Sustainability analysis of two participatory watershed projects in Kerala

This paper presents the results of a sustainability analysis carried out for the evaluation of two participatory watershed projects in Kerala, South India. For a watershed project to be sustainable, four groups of criteria should be considered related to natural resources, technology, institutions and economics, respectively. Poor performance in each of these groups can jeopardise sustainability. The process is as strong as the weakest shackle in the chain. For a watershed project to be sustainable, all these groups should perform above a minimum standard. In both projects studied, the weakest shackle in the sustainability chain appears to be the economic sustainability of the projects. If one element fails, sustainability cannot be achieved.