1. BUILDING COMMUNITY BASED INSTITUTIONS IN WESTERN ORISSA RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT FOR GREEN DEVELOPMENT G Bhaskar Reddy and Niranjan Sahu ORISSA WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT MISSION ORISSA,INDIA

2. WESTERN ORISSA RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT(WORLP)

3. WORLP Goal: To reduce poverty through more effective ways of promoting sustainable rural livelihoods Approach: NR-based watershed platform, watershed plus addressed livelihoods Area: 4 districts of rain-fed western Orissa

4. Watershed ? Approx 500 ha Rainfed area Low productivity Scarcity of water Occurrence of drought Poverty Vulnerable community

5. Climate risks in WORLP 1. High variability of rainfall: gives two peak periods of food stress 2. Drought and dry-spells: Dry-spells every 2 years Major drought every 5-6 years 3. Flash floods during the rainy season.

6. WORLP region characteristics Reduced natural environment Weak asset base (esp. access to natural, financial and human capital) High levels of unemployment Low levels of literacy Poor health indicators

7. Socio economic profile…..

8. Watershed Plus: the WORLP Strategy Based on the sustainable livelihoods approach Participatory planning – based on real needs View vulnerabilities with a climate lens, thereby reducing them Increase climate resilience of communities (including low carbon approach)

9. WORLP at a glance…… Government initiatives funded by DFID,UK Project Period: 2000 to 2010 Project Outlay:£ 32.75 million Operational Area : Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi &Bargarh No of Blocks:29 Blocks (Phase I) + addl 8Blocks (Phase II) No of Watersheds :290 Watersheds phase-I 387 Watersheds in Phase-II WORLP OPERATES IN A WATERSHED PLATFORM

10. Operational Modalities……. WORLP Components: Promoting livelihoods improvement Capacity building Encouraging an enabling environment 5 year project cycle Introduced watershed plus approaches to WS Area development @ Rs 6000/- per Ha (US$= Rs 43) Additional livelihood component @ Rs 3500/- per ha ( Plus component) Technical Support

11. The Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project outputs The poorest are organised and able to plan and implement; The livelihood asset base for the poorest is enhanced and diversified Partnerships Policy and practice constraints are reduced Project approaches are adopted across the State

12. Five Outputs: The poorest are organized and are able to plan and implement participatory livelihoods focused development effectively. The livelihood asset base for the poorest is enhanced and diversified in 290 micro- watersheds. Government, PRIs and NGOs work together to implement participatory, livelihood focused development effectively. Policy and practice constraints to livelihoods are reduced in the areas of Non-Timber Forest Produce, migration, land rights, disaster preparedness and gender issues. The Project approaches are replicable elsewhere in the KBK region and Orissa. Potential bearing on Climate Change: Where social capital is raised, communities are more resilient and better equipped to handle climate shocks effectively. An enhanced and diversified asset base, especially for natural and financial assets, should permit increased adaptability and reduced vulnerability. Better convergence and pooling of ideas and resources will strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to deal with climate stresses and encourage building on each others strengths. Policy issues which all have a direct bearing on reducing climate stress. Approaches proven helpful in reducing climate stress can be identified and scaled up. Potential link of Climate change to project outputs

13. Developmental challenges The capacity of people living in these areas – in particular the poor – to adapt to a changing climate, and their potentially increased vulnerability to increased levels of stress, becomes a strategically important issue. Building social capital by organizing community into different community based organizations helps the community to become more resilient towards these changes

14. Institutional arrangements DFID

15. Institutional Issues Dedicated Institutional delivery Strengthening of Watershed Mission District watershed offices in 4 WORLP Districts SMS (Subject Matter Specialists) engaged at all levels. NGO PIAs in watershed development. Capacity building through CLRC in WORLP Technical support to WORLP Promotion of Community based institutions Replication of participatory processes in non-WORLP watersheds and other projects

16. Community based institutions Watershed Associations Watershed Committees Self help Groups User Groups Common Interest groups Community Link workers

17. Total House holds(HH): 1,89,686 (Phase I: 84,427+phase II:1,05,259) 80% poorest households are members of groups 4250SHGs; 65,000 members ; Rs. 6.5 crore savings; 3476 SHGs linked with banks 5,395 user groups with more than 39,327 members Rs 3.7 crore WDF contribution by community Human Capital development through skill up gradation Participation of women in decision making Social Capital accumulation

18. Strategies to reduce pressure on natural resources Alternate livelihoods opportunities through on-farm and off-farm income generation activities Food security through Grain banks Nutritional security through Kitchen gardens and tuber crop promotion Increase capacity of the community through better practices Institutionalized capacity building through Cluster level resources centers(CLRCs)

19. Development interventions for green jobs In-situ soil and water conservation Tree plantations Water harvesting Organic farming Composting Low cost micro-irrigation techniques

20. Results These interventions provide eco-system services such as availability of water, food, clean air and also mitigate the effect of Green House Gases (GHGs). Creation of green jobs The eco-system services have also impacted the lives, livelihoods and the environment positively. Increased drought coping capacity Inclusive development Empowered community

21. Lessons learned WORLP operated in Government structure has helped create ownership, scale up and replication by Government in other watershed programmes Reducing poverty through increasingly diversified livelihoods Both NRM and Livelihoods components should be implemented in tandem to realize larger impacts Plurality of institutions at the watershed level has enabled implementation of pro-poor strategies and has helped in reducing vulnerabilities of the poor people