AWM Interventions and Monitoring and Evaluation: Potential Approaches at the Watershed Level

The report argues that AWM interventions often fail to capture holistic impacts beyond direct project boundaries, frequently overlooking negative externalities and socio-economic shifts. To address this, the authors propose a synthesised M&E framework based on five livelihood capitals: financial, human, natural, physical, and social. The document emphasizes the necessity of baseline assessments, participatory M&E, and the inclusion of both project-level and impact-level indicators to facilitate adaptive management. It applies this framework to review the M&E practices of International Development Enterprises (IDE) and IDE-India, and demonstrates its use in a baseline assessment in the Mkindo watershed of Tanzania.

• AWM interventions often suffer from M&E flaws, including a failure to distinguish between monitoring and evaluation, a lack of baseline information in over half of reviewed projects, and an inadequate focus on overarching goals like poverty alleviation.
• Standard M&E in AWM projects frequently focuses on biophysical or socio-economic impacts only at the scale of adoption, often ignoring wider watershed hydrology or the long-term negative effects on the livelihoods of marginalized groups.
• To capture a holistic picture of AWM impacts, the report suggests a framework based on five livelihood capitals: financial, human, natural, physical, and social capital.
• The report identifies a 'pro-innovation bias' in AWM M&E, where projects monitor the number of technologies introduced but fail to track the 're-invention' or adaptation process by farmers after adoption.
• Participatory M&E, involving stakeholders in data design and analysis, is recommended to improve data accuracy, build local capacity, and increase cost-effectiveness, although it may increase the time burden on local participants.
• A review of International Development Enterprises (IDE) found that while its global framework is strong on market and customer satisfaction indicators, it could be expanded to include more comprehensive natural capital indicators to ensure long-term environmental sustainability.
• An analysis of IDE-India's evaluations revealed that social and human capitals are often under-represented, typically captured by only one or two measures, and that environmental effects beyond the farm level (such as groundwater levels and soil fertility) are generally not assessed.
• A baseline assessment in the Mkindo watershed of Tanzania demonstrated that using synthesised indicator themes as a starting point, combined with local partner input, allows for the creation of livelihood narratives that identify resource dependencies and potential conflicts between pastoralists and farmers.

APA

de Bruin, A., Mikhail, M., Noel, S., & Barron, J. (2010). AWM Interventions and Monitoring and Evaluation: Potential Approaches at the Watershed Level. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-DeBruin-AWMInterventionsAndMonitoringAndEvaluation-2010.pdf

Chicago

de Bruin, Annemarieke, Monique Mikhail, Stacey Noel, and Jennie Barron. AWM Interventions and Monitoring and Evaluation: Potential Approaches at the Watershed Level. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-DeBruin-AWMInterventionsAndMonitoringAndEvaluation-2010.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Bruin |first1=Annemarieke |last2=Mikhail |first2=Monique |last3=Noel |first3=Stacey |last4=Barron |first4=Jennie |title=AWM Interventions and Monitoring and Evaluation: Potential Approaches at the Watershed Level |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2010 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-DeBruin-AWMInterventionsAndMonitoringAndEvaluation-2010.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{debruin2010awm, author = {de Bruin, Annemarieke and Mikhail, Monique and Noel, Stacey and Barron, Jennie}, title = {{AWM Interventions and Monitoring and Evaluation: Potential Approaches at the Watershed Level}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-DeBruin-AWMInterventionsAndMonitoringAndEvaluation-2010.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }