BUILDING COMMUNITY BASED INSTITUTIONS IN WESTERN ORISSA RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT FOR

GREEN DEVELOPMENT

G Bhaskar Reddy and Niranjan SahuORISSA WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT MISSION

ORISSA,INDIA

WESTERN ORISSA RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT(WORLP)

WORLPGoal: To reduce poverty through more effective ways of

promoting sustainable rural livelihoodsApproach: NR-based watershed platform, ‘watershed

plus’ addressed livelihoodsArea: 4 districts of rain-fed western Orissa

Watershed ?

Approx 500 haRainfed areaLow productivityScarcity of waterOccurrence of droughtPovertyVulnerable community

Climate risks in WORLP1. High variability of rainfall:

gives two peak periods of food stress

2. Drought and dry-spells: Dry-spells every 2 years Major drought every 5-6 years

3. Flash floods during the rainy season.

WORLP region characteristicsReduced natural environmentWeak asset base (esp. access to natural,

financial and human capital)High levels of unemployment Low levels of literacyPoor health indicators

Very Poor, 29

Poor, 38

Manageable, 24

Well Off, 9

Very Poor Poor Manageable Well Off

Socio economic profile…..

Watershed Plus: the WORLP Strategy

Based on the sustainable livelihoods approach

Participatory planning – based on real needs

View vulnerabilities with a climate lens, thereby reducing them

Increase climate resilience of communities (including low carbon approach)

WORLP at a glance……• Government initiatives funded by DFID,UK

• Project Period : 2000 to 2010

• Project Outlay : £ 32.75 million

• Operational Area : Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi &Bargarh

• No of Blocks : 29 Blocks (Phase I)+ addl 8Blocks (Phase II)

• No of Watersheds : 290 Watersheds phase-I

387 Watersheds in Phase-II

• WORLP OPERATES IN A WATERSHED PLATFORM

Operational Modalities…….

WORLP Components:Promoting livelihoods improvementCapacity buildingEncouraging an enabling environment

5 year project cycle Introduced watershed plus approaches to WSArea development @ Rs 6000/- per Ha (US$= Rs 43)Additional livelihood component @ Rs 3500/- per ha

( Plus component) Technical Support

The Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project

outputs The poorest are organised and able to plan and

implement;The livelihood asset base for the poorest is

enhanced and diversifiedPartnerships Policy and practice constraints are reduced Project approaches are adopted across the State

Five Outputs:

The poorest are organized and are able to plan and implement participatory livelihoods focused development effectively.

The livelihood asset base for the poorest is enhanced and diversified in 290 micro-watersheds.

Government, PRIs and NGOs work together to implement participatory, livelihood focused development effectively.

Policy and practice constraints to livelihoods are reduced in the areas of Non-Timber Forest Produce, migration, land rights, disaster preparedness and gender issues.

The Project approaches are replicable elsewhere in the KBK region and Orissa.

Potential bearing on Climate Change:

Where social capital is raised, communities are more resilient and better equipped to handle climate shocks effectively.

An enhanced and diversified asset base, especially for natural and financial assets, should permit increased adaptability and reduced vulnerability.

Better convergence and pooling of ideas and resources will strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to deal with climate stresses and encourage building on each others’ strengths.

Policy issues which all have a direct bearing on reducing climate stress.

Approaches proven helpful in reducing climate stress can be identified and scaled up.

Potential link of Climate change to project outputs

Developmental challengesThe capacity of people living in these areas – in particular the poor – to adapt to a changing climate, and their potentially increased vulnerability to increased levels of stress, becomes a strategically important issue.

Building social capital by organizing community into different community based organizations helps the community to become more resilient towards these changes

Institutional arrangements

Watershed Mission

Project Director (Watersheds)

PIA

Watershed Committee

CBT

Managers/Asst Managers

LSTWDT

UGsSHGs

PSU

APD

STATE

DISTRICT

BLOCK

VILLAGE

MC

MC: Management Consultant, PSU: Project Support Unit, APD: Assistant Project Director, CBT: Capacity Building Team, WDT: Watershed Development Team, LST: Livelihoods Support Team, SHGs: Self Help Groups, UGs: User Groups

DFID

Institutional Issues Dedicated Institutional delivery Strengthening of Watershed Mission District watershed offices in 4 WORLP Districts SMS (Subject Matter Specialists) engaged at all levels. NGO PIAs in watershed development. Capacity building through CLRC in WORLP Technical support to WORLP

Promotion of Community based institutions Replication of participatory processes in non-WORLP watersheds and other

projects

Community based institutionsWatershed AssociationsWatershed CommitteesSelf help GroupsUser GroupsCommon Interest groupsCommunity Link workers

Total House holds(HH): 1,89,686 (Phase I: 84,427+phase II:1,05,259)

80% poorest households are members of groups 4250SHGs; 65,000 members ; Rs. 6.5 crore savings; 3476

SHGs linked with banks

5,395 user groups with more than 39,327 members

Rs 3.7 crore WDF contribution by community

Human Capital development through skill up gradation

Participation of women in decision making

Social Capital accumulation

Strategies to reduce pressure on natural resourcesAlternate livelihoods opportunities through

on-farm and off-farm income generation activities

Food security through Grain banksNutritional security through Kitchen gardens

and tuber crop promotionIncrease capacity of the community through

better practicesInstitutionalized capacity building through

Cluster level resources centers(CLRCs)

Development interventions for green jobsIn-situ soil and water conservationTree plantationsWater harvestingOrganic farmingCompostingLow cost micro-irrigation techniques

ResultsThese interventions provide eco-system services

such as availability of water, food, clean air and

also mitigate the effect of Green House Gases

(GHGs).

Creation of green jobs

The eco-system services have also impacted the

lives, livelihoods and the environment positively.

Increased drought coping capacity

Inclusive development

Empowered community

Lessons learnedWORLP operated in Government structure has

helped create ownership, scale up and replication by Government in other watershed programmes

Reducing poverty through increasingly diversified livelihoods

Both NRM and Livelihoods components should be implemented in tandem to realize larger impacts

Plurality of institutions at the watershed level has enabled implementation of pro-poor strategies and has helped in reducing vulnerabilities of the poor people