Watershed Management is implemented in an area defined by its hydrological boundary. It involves all resources available within that boundary; water, land, soil, biomass, energy and human resources, as well as the climate and geology of the watershed. The “watershed approach” (as opposed to e.g. a village or community based delineation of a project area) is increasingly used to ensure that planning and development is done in a way that will take into account the resources available, and being impacted, within the entire watershed.
Watershed management projects typically seek to develop the sustainable management of water supply, water quality, drainage, storm water runoff, water rights, and the overall (land use) planning and utilisation of the watershed.
Niras has also carried out assignments in relation to water resources monitoring, hydrological monitoring networks and capacity building for water resource monitoring.
Reference projects
- Egypt: Lake Manzala Wetland Conservation Project.
- Nepal: Bagmati Integrated Watershed Management Programme.
- Bhutan: Wang Watershed Management Programme.
- Tanzania: Assessment of Environmental Flow Requirements and Development of a Hydrological Monitoring Programme in the Usangu River Basin.
- Kenya/Tanzania: Undertaking Feasibility Study for Integrated Watershed Management and Preparation of Investment Programme for the Mara River Basin.
- Ethiopia: Technical Assistance to Watershed Monitoring and Evaluation Component of the Tana-Beles River Basin IWRM Project.
- Bolivia: Technical Assistance to Decentralised Environmental Management Programme and Implementation of Catchment Protection Activities in small-scale Sub-basins.