A paper presented by William Critchley and Marit Brommer on 21-23 January 2003, Muldersdrift, South Africa

In parts of both India and Kenya there are serious problems with shortage of water for domestic and agricultural purposes. In the Himalayan middle mountains of India, stripping of forest resources for livestock fodder impoverishes the forest floor. By changing the nature and composition of the forest, this impairs its hydrological function, and is a partial cause of the growing ‘low spring flow’ problem during the summer months. In semi-arid Mwingi District in eastern Kenya, surface runoff erodes land and constitutes waste of a precious resource. The vast majority there still depends, in the dry season, on digging for domestic water in sand rivers. Parallel participatory research in these contrasting areas has turned up similar principles – though rather different examples - of local innovation in the face of water shortage. The common denominator seems to be a search for a route out of poverty through prudent and judicious uses of limited water resources. These initiatives often involve the improvement of rainfall infiltration opportunities for productive purposes, and are typically located close to home. Four case studies are presented from each country. [authors abstract]