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Journey
2008-10
Our Focus -
Capacities and Challenges
Watershed
Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN) is a network
based organization specialized in Natural Resources Management (NRM)
and Livelihoods Development Programs based on
 Watershed
approach. It was registered in 1999 as a Public Trust, with an
objective of improving the quality of mainstream NRM programs with
respect to participatory processes, equity, gender, poverty
eradication and enabling community control over enhancing
sustainable livelihoods in rainfed areas.
The primary focus has been on improving policy and program designs
for enhanced productivity of rural economy with a clear focus on
watershed approaches; sub systems of rain-fed agriculture; water
resource management; livestock; fisheries. As a strategy, WASSAN
works with NGOs and promotes networks. The partnership is in
several large scale development projects that are being
implemented by state/central governments, national banks, donors
and different bilateral projects. The insights from such field
level support helps in evolving a perspective for needed policy
changes. Thus, the wider collaboration strengthening over the
years with large number of NGOs, academic institutions and
government departments/ bilateral projects is contributing to the
agenda of WASSAN. As part of advocacy and lobbying, WASSAN has
represented and contributed to several national/ state level
committees/ policy making working groups that focus on diverse
issues related to watershed, rainfed agriculture and NRM related
livelihoods.
Our strength and capacity lies in our self-belief and commitment
towards the orgranizational agenda. As a Team, we are performing
multiple roles and functioning at various levels simultaneously
for building partnerships and networking. ‘Foot on the ground,
Hold on the policy' is the motto that drives the functioning and
defines the strategy of the organization. Our Board of Trustees
provide guidance and set priorities from time to time and ensuring
the systematic governance of the organization. And the consistent
support from the donors reinforces our commitment to the agenda.
Given the dynamic nature of the development sector, WASSAN as an
organization has its own challenges of attracting and retaining
multi disciplinary teams and motivating them to take up multiple
roles as per the needs of the organization. Developing capacities
and common vision among partner NGOs and pressures from political
system are challenges at the broader level. Within these
limitations, the organization is striving hard to strategically
place itself to work towards its agenda and objectives in the
context of future challenges of development and livelihood
enhancement of the resource poor.
For details...
(11.5 MB)
Journey
2006-07
The deepening
crisis in rainfed and the large-scale distress among the farmers
is increasing our resolve to make a valid contribution to a more
equitable and participatory processes in the mainstream natural
resources management programs. The opportunities are opening up
with the
 implementation
of employment guarantee scheme by the state. During this year, the
partnership base of our work has expanded across the country and a
more intensive work has been initiated with dalit and agriculture
labour unions. The latter is now gaining ground as a separate
field of action that we are calling "Bhumi Kendram" that focuses
on providing professional support to rights based activists on
land, wages and livelihood. The policies related to ‘Rainfed
Areas’ need a separate dispensation rather than getting subsumed
under the overall ‘agriculture policy’ that offers little support
for the rainfed farmer. The search is for a new paradigm for the
development of rainfed areas that is founded on the principles of
diversity of livelihoods, secure farming systems, low-external
inputs and inclusive growth. Substantial progress has been made
this year towards the evolution of this paradigm. WASSAN’s
programs now include issues of goats and sheep, fodder scarcity,
livestock health services, tank based fisheries, reviving the
commons, redefining irrigation, enhancing soil fertility, pest
management without chemical pesticides, diversifying crop systems,
seed support systems, processing and marketing. Understanding the
institutional base of these areas of work and evolving appropriate
institutional systems and support mechanisms has been the core
area of work. Some of these initiatives are maturing into policy
action. Watershed Development is the backbone of the process of
revival of rainfed areas. WASSAN has contributed during the year
to the national level processes to evolve reformed guidelines for
watershed development programs. The National Process Study that
has concluded during this year gave deeper insights into the
‘process gaps’ in the implementation of watershed programs across
seven states. These lessons are contributing significantly to the
national level advocacy. Process Monitoring of the ongoing
watershed programs is emerging as a potential instrument to
provide feed-back and improving the quality of watershed
development programs. A combination of professional Process
Monitoring and activist based People’s Monitoring of the larger
programs is emerging as a potential instrument to improve
accountability and performance of the mainstream programs.
The advocacy
initiatives to institutionalize training functions in the
mainstream watershed development programs have come to a logical
first conclusion with the Government of A.P establishing 72
Livelihood Resource Centers across the state. Much effort of the
training team this year went into supporting some of these
institutions and improving their effectiveness. One such centre
anchored by WASSAN has shown the way and established a good
example. In all the above processes, information and communication
is critical. WASSAN’s website has now a wealth of information and
resource material; it is widely used. Several publications and
communication material now adorn many office rooms across the
country, which is a testimony of this year’s work by the team.
