities of the masculine and feminine in life.
Though women are provided with a 50% representation on the GP, they nevertheless are
largely ignored in its functioning. Society loses out when women are considered limitations
rather than having solutions to the important problems of food, water and fuel security,
besides others. In addition, women also raise issues of human concern and care (often
through their SHGs), such as the needs of single headed women households, those with
disabilities, household and children’s needs and also matters concerning equity – valuable
inputs when formulating development plans.
(d) Form Sub-committees of the GP: Sub-committees assist the GP in attending to many
development needs that require focused attention. As members to these are selected, they
offer space to energetic and educated youth (women and men) and others who may not be
politically inclined, to actively engage in the development of their village. A Village
Development sub-Committee (VDC) is an ideal platform to organize a proportionate
representation of the different castes, classes and communities in decision making, so that
the needs of all, particularly the marginalized are included 27 . While some GPs have
subcommittees that look after drinking water supply and sanitation, education and social
audit, hardly any have sub-committees that pertain to the very sectors that are most
vulnerable to climate change such as agriculture, livestock, groundwater management,
watershed development and minor irrigation, social forestry, fuel and fodder and nonconventional
energy even though these also fall under the purview of the GPs as per the
Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. In the light of climate change impacts already being
experienced, there is urgent need to build resilience, upgrade capacities and reduce
vulnerability of local communities to these impacts. Sub-committees themed on these areas
need to be set up, made aware of how climate change is going to affect their areas of
responsibility, their livelihoods and lives and supported in undertaking measures that can
buffer them from adverse impacts. In particular, extraction, management and distribution of
26 WOTR, The WASUNDHARA Handbook, Addressing Equity, 2011,( under publication)
27 WOTR, The WASUNDHARA Handbook, Selection of Representatives, 2011 (under publication)
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scarce ground water resources as well as surface water bodies, can only be worked out and
enforced by the GPs through their respective sub-committees
(ii) An Involved Gram Sabha (GS): A meaningful engagement of the entire village, where needs of
all, particularly the poor, are given voice, will bring cohesion and support for concerted action.
For better involvement, each community needs to work within their constituencies
(homogenous groups), placing responsibility on themselves rather than on the ‘other’.
Women, through the SHGs, can be motivated, mobilized and empowered. They should be
encouraged to participate in the general GS rather than only the male heads of households
doing so. This will also make her role in the GP meaningful.
Often the GS is insufficiently attended for various reasons, one being that people do not find it
beneficial to them 28 . The GS is a useful platform to share concrete data and information
gathered during the course of implementation of various schemes such as Watershed
Development, Child Growth Monitoring and Assessment, Water budgeting; progress reports of
works being done under these and other schemes; likely problems and challenges to be faced
which need community action for addressing, etc. It is helpful when the various service
providers (anganwadi workers, teachers, gram Sevaks, PIAs and relevant line department
personnel) are present during the GS. Thus the GS will become an empowering and interesting
event with the people as protagonists of their own development, rather than as hapless
beneficiaries.
(iii) Implementation of Projects: Experience has taught that when activities are identified by the
people, planned and executed by them, the outcomes are better sustained 29 . There is greater
accountability and transparency resulting in satisfaction to all concerned – the target group and
the donors. People-managed activities deliver better results than when implemented by an
external PIA. What the local GP needs are simple but clear systems and tools, with a demand to
adherence to objective norms. And they have proved, repeatedly, that when adequately
provisioned, they can deliver good outcomes, in time, and within budget. Capacity building and
on-site support to the executing committees for managing the planning and implementation
process requires adequate time 30 and funds to yield the expected results. It is in this that
government and donors need to adequately invest in, not only at the beginning of the
intervention but also, as needed, during the course of project implementation and on occasion,
post project.
(iv) Participatory Impact Monitoring and Peer Group Reviews: Whatever the source of funds, the
‘ownership’ of the project – its plan, implementation and maintenance – must reside with the
local community. Participatory Impact Monitoring is a powerful mechanism and process that
facilitates proper implementation, fosters accountability, tracks impacts and ensures that
people understand the benefits of the particular intervention and the need for its continued
maintenance post completion. This promotes sustainability. The respective sub-committee and
the Social-Audit sub-committee play an important role here. A simple participatory process with
measurable indictors will help the committee report to the GP and the GS. Where similar
28 Women, PRI and CCA – to be published shortly
29 Deshpande Ravi and Marcella D’Souza (2009): Achieving Quality Results in Large Budget Short Term
Developmental Projects: A Handbook for Practitioners, WOTR, Pune.
