Organizing for local-level watershed management : lessons from Rio Cabuyal watershed, Colombia

Watershed management involves the integrated management of a multitude of resources such as crop land, pastures, forests and water to each of which a multitude of often conflicting interests relate. These interests arise from stakeholders inside as well as outside the watershed. The identification and negotiation of these interests therefore is an important element in watershed management. Based on experiences with organizing for local-level management of the Rio Cabuyal watershed in Colombia, this paper discusses what should be the role of local-level organizations in watershed management and draws out some organization principles.