Components of Watershed Management

Major components of Watershed Management needing the special attention of watershed managers are (see animation):

• Management of water resources (e.g., rainwater harvesting);
• Management of soil resources (soil conservation);
• Management of human resources (qualification of resource managers and users, etc.) (Förch and Schütt 2004 b).

Management of these resources proceeds on the level of watersheds, as we have learned already.

Additionally, Watershed Management comprises the following components:

• Land management (land use planning, for example);
• Pasture management (area closure, for example);
• Crop yield management (e.g., storage management, marketing);
• Livestock management (e.g., marketing, dairy production);
• Rural energy management (e.g., decentralised use of renewable energy resources);
• Vegetation/biomass management (reforestation, agroforestry, etc.);
• Farm and off-farm activities adding value (e.g., creation of infrastructure) (Förch and Schütt 2004 b).

What are the constitutive features of the WM approach? This question will be settled next.