Establishing a Catchment Monitoring Network through a Participatory Approach

Abstract

"Catchment monitoring has always been important to water resources managers and scientists in the development and implementation of effective water resources management strategies. The establishment of a catchment monitoring network involves a process, from the inception of the idea to the actual construction/installation of various structures and instruments while engaging relevant stakeholders especially the local community. In many cases, such a process is not documented, even though it is crucial to do so in order to share such experiences for the benefit of other stakeholders, including researchers, who may wish to undertake a similar exercise. Despite numerous field challenges (social, scientific and engineering), this report strives to document a successful process of establishing a detailed catchment monitoring network in the midst of a rural community inhabited by smallholder farmers, the Potshini community, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa."