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INTRODUCTION: ENHANCING THE CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINABLE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
Author(s) -
Levy Jason K.,
Moncur E.T.,
Takara Kaoru
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2006.tb06011.x
Subject(s) - management , research center , watershed management , library science , water resources , political science , engineering , watershed , law , economics , computer science , ecology , machine learning , biology
Watersheds constitute the lifeblood of human civilization and environmental systems ‐ they support a diverse array of ecosystem components, as well as providing a precious source of freshwater supply, both surface water and ground water. However, watershed resources are being increasingly polluted and depleted due to population pressures and economic activities. This may lead to a decline in living standards and adversely affect ecological integrity (Arrow et al., 2004). Two-hundred of the world’s leading scientists from more than 50 countries recently ranked issues related to sustainable watershed management among the most urgent environmental priorities (Brooks, 2003). Sustainable watersheds are those managed to meet socio-economic goals and objectives for current and future generations, while maintaining their ecological and hydrological integrity (ASCE, 1998; UNESCO, 1999). Accordingly, sustainable watershed management involves value laden multicriteria tradeoffs in a multidisciplinary and multistakeholder decision making process. Humanity currently stands at a “watershed” moment concerning the sustainable management of our environmental systems. Preparing for the impending shift to a sustainable future requires an enhanced capacity for sustainable watershed problem solving, by utilizing both market institutions and a transformational, participatory approach to community decision making. Despite several decades of intensive research, sustainable watershed management issues continue to be in the vanguard of studies for robust, integrated, and adaptive environmental planning. Watershed sustainability is inhibited by a number of factors. First, environmental laws and regulations often work at cross purposes. Second, incentives and policies too often