Question

What do you understand about watershed management? List any two advantages of watershed management?

Answer 1

Hint: By the term watershed we refer to an area of land that includes a set of streams or rivers that drain into a larger water body like an ocean or a river. It is also referred to as the dividing ridge between drainage areas. They come in different sizes varying from watersheds which are small like an inland lake to some watersheds that include rivers, streams, reservoirs and so on.

Complete Answer:
Watershed management is a common term used to describe the process of adopting land use practices and water management practices to protect and improve the quality of the water and conserve other natural resources within a watershed by managing the use of those land and water resources in an orderly and systematic manner. In other words, the scientific method for soil and water conservation is called watershed management. It implies an effective conservation of soil and water resources for sustainable management of land surface and vegetation so as to conserve the soil and water for immediate and long run benefits to the farmers, community and society as a whole.
Watershed is classified as.
1. Macro watershed
2. Micro watershed
3. Mini watershed
4. Mille watershed
The main advantages of watershed management are
1. Control of pollution
2. Preservation of wildlife
3. Erosion control
4. Prevention of soil, degradation and conservation of soil and water and checking on sedimentation.
5. It increases the lift of downstream dams reservoirs.
6. It increases production and income of watershed communities.
7. It helps in mitigating floods and droughts

Notes:
In the process of watershed management, it involves determination of alternative land treatment measures for which information about problems of land, soil, water and vegetation in the watershed is essential.
Steps in Watershed Management Programme:
a. Recognition phase.
b. Restoration phase.
c. Protection phase