Abstract
Watershed development (WSD) projects—planned for over 100 million ha in semi-arid areas of India—should enhance soil and water conservation, agricultural productivity and local livelihood, and contribute to better nutrition and health. Yet, little is known about the health impacts of WSD projects, especially on nutrition, vector breeding, water quality and the distribution of impacts. We conducted a qualitative study to deepen the understanding on perceived health impacts of completed WSD projects in four villages of Kolar district, India. Field data collection comprised: (i) focus group discussions with local women (n = 2); (ii) interviews (n = 40; purposive sampling) with farmers and labourers, project employees and health workers; and (iii) transect walks. Our main findings were impacts perceived on nutrition (e.g., food security through better crop survival, higher milk consumption from livestock, alongside increased pesticide exposure with expanded agriculture), potential for mosquito larval breeding (e.g., more breeding sites) and through opportunistic activities (e.g., reduced mental stress due to improved water access). Impacts perceived varied between participant categories (e.g., better nutrition in woman-headed households from livelihood support). Some of these findings, e.g., potential negative health implications, have previously not been reported. Our observations informed a health impact assessment of a planned WSD project, and may encourage implementing agencies to incorporate health considerations to enhance positive and mitigate negative health impacts in future WSD projects.
Highlights
As specific activities of the watershed development (WSD) project were targeted to sub-groups of the population, we interviewed land-owning persons, landless persons, men and women
Our study revealed that WSD projects in semi-arid settings of southern India were perceived to impact various health outcomes and determinants
The identified pathways to health impacts were often secondary to the primary impacts on agriculture, livelihood and local ecology
Summary
India is vulnerable to climate change [6,7], which is projected to affect agriculture through increased mean temperature, increased mean precipitation and a decrease in rainy days [8]. These challenges are of particular concern to marginalised and small farmers [9] (those owning less than one and two ha of land, respectively [1]). In order to address these challenges in semi-arid areas, several pathways have been suggested, including watershed development (WSD) [10]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: International journal of environmental research and public health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.