Land and Watershed Management - Practices of Irrigation and On-farm Water Management - page 232

and implement watershed management strategies. But community-based watershed
management recognizes that all stakeholders have a critical role to play in the
management planning process. Resource managers and other stakeholders can con-
tribute in many different ways, but all must work collaboratively to understand and
address watershed issues when a community-based approach is used.
Whole-System Perspective
Watershed management is not a single strategy but is a general approach to
water-resource protection that recognizes the interconnectedness of all the phys-
ical and biological components of the landscape, including human communities.
A community-based approach considers not only the physical characteristics of a
watershed, but it also takes into account the social and economic factors associated
with watershed issues. The goal of community-based watershed management is to
protect and restore watershed functions while considering the variety of social and
economic benefits of those functions.
Integration of Scientific Information and Societal Values
Watershed management decisions should be based on sound scientific informa-
tion, both in terms of identifying problems and selecting options for addressing
those problems. However, resource managers have learned that management deci-
sions that are based on scientific evidence alone often fail in the long run because
they conflict with a community's economic or other social values. Community-
based approaches to watershed management attempt to incorporate a broad range
of values in the management process by involving representatives from a diverse
cross-section of the community throughout the management planning process. In
some cases, by involving diverse interests early on, many conflicts can be resolved
during the planning process, thereby avoiding more costly battles once plans are put
into action.
Adaptive Management Style
Addressing environmental, social, and economic issues at the watershed scale is
complex, and often there is a high level of uncertainty regarding the outcomes of
management decisions. Effective community-based watershed management entails
an experimental approach to management in the sense that participants must be
prepared to learn from their mistakes and to adapt their management strategies
to changing conditions. In many ways, watershed management planning is never
complete, because as old issues are resolved, new ones arise. For this reason,
the long-term commitment of the stakeholders involved in a community-based
watershed-management project is critical to its success.