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The Bagmati Integrated Watershed Management Programme (BIWMP) was based on fostering partnership among communities, district authorities, line agencies and consultants. The main purpose was to ensure sustainable management of mountain watersheds. The means of addressing natural resource degradation problems were identified through participatory action research. These included options for better horticulture, agroforestry, irrigation, landslip stabilisation, community forestry, vegetative cultivation and wasteland development. The activities focused on poverty reduction through sustained income generation, soil and water conservation in agriculture and forest, erosion hazard treatment and infrastructure improvement. All this took place in context of equitable involvement of women and the socially disadvantaged with an emphasis on local ownership, institutional capacity building and sustainability.
The integrated watershed management programme included various participatory extension methods such as farmer-to-farmer exchange, training workshops and on-site demonstration. Under the programme, planning, implementation and monitoring of identified activities was done in the participatory manner and the approach was deliberately flexible, adapting to new findings. Based on the priorities of the villagers , activities were implemented by individual households, farmers group or village institutions.
BIWMP was initiated, co-ordinated and organised by the Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management (Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation) with the active support of the European Commission. Within BIWMP there was cooperation with local institutions including VDCs (Village Development Committees), local NGOs (eg 'Friendship Sakhu', 'Helping Hands'), the CFUG (Community Forest User Group) - and individual households as in the case of land slip and stream bank stabilisation initiate. It was considered essential that the approach would involve multiple stakeholders for the SWC activities.
The first phase began implementation through user groups in 1986. In 1992 a European Commission mission evaluated the programme's activities and praised the technical packages but suggested improvements to its implementation procedures, especially in terms of community organisation, extension, integration of activities and income generation activities. These were addressed in second phase of the programme. Capacity building of community groups involved establishment of communication facilities, building up community networks and empowering women and disadvantaged groups. BIWMP ended in 2003.
