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Watershed Management
It is only recently that the importance of
looking at watershed management has been recoginsed and a conscious effort made
to coordinate activities and actions to effectively manage and regulate land use
that impact watersheds. Watersheds vary greatly in terms of water yield,
geological characteristics, and the activities that they support both on-site
and downstream. The relationship between proper management and long-term
results, including erosion, flooding, water quality and production, and wildlife
habitat is crucial.
Water management policies that conserve fundamental resources while providing
for the needs of people and ecosystems, lie at the core of the watershed
management approach.
UNEP-IETC: The Watershed: Water from the Mountains into
the Sea (Booklet)
Volume 2 focuses on the Watershed as a whole considering its different
components and the water cycle. This publication gives to the reader a short but
nice overview about the rivers, lakes, wetlands, groundwater and ice caps
amongst others that make together with the mountains and natural related
ecosystems the watershed. Also, in this booklet the description of the water
flow originated from the upstream or highlands until it reaches the sea is
provided giving at the same time some explanation about the interactions with
the different components of the watershed.
http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/short_series/lakereservoirs-2/index.asp
IWA: Watershed and River Basin Management (Specialists
group)
This group is concerned to promote the understanding, benefits and utilization
of integrated catchment management approaches for the beneficial and sustainable
use of rivers worldwide. It plans to achieve this by the sharing of expertise
and experience among its members and with other interested individuals and
organizations; the organization of specialist conferences, newsletters,
cooperative projects and other activities of the International Water
Association.
http://www.iawq.org.uk/template.cfm?name=sg09
UNEP-GPA: The H2O Initiative (Partnership)
The H20 Partnership aims to further the environmental, economic and social
importance of oceans, coasts, and islands, and to facilitate the realization of
the Montreal commitment by governments to mitigate water pollution and resource
degradation from the hilltops to the oceans.
http://www.gpa.unep.org/water/index.html
IWMI: Use of Historical Data as a Decision Support Tool
in Watershed Management:A Case Study of the Upper Nilwala Basin in Sri Lanka
(Publication)
Provides a historical analysis method which enables natural resource managers to
evaluate the effect of land use changes on an eco-system's natural water cycle.
Demonstrates the suitability of the method to an eco-system management approach.
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/pubs/PUB026/RR026.htm
UEMRI: The Urban Watershed (Web resource)
The issues of managing urban water supply, wastewater and stormwater can be
examined from a broad, integrated perspective, by looking at cities as 'urban
watersheds' (including pollution of water resources, surface run-off, rainwater
harvesting from urban structures, etc.). This will also help in studying cities
as 'metabolic units' - defined in terms of inputs/outputs and material balance,
as well as life cycle cost.
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/water/watershed/index.html
IWMI: Project on Catchment Management (Project info)
Project descriptions and links to further information on IWMI projects that deal
with the theme of Catchment management
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/livelihoods/catchmanagt.htm
IWMI: Improving Water Utilization from a Catchment
Perspective (Publication)
The paper includes a historical review of research that has involved the use of
catchment experiments
and a discussion on hydrological modeling techniques. Options for improving
water utilization at the
catchment and farm scales are identified.
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/pubs/SWIM/SWIM04.PDF
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