The purpose of this paper is to study the perception of the local community towards watershed management activities and to investigate how watershed management initiatives have impacted rural areas. the fieldwork for data collection was conducted in the Kanshian village with assistance from the office of the Kunhar Watershed Division, the study involved two levels of investigation through a carefully designed questionnaire eliciting information from the respondents, and unstructured interviews of the functionaries of the watershed division and other resource personnel were conducted. Results indicated that residents had a strong grasp on the issues stemming from the watershed's decline and the effects of efforts to address them, the survey showed that the locals were apparently only consulted on a small number of the numerous major decisions that were taken without their input. Adoption rates were low across the board, and they were far lower for most individual pursuits. The growth of human, natural, monetary, social, and physical resources crucial to people's livelihoods had some gaps. To ensure the sustainability of watershed management methods and to address any technical shortcomings identified in conservation structures, researchers must provide ongoing technical support, training, and follow-ups in the study area. This is crucial in order to address any underlying technical problems that may be found in conservation infrastructure. In the future, studies should focus on watershed management, ecological services, climate change, and climate variability. Taking into consideration the significance of water reservoirs for agriculture, the generation of electricity, as well as for commercial and residential use, and this research aims to gain a better understanding of public awareness and attitude towards different watershed management activities so that stakeholders and policymakers can better plan for and implement them.

KEYWORDS: Public perception, watershed, climate variability, local community, public awareness, policy makers