Learning Agenda of the Watershed Community of Practice

Watershed management interventions contribute to the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)’s Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) Framework. The majority of these interventions are implemented through Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs), formerly known as Development Food Security Activities (DFSAs), although some also appear in other types of activities, such as multi-year emergency activities. By incorporating watershed management into these activities, BHA addresses the root causes and drivers of food insecurity in ways that strengthen the capacity of both formal and informal institutions, reduce risks, and supports growth, opportunities, and change.

Since February 2021, BHA Mission colleagues, along with members of the Infrastructure, Natural & Water Resources Management (INWRM) Team in Washington, D.C., have engaged in an internal BHA Watershed Community of Practice (COP). This group holds quarterly, one-hour meetings focused on discussing ongoing watershed interventions, exploring implementation challenges, identifying best practices, and remaining informed on advances in the field of watershed management – particularly in relation to food security activities (i.e., RFSAs). To facilitate more strategic collaboration and knowledge sharing, the COP decided to develop and implement a learning agenda and engaged the Integrated Natural Resource Management activity (INRM) and the BHA Training Unit to support them in this effort.

Through this Learning Agenda, the BHA Watershed COP seeks to:

1. Contribute to enhanced learning about and awareness of watershed management;
2. Identify key learning questions to improve watershed management, including integration of BHA watershed management interventions with Mission activities; and
3. Generate evidence to improve the effectiveness of watershed interventions undertaken by Missions, other implementers, donors, governments, and communities.