Village Water Action Planning - Community Based Water Management

Village Water Action Planning is a community based participatory process originally developed by OzGREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network - Australia) in 1997 for the World Bank. The process involves working directly with local villages and training them to conduct an environmental assessment of their village and watershed and then develop Village Water Action Plans that will provide the village with a sustainable freshwater supply as well as restore the health of their local environment.
During the preliminary phases of Village Water Action Planning, the community is consulted at all levels and Village Water Committees are formed along with Women's Action Groups to ensure complete participation in all aspects of the initiative. Engaging the Women's groups is a crucial component of successful Village Water Action Planning as women are primarily responsible for the daily collection of water and fuelwood, grazing livestock, collecting produce as well as working in the fields. Being the major providers of household needs it is essential that they are actively involved in designing and implementing the Village Water Action Plans.

Water delivery from Jadan Ashram

Village Water Action Planning allows local communities to sustainably manage their local environment by developing and implementing strategies that:
 
· Provide safe reliable water reducing public health issues and water borne diseases
· Protect and rehabilitate village water supply watersheds recharging groundwater
· Promote sustainable farming practices resulting in a better local economy and alleviating poverty
· Identify links with government agencies and NGOs to provide technical advice and assist with funding
· Sustainably manage natural resources and enhancing biodiversity
· Manage and reduce wastes
· Promote and provide ongoing training for women, children and disadvantaged groups
· Allow for ongoing monitoring and assessment to provide feedback resulting in improved outcomes.

Village Water Action Plans are developed through active community participation. This involves working in close collaboration with all community stakeholders (including women's groups, elders, landholders and labourers from all castes) and liaising with NGOs and government agencies in order to develop strategies appropriate to the local situation. Developing a VWAP involves the following steps:

· Villagers prepare a village resource map (define village watershed area)

Villagers assessing the soil

· Identification of Key Issues - The results of the village and watershed environmental assessment are presented at a community meeting; key environmental issues are identified and prioritised by the community.
· Development of a Vision for the Future - Villagers develop a vision for how they would like their village to be in 25 years covering social, economic and environmental areas. A projected village map is developed.
· Develop Strategies and Identify Priority Actions - The community then develops priority action plans to address the identified key issues and to create the vision they've developed for their village.
· Implementation of the Village Water Action Plan - Once the actions have been prioritised and responsibilities defined, a timeline is developed and on-ground actions begin in conjunction with partner organisations and NGOs.
· Monitor and Evaluate VWAP - Using the skills gained in the training phase, villagers regularly monitor the changes in the village and watershed environment to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and modify the VWAP as necessary.

Village Water Action Planning also takes into account the dissemination of a range of sustainable approaches to watershed management including:
 

· water conservation through village level watershed protection plans

Village Community Water Management Meeting

Village Water Action Planning also helps build social capital. Active participation in VWAP helps build community. Promoting community ownership of all aspects of the Desert Rainwater Harvesting Initiative enables communities to come together, share knowledge and experiences, and develop their technical skills so they have the capacity and self confidence to initiate their own solutions. This will ensure the ongoing maintenance of the water harvesting structures and a commitment to following through on the sustainable practices that will protect and conserve the natural resources (including soil, water, ground water and catchment areas) for the benefit of the whole community for now and future generations.