Participatory Impact Monitoring of a Soil and Water Conservation Programme by Farmers, Extension Volunteers and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

AKRSP supports village institutions in undertaking soil and water conservation on the private land holdings of farmers as a part of the watershed management programme, identified by the villagers as one of their priorities for natural resource management. This paper examines this process with regard to the village of Madargadh. The programme has at its centre the Extension Volunteer, who prepare watershed treatment plans and maps for their village. They are trained in conducting impact studies in order that the impact of soil and water conservation programmes be assessed after the rains. The paper reports on: the sequence of participatory impact monitoring; the process of impact monitoring; recommendations of farmers, made in the light of analysis of impact data; and the application of participatory impact monitoring for natural resource management projects on the general level.