Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) tackles the key causes of rural poverty, by rejuvenating the ecosystems which communities rely on for sustenance and livelihood. They mobilize communities to regenerate and efficiently manage the land, water and forests they rely on, enhance their resilience to climate change, improve agricultural productivity, create livelihoods and increase incomes. Headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, WOTR engages at the intersection of practice, implementation, knowledge, research, capacity building and policy engagement.

WOTR’s footprint

• 9 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Odisha)
• 61 districts
• 228 blocks
• 3754 villages
• 3.8 million people

Their approach

WOTR believes that to effectively address rural poverty and deprivation in these regions, they must employ strategic solutions that tackle the key causes of rural poverty so as to bring about enduring change. By using an integrated Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EbA) approach, they regenerate degraded ecosystems to help rural communities adapt to climate change while expanding livelihood opportunities, improving health, nutrition and the overall quality of life and well-being.

Working at the grassroots, WOTR creates resilient rural communities that enjoy a fulfilling quality of life within vibrant and sustainable ecosystems by:

• Enhancing community resilience to climate change by rejuvenating the landscapes and ecosystems they live in
• Improving agricultural productivity & creating livelihood opportunities
• Increasing the availability of water
• Empowering women
• Strengthening the health and well-being of communities and their institutions

What they do

Their work focuses on the rural ecosystems and the communities that live within them. Based on the EbA approach, their on-ground implementation falls into six core areas:

• Water & Land Management
• Agriculture
• Community Biodiversity
• Livelihoods
• Womens’ Empowerment
• Health, Sanitation & Nutrition

The roles played by WOTR fall into 3 categories:

• Implementation
• Research & policy Advocacy
• Training & Capacity Building

The WOTR Centre For Resilience Studies (W-CReS)

W-CReS was established in 2016, to address the considerable knowledge gaps that exist in regard to how climatic and non-climatic factors affect rural communities, especially the poor and vulnerable. It plays a key role in identifying suitable pathways to reduce climate- and non-climate induced risks, build the resilience of rural communities and improve incomes and well-being. W-CReS conducts rigorous, application oriented on-ground studies on the key thematic areas of WOTR. It aims to contribute high quality knowledge, insights and learnings towards policy formulation, program design, project implementation and capacity building.

Vision: “Communities, especially the poor within, are empowered to live in dignity and secure their livelihood in sustainable ecosystems”

Mission: “To provide committed development support that motivates, energizes and empowers individuals, groups, communities and other organizations to undertake integrated ecosystems development for enhancement of well-being on a sustainable basis”.

Goal: “To ensure food, water, livelihoods and income security together with a growing quality of life to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities on a sustainable and equitable basis”

Their impact:

Direct impact on rural communities

• 2.25 million people impacted by watershed development
• 4,400 enterprises of which 2,200 are by women
• 15-25% increase in agriculture productivity
• 121% increase in agricultural area under triple cropping
• 73,243 people received drinking water facilities
• 25% increase in horticulture coverage
• 25% increase in non-farm incomes
• 15,127 crore litres of  total water storage capacity created
• 50% decrease in distress migration
• 10,077 SHG's promoted covering 1,24,037 women
• 1,04,900 impacted by overall health initiatives

The evidence for ecosystem-based adaptation exists and can be seen through the case study of Bhojdari, a village in semiarid India:

Core competencies-

• Technical knowhow and expertise in: Community Mobilisation and Stakeholder Engagement; Ecosystem-based watershed development; Climate resilient agriculture; Integrated water resources management and water stewardship; Community Biodiversity; Rural livelihoods. 
• Program implementation and management expertise of large scale, community-led land, water and agriculture development programs.
• Development of innovative technologies and methodologies for project implementation and upscaling - developed 24 tools, some supported by customized software packages.
• Understanding, research and practical experience of climate change adaptation and its mainstreaming.
• Farmer-friendly agro-meteorology - providing weather based crop and farm specific advisories to farmers.
• Capacity building and training - WOTR and its affiliates have trained > 530,000 people.
• Undertaking Trans Disciplinary Applied Research to provide evidence to policy making, improving program implementation and building capacities and skills.

Differentiators

• Ability to navigate the complex social dynamics of rural India.
• Deep roots & relationships within the community & ability to obtain community ownership.
• Scientific, evidence based approach to project implementation and product development.
• Leading professionals, thought leaders and practitioners from the Ecosystems, Watershed, Land and Water sectors partner with and collaborate with WOTR.
• Committed, competent and professional workforce -  many of whom have been with them for over 20 years.
• Long term supporters and funding relationships.
• Significant influence on the developmental sector and policy.

The nexus between rural poverty and the degraded ecosystems in which India’s rural poor live, is direct and intricate. Communities living in degraded landscapes and environments are usually wracked by poverty and marginalised. Exacerbated by extreme weather events that push these communities below the poverty line and into further penury, tackling this problem requires a unique and powerful set of competencies. As the pioneers of participatory watershed development in the country, and having spent over 27 years transforming rural communities and ecosystems, WOTR is uniquely poised to expand its footprint and scale this vital work.

WOTR’s ability to penetrate the interiors swiftly, and make an impact, is strong. And by taking a scientific, evidence based approach to project implementation and product development, they have become leaders in their field – influencing both policy, implementation, capacity building and the sector, as a whole. WOTR’s work directly contributes to 9 of the 17 SDG goals and is aligned with other key international conventions—Land Degradation Neutrality, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction. Their programs also align with several national policy priorities like Enhancing agriculture productivity – “More Crop per Drop”; Relieving Water Stress; Eradicating Poverty; Rural development; Women’s Empowerment; Climate change adaptation; Renewable Energy. With your support, WOTR can capitalise on its strengths and decades long learnings, to take rural communities from poverty to prosperity.