30 The PPM process for CCA
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interventions are undertaken in nearby areas, it helps to undertake a Peer Group Review where
target group-nominated representatives from the various villages visit, assess and rank against
consensually arrived at criteria, the performance of the project being implemented. Best
performing groups are then publicly feted and awarded. This enables cross-learning, spurs
healthy inter project competition and creates awareness beyond the confines of the project ,
thus giving a public profile for the works being done 31 .
(v) Shifting Focus from Targets to Participatory Development: Public Service Providers like the
Gram Sevak, Anganwadi workers, Teachers, Talathi’s, etc, are held accountable for achieving
targets, not outcomes. The Anganwadi worker, for instance, will do growth monitoring of the
children and only inform the mother of results and remedial actions. Information on the overall
status is not shared with the village but only with the concerned authorities. Nutrition, health
care and sanitation are interconnected and are outcomes of the socio-economic and awareness
levels in the community; they also come within the purview of different departments. It is vitally
important that the results obtained from her work are shared with the community and their
implications and causes discussed. Sharing with related departments would enable coordinated
and situation tailored interventions to be undertaken. Only when such a coordinated and
sensitization approach is adopted will the intervention yield meaningful and widespread results
that are sustained, even inter-generationally.
In a women and child development program run by WOTR, Child Growth Monitoring Charts are
put up in a public place and results discussed in community meetings and Gram Sabhas. This has
led to remarkable results. Due to heightened awareness of the village as a whole and the active
collaboration of the Gram Panchayat in undertaking supplementary measures, the nutritional
status of women and children has improved considerably over a 3 year period – children’s
nutritional status improved by 40% and anaemia reduced in women by 25%. 32 And in all our
interventions, we have observed that when data, information and analysis is shared with the
beneficiaries, significant changes in behaviour patterns is observed.
Similarly, the Gram Sevak and Talathi, by virtue of their regular interaction with the villagers as
well as with local government department, get to know a great deal of the problems,
opportunities and resources available. By putting the villagers in touch with the concerned
departments as well as informing the villages of the opportunities they can avail of to solve their
problems, they would greatly contribute towards the overall development of the village. There
is urgent need for government functionaries at the village level (and above, particularly) to go
beyond their role as service providers to that of development change agents.
(vi).Inter-Agency and departmental Coordination at the Taluka/ Block level: For sustained
development to occur at the village level there is need for a comprehensive, coordinated and
multi-sectoral engagement by developmental agencies with the villagers. Government agencies
are by far best placed in terms of resources, mandate and reach to provide a variety of goods
and services to the people. Yet, for a number of reasons, their impact and performance is well
short of their potential. A main reason why works done do not deliver the expected outcomes is
31
WOTR pioneered this tool of Peer Group Reviews in the watershed projects it implemented as well as in the Indo-
German Watershed Development Program.
32
WOTR, Responsible Parenthood and The Community Action for a Positive Change: An Overview of the Project,
pg.4
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ecause activities implemented are not done in conjunction with other related measures that
would create synergies resulting in sustained impacts and outcomes. For instance, when water
bodies are created by the soil and water conservation department or the minor irrigation
department, there is no coordination with the agriculture department to set up a water
distribution system combined with an appropriate cropping pattern to leverage the potential
created. Watershed development cannot be effectively implemented unless the forest
department first treats (or gives the PIA permission to treat) the forest lands that occupy the
upper catchment; people will not be incentivized to protect plantations raised unless they are
given a share in the usufructory benefits.
An interesting mechanism that evolved to address the challenges confronting a large scale
watershed program 33 that WOTR was implementing in the Sangamner Taluka of the
Ahmednagar district, called the “Sangamner Pattern” is worth recounting. The then local MLA
took upon himself the responsibility of facilitating the project. On a regular basis (monthly), he
would organize a meeting of all the departments, the concerned PIAs and village representatives
at the taluka level and get them to plan activities in a coordinated and integrated manner for
the project villages, each in accordance with their mandate and resources. Tasks were allotted,
responsibilities assigned and time lines fixed. During the regularly held review meetings,
progress was assessed, procedural and institutional hurdles sorted out. The goodwill and
successes generated by this inter-departmental and inter-agency collaboration fostered a
collaborative spirit that extended to the district and state levels, thus benefitting the Program
even in other regions of the State. And the impacts on the ground are still there to be seen even
10 years after project completion 34 . More importantly, with villagers getting integrated into the
local developmental network and learning how to access them, they have been able to continue
benefiting from these relationships long after the projects have ended. Coordinated, inclusive
and engaged action, especially when supported by elected representatives, can be very
transformative and situation changing for villages and social groups who otherwise would have
not have adequately benefited from developmental programs. Such an approach is most
needed now in the context of climate change, where no single agency has the means nor the
capacity to address the complex challenges that climate change and variability confronts rural
communities with.
