Bridge Magazine - Volume 1. 2022

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Resilient Watersheds:

Can nature-based solutions go mainstream?

Voices:

Climate change and the Colorado River

FROM THE DESK OF

Dear Friends, You don’t have to look much further than The Nature Conservancy’s ambitious 2030 Goals to see how integral freshwater conservation is to our organizational identity. Water quite literally flows through everything we’re striving to accomplish for people and nature over the next decade.

If you did come in for a closer look, however, you’d find a remarkable freshwater portfolio of more than 450 current or planned projects that span all regions where TNC works. I’m proud to say that gives us one of the largest freshwater footprints of any environmental organization around the world.

Recent efforts to map our freshwater portfolio represent just one part of an ongoing initiative at TNC to further bolster and align our global freshwater conservation work and ensure that we’re able to reach our 2030 Goals.

For people and nature, the urgency behind this work is clear. Since 1970, freshwater species populations have declined 84%.

Almost one-third of freshwater species face extinction, largely due to habitat loss, introduction of invasive species, pollution, and over-harvesting. Just over one-third of the world’s 242 longest rivers remain free-flowing. One half of all people on the planet live in water-stressed locations. The list goes on.

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David Banks As we continue to accelerate our freshwater work around the world, we must also commit to better telling the ‘story of water’ as it flows through our organization. The latest issue of Bridge Magazine is one important way we’re doing that.

While it covers just a fraction of our recent freshwater success stories, this issue takes readers around the world to explore the many ways TNC is engaging on the diversity of water challenges facing the planet.

Learn about our efforts to address accelerating water shortages on the Colorado River, explore the ways in which we’re using nature-based solutions to restore watersheds for people and nature and discover the many benefits to river health, biodiversity and communities that are being realized through the removal of dams in the western Balkans.

As you explore these stories and more, I ask you to reflect on the many ways water touches your life. Then, consider joining us in our efforts to protect our fragile freshwater systems. With stakes this high, there’s no going it alone.

Thank you, as always, for your partnership and support,

DAVID BANKS

Chief Conservation Officer

CONTENTS FEATURE

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Written In Water

Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient Watersheds

BY TAYLOR HAWES

BY DANIEL SHEMIE

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NOTES FROM THE FIELD

In Conversation with Jim Howe

• U pper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Becomes Independent Entity • R estoring Degraded Water Sources and Habitat in China’s Henan Province • First Dams Removed in the Western Balkans • C ommunity-Based Conservation in Water-Scarce Areas • G reen Stormwater Infrastructure Can Improve Flood Resilience in Dallas

BY DEBBIE CRANE

This issue of Bridge and The Nature Conservancy’s work to protect rivers and freshwater systems around the globe are made possible, in part, by generous support from Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation.

Cover photo: Manh Cuong Vu/TNC Photo Contest 2021 Pictured: CEO Jennifer Morris, TNC colleagues and partners celebrate Kenya’s newly independent Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund. © Peter Ndung’u

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VOICES

WRITTEN IN WATER

How Climate Change is Impacting the Colorado River and What We Can Do About It

BY TAYLOR HAWES Colorado River Program Director

THE COLORADO RIVER is an iconic symbol of the American West and one of the hardest working rivers in North America. For those of us living in the Southwest and Rocky Mountains, the Colorado and its tributaries are a literal lifeline we too often take for granted. More than 40 million people depend on it for drinking water, including 30 federally recognized Tribal Nations. The river irrigates nearly 5 million acres of land, supports a $26 billion recreation and tourism industry and sustains majestic landscapes, animals, plants, fish and hundreds of species of migratory songbirds.

But after two decades of persistent drought, the Colorado River is at a crossroads. As demand for water increasingly surpasses supply, the basin’s major reservoirs have shrunk to a fraction of their original sizes. In fact, average annual river flows have declined by 20% since 2000. More than half of that decline has been attributed to warming temperatures, and scientists predict this trend will continue.

Here, like in so many places around the world, we are seeing the story of climate change being written in water — and the consequences are as devastating as they are far-reaching. Recent headlines have drawn attention to record-setting temperatures and declinT H E N AT U R E CO N S E R VA N C Y • VO L U M E 1 • 2 0 2 2

ing reservoirs, highlighting the impacts that water shortages are having on cities, farmers and ranchers, and declining hydropower generation. Less discussed, yet just as alarming, are the impacts to our natural freshwater systems — including fish kills as rivers run dry, the accelerating spread of invasive species from low water levels and reduced habitat for endangered fish.

Water managers have long tried to stabilize the Colorado River system through complex negotiations and water-sharing agreements between the seven basin states (and Mexico) that most significantly rely on the river. But these efforts have not been enough to meet the challenges of climate change. Now we must recognize and prepare for the reality that the water shortages we saw in 2021 are likely the “new normal.”

While the situation may seem dire, I still have great hope for this river system. There is still an opportunity for the basin to be a model of sustainability, but we must embrace new ways of thinking and increase the urgency of our work together. This will require a basin-wide ethic of conservation and a shared commitment to making the hard choices and investments necessary to adapt to a hotter and drier future so people and nature can thrive together. Having worked in this basin for nearly 25 years, I’m optimistic we can expand and accelerate our work across sectors and borders for a future focused on sustainability and collaboration rather than conflict.

Fall color Cottonwoods along the Colorado River as it flows south along Colorado state road 301 from the intersection of 301 and hwy.

131 to the intersection of 301 and interstate 70. © Mark Godfrey/TNC

The Nature Conservancy believes the future of people and nature are inextricably intertwined and that’s exactly why we focus on solutions that benefit both. With your support, TNC is developing scientific tools and models that will allow us to plan for the uncertainty we’re living through and engage diverse stakeholders whose participation will give us the best chance at success. Our multi-faceted approach includes: • D eveloping tools and programs to reduce water demands, such as innovative water management solutions for agricultural producers. Science says there will be less water in the Colorado River, so we must reduce water use in ways that still support communities and the agricultural sector, which is the largest water user. That’s why we’re working with agricultural producers to test innovative ways to reduce water use, while following their lead to ensure these solutions work.

• I mplementing climate resilience strategies. Water conservation efforts often focus on addressing the “supply-vs.-demand problem.” New approaches are needed — like forest management practices designed to protect water sources, agricultural practices to enhance soil health, and natural infrastructure that enhances water retention and groundwater recharge.

• E nabling diverse and inclusive engagement. In the past, tribal nations and environmental nonprofits have often been left on the sidelines, but we need all voices at the table to develop fair and equitable solutions.

• P rotecting river health and wildlife. The region is home to diverse wildlife, but biologists have identified more than 150 species suffering significant population declines, and climate change and drought are expected to exacerbate these negative impacts.

The Colorado River that we depend on depends on us. We must remember that no one interest group or state can solve this problem alone. Only by working together with hope and renewed urgency, will we find a way forward to build resilience and ensure a better future for all. The challenges we will face on this journey are many and the stakes have