The concept of integrated and participatory watershed development and management has emerged as the cornerstone of rural development in the dry and semi-arid regions of India. The country has made massive investments in this approach. Even more ambitious plans have been made for the future the government has set a target of Rs.76,000 crores for the next 25 years. As we enter this second generation of watershed-based development programmes with such heightened targets and expectations, it is important to ensure that the experiences from the first generation of widely implemented watershed development are fully understood and internalised. The present review, undertaken by CISED, hopes to contribute to this process.