With nearly half of the country's total geographical area facing degradation hazards, conservation of soil and water by taking a natural watershed as the unit of development is perhaps the only route for ensuring ecological safety and livelihood for the people residing in these areas. The Dehradun-based Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI) has undertaken this exercise in the Shivalik ranges and the foothills of the Himalayas in the Garhwall area. Scientists of this institute have evolved a "participatory agro-eco-system development model" which development agencies can emulate.