Index Catchment - A New Concept for Sustainable Integrated Development

Abstract

The concept of index catchment development provides a holistic approach for optimizing the use of land and water, so as to prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase fuel, fOdder and agricultural production on sustained basis. In the Osian index catchment, adoption of various development activities during a five-year period increased the cropping intensity by 31.4% and forage yield by 1.97 t ha^-1. Construction of water harvesting structures helped to increase the recharge to ground water, as indicated by rise in static water level. Sediment deposition against loose stone check dams was 3.68 m³ ha^-1 year.