WATERSHED BASED FISHERIES AMD DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Agriculture and animal husbandry are the first two mainstay sub-sectors in India. However, faulty management practices, coupled with increasing human and animal population threaten livelihood and food security. The challenge of bringing in meaningful strategy and workable action plans for necessary adjustments in agricultural production systems and traditional wisdom of people keeping in view of social and developmental priorities needs to be addressed very urgently and consistently. This suggests for a revamping of existing production systems and addition of new components including fisheries-based to the existing ones. While accepting watershed as an naturally defined, but hydrologically independent unit, topographically delineated area drained at a common point by a network of channels and streams forms an ideal unit of development progress than administrative boundaries, it is also proved beyond doubt that fisheries sector plays a major role in meeting the national agenda of eradicating malnutrition, poverty, unemployment bug and ecological degradation as one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide that needs proper characterization and introduction in Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) programmes in India. Ecosystem diversity, fragility, marginality, poor accessibility, bio-diversity and cultural heritage, and heterogeneity are major issues of livelihood and resource conservation in various agro-eco-regions of India. The continued dependence of growing population on finite resources, lack of viable technologies befitting to growing demands pose threat of resource depletion and continuation of poverty. The process of industrializations and population pressure threatens streams/rivers and their environments, the major reserves of aquatic species, which require scientific care and conservative management in order to sustain their services and functions. All these bring a necessity for Watershed-based fisheries development to rationalize natural resources for social and environmental demands.