Land and Watershed Management - Practices of Irrigation and On-farm Water Management - page 234

vi. Focus on desired outcomes (e.g., clean water), which can often be more helpful
and motivating for participants than emphasizing problems and who is causing
them.
6.6.10 Land Use Planning and Practices
Land use and management activities within and adjacent to a particular region
have the potential to affect water quality and other aquatic and terrestrial resources.
Integrated watershed management has become to be recognized internationally as
an important holistic approach to natural resources management, which seeks to
promote the concept of sustainable development. In that context, sustainable land
use forms an overall planning framework, whilst sound land-use planning concepts,
together with the adoption of appropriate land-use practices, provide key guide-
lines for land and water resources development and management, which should
be undertaken with the integrated objectives of reducing natural disasters, boosting
productivity, and achieving sustainable development
Sound land-use planning methods and practices can be developed from an end-
use standpoint, such as social and economic development of national or regional
planning, or from a sectoral point of view, i.e., in the context of development plan-
ning for various sectors such as agriculture, forestry, mining, and water resources.
There are strong linkages in planning between the two viewpoints; national and sec-
toral, between the two levels; national and regional, and among the various sectors.
Integrated land-use planning aims to address these linkages. The important elements
of these linkages include the management system, financial resources, institutional,
and legal frameworks and community participation.
Planting a vegetated buffer between one's house or landscape and the lake or
stream is a very positive step that one can take to protect water quality. Vegetated
buffer strips are a proven means of controlling erosion and other sources of nonpoint
source pollution. Several options are available when designing a buffer: a natural
buffer, an enhanced buffer, or a landscaped buffer.
A natural buffer is the simplest and least expensive of the three options. To
develop this requires only a decision on your part about the size of the vegetated
strip you wish to have, a commitment to stop mowing the area, and the patience to
allow plant material to become established and grow. Plants establish themselves
in succession, and it will probably be several years before shrubs and trees become
rooted and thrive. Advantages of this option are that the native plants that do become
established are tough and resilient and a natural part of the lake ecosystem with no
need of investing funds.
An integrated approach that stresses both the importance of participatory plan-
ning and the institutional and technical constraints and opportunities is therefore
necessary. The institutional and technical context for managing watersheds and river
basins, including the involvement of both the public and private sectors, is also
appreciated.