ARTICLES

Sita in Himachal

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Grass Root Institutions and Watershed Management, Research Paper, Published in Kurukshetra, Journal, and December, 2005.

Grass Root Institutions and Watershed Management

The present paper studied the role of grassroot level institutions in management of natural resources and watershed management and these institutions include Panchayati Raj Institutions, Village Community, Devta institutions, NGOs, women's Groups and Youth clubs etc. At the same time opportunities for sustainable development has been examined and its linkages with the village level institutions and people at large. The study finds out that the bottom-up approach, involvement of stakeholders and particularly the women stakeholders have been more successful in the management of natural resources as well as its sustainable preservation. As women are more involved in the harvesting of natural resources i.e. food, fodder and fuel etc. Thus, women as stakeholders should be the priority of policy makers for the optimum utilization of natural resources as well as in the management of watersheds. The PRIs institutions have been the right platform for the involvement of local people and at the same time the institution of Devta can play a vital role in motivating the people. Similarly, the other village institutions i.e. community groups and social activist can not be ignored as they are agreed the part and parcel of the society. The study further reveals that overexploitation of natural resources can be optimized while involving the local stakeholders with indigenous technical knowledge and scientific tools for sustainable conservation of natural resources and for the sustainable watershed management in the hills of Himalaya.