(vii) Inter-Village Coordination and Management at the Cluster Level: While each village plans and
works towards its development and manages its eco-space and inhabitants, they cannot live in
isolation. Neighboring villagers can destroy the good works initiated 35 . Besides, no village can be
self-sufficient. This is particularly so in a climate change context. Villages depend on the water
resources that flow into and from their village to others; the weather affects them all almost
similarly; sustainable agriculture productivity for adequate food and income security requires
large areas and markets; sustainable livelihoods need an optimum number of client inhabitants
as well as required resources within easy reach. And more over, no village in isolation can
33 The Indo-German Watershed Development Program (IGWDP)
34 Several watershed projects in the Sangamner Taluka have become exposure, demonstration and learning centers
which are frequently visited by villagers and other from other regions and outside the state.
35 An example of this occurs when free grazing is banned in a particular village due to afforestation or pasture
regeneration works – the cattle just move onto the neighboring villages increasing pressure on scarce resources
there. Looked at from the wider or cluster scale, there is no improvement in the situation, only a shifting of the
problem.
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Conclusion:
become carbon neutral. Carbon emitted in due to development or industrial activities can be
offset in neighboring villages, when planned for.
Hence, it is necessary that a group of contiguous villages work together to maximize
developmental outcomes, abate GHG emissions and adapt to climate change. A Cluster-Level-
Committee (CLC) for managing cross-sectoral and inter-village issues should be encouraged.
Such a CLC should evolve organically as it seeks to address the needs of its constituent villages.
Climate variability and change poses serious challenges to rural communities in terms of their
livelihoods and quality of life. These can only be addressed through focused, coordinated and informed
action by these communities acting in concert with neighboring villages. Effective action however
requires an understanding (knowledge) of the threats being faced, organizational capacity and adequate
resources which rural communities, on their own, cannot access or acquire. External support that
facilitates, empowers and fills up resource gaps is crucial to building the resilience of rural communities
and promoting climate smart livelihoods. The locus of all these initiatives at the village and cluster level
can only be community based organizations (CBOs) and local self government bodies, namely the Gram
Panchayats and cluster level associations (CLCs). For these bodies, however, to discharge the
responsibilities enjoined upon them as well as confront the challenge of climate change, they will have
to be adequately provisioned in terms of awareness raising, capacity building, technical and financial
resources.
Effective good governance by local bodies that are informed and empowered will not only result in
buffering the local economy to the vicissitudes of a changing climate and improve quality of life of rural
inhabitants, but also safeguard and enhance the ecosystems and environmental services on which
nearby towns and cities depend for sustenance and well being.
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The Wasundhara Approach
A key challenge that confronts development practitioners, especially in projects that require
collaboration of large sections of a community such as watershed development or natural resources
management, is how to (i) give a voice to the landless, marginalized groups and women; (ii) ensure
that their interests become part of the articulated consensus of the community and are integrated into
the developmental plans of the Gram Panchayat and local government departments and (iii)
incentivize these agencies, especially the GP, to take responsibility for the development of the entire
village as well as of their marginalized groups.
In response, WOTR developed, in 2006 an approach called the ‘Wasundhara Approach’ and begin
implementing it in its watershed projects. Wasundhara in Sanskrit means ‘the earth’ and has a
connotation of compassion, caring, co-responsibility and harmony. The Wasundhara Approach (WA)
is a participatory systems-based pedagogy that consists of a process and a set of tools that are applied
from the habitation level upwards to the village level supported by sequenced outcome-oriented
training and capacity building events. The overall outcome is (i) a gendered, poor-friendly Village
Development Plan (in an LFA format) which is incorporated into the GP developmental plans; (ii) the
setting up of a “constituency represented” VDC as an official sub-committee of the GP to oversee
implementation of this plan; (iii) planning and procedural compliances for getting projects sanctioned;
(iv) follow up with local government agencies and other resource providers and; (v) conducting of
regular review and social audit meetings so that the outcomes and goals of the Village Development
Plan are realized.
The Wasundhara Approach is now functioning in 357 villages covering a population of 365,000
people. It has resulted in considerable benefits occurring to the villagers from government agencies
which they would not in the normal course of events have accessed, such as agricultural inputs,
afforestation, tree planting, fodder development, construction of water harvesting structures along
stream courses, road connectivity, housing, etc.
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