Networking as a function is deep rooted in the design of program
and institutional processes of WASSAN. There would be over 100
functional partnerships with organisations across several programs
including CLDP, process monitoring, process evaluation, LRCs,
People’s Monitoring, support services and others. Networking has
been a hallmark of this year. In the seventh year of our journey
together with several partners including NGOs, federation of SHGs,
cooperatives, dalit and labour unions, independent activists,
government departments and the donor organisations, WASSAN team
feels strengthened and much more optimistic to realize its vision
of entrenching participatory processes in the natural resources
management programs. On behalf of the WASSAN Team I thank all our
partners, supportive government officials, research organisations,
network members and several individuals who have made our team
work enjoyable and effective.
For details...
(2.21 MB)
Journey
2005-06
The pressure from civil society is an inevi table complement
of the painstaking work on improving the program processes has
been a realization towards the end of the 2004-05. Public
investments in the mainstream natural resources management
programs would not deliver meaningful livelihood benefits without
a constructive pressure from an independent entity. The small
experience in the joint study on ‘wage issues’ with agriculture labour unions and dalit organizations taken up last year paved way
for a much larger process of an independent ‘People’s Monitoring
Committee’ establishing at the state level. This networking
initiative though started with a focus on the comprehensive land
development program (CLDP), would eventually cover land, labour
and livelihoods issues including the employment guarantee scheme.
WASSAN has made a unique contribution in this regard along with
other dalit organizations, NGOs and unions during this year. An
initiative on independent process monitoring of AP Rural
Livelihoods Program is also shaping up.
Intensive networking has been a hallmark of this year with many
initiatives taking shape like the partnership of 16 NGOs with the
Commissioner, Rural Development on CLDP. Nearly 800 to 1000 person
days of time from the pool of resource persons has been engaged in
various initiatives of WASSAN - mainly in training and process
studies. The study on processes in watershed program across 7
states, the LEAD Advocacy Network initiative, the DANIDA study,
preparation of process guidelines for Orissa and the Orissa Tribal
Empowerment and Livelihoods Program have given an opportunity to
network and contribute at the national level.
A major initiative taking roots is the research and advocacy
process on Revitalizing Rainfed Farming. The action research
program attempts to evolve rainfed areas policy options in their
own merit, rather than as an extension of irrigated areas support
systems. With the institutional breakthrough achieved in the last
year, the ‘no chemical’ approach to pest management (NPM) has now
become a major state program under the Indira Kranthi Patham.
Community managed NRM-Livelihoods program initiated in partnership
with the Mandal Mahila Samakhyas (federations of SHGs) are going
through an intensive action-research phase. These may provide
up-scalable results in livestock, pest management, in-land
fisheries and other livelihoods in a year or two.
The Cluster level Livelihood Resource Centre at Parigi, anchored
by WASSAN is showing greater promise in institutionalizing
capacity building services. It has also piloted the AP Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme. WASSAN’s website has now become a
repository of knowledge and information, and a way of sharing the
immense work our team has generated over time.
This year also saw the conclusion of the five year support from
SDC-IC. This financial and institutional support from SDC-IC has
contributed immensely to WASSAN’s emergence as an important
support organization for watershed based natural resource
management in rainfed areas.
For details...
(1.77 MB)
WASSAN at 5
Ways Ahead..
WASSAN is a learning organization trying to live up to the
expectations and with the spirit of what the revolutionary poet
Sri Sri says ‘kadiledi kadilinchedi, maredi marpinchedi’
(the one that moves and get moved; and, the one that changes and
gets changed).
The focus on influencing the executive processes in advocacy
showed the incompleteness of such an effort. A matching civil
society pressure - from the unions, media, rights based movements
and by the poor at large would help in realising the fruits of
such policy achievements. Strengthening people centered advocacy
is one area WASSAN would be investing time in the future.
A role is emerging to influence larger processes and to facilitate
emergence of WASSAN like networking initiatives in other states.
Policy initiatives in revitalising rainfed agriculture,
productivity enhancement, sustainable natural resource use (ground
water and common lands in particular), and
livestock-livelihoods-natural resources related issues would be at
the center stage of the advocacy process. Concentrated efforts
would be made integrate these initiatives with poor at the centre
stage in programs like National Food for Work Program, Watershed
development, Comprehensive Land Development Program. More than
anything, securing community control over the program is a
challenging task to pursue. Professional support services would be
provided to the dalit and resource-poor groups to solve the
intricate land-ownership related problems and to develop their
lands.
Strengthening the work with CBOs - Mandal Mahila Samakhyas and NRM
based cooperatives, and initiating stronger partnerships with
Panchayat Raj Institutions would be at the core of the support
services. Institutionalising livelihoods based NRM agenda within
the operational framework of these institutions, strengthening
their capacities and mainstreaming this agenda would be the nodes
of action.
Having achieved a breakthrough in the institutional design of
capacity building processes, now the focus would be to facilitate
rooting of these institutional processes within the cluster level
livelihood resource centers. The scale of the effort needed is
daunting.
All these efforts need a greater role by NGOs, Civil Society and
people based organisations. WASSAN would pool up all its energies
along with Network partners towards this direction.
Many miles to go....
For details...
(8.82 MB)
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