A rapid assessment was carried out in two phases. First came fieldwork consisting of an appraisal of the landscape and the livelihoods of the local people. The two-week work was combined with geopositioning of specific landmarks and soil sampling activities to quantify their physical properties. Second came desk work dealing with modelling exercises to establish the rate factors affecting the ecohydrological performance of the basin in both spatial and temporal terms. The assessment may be considered to represent baseline information before any changes in biophysical and socioeconomic variables occurred. Anticipated biophysical changes were simulated by means of model experimentation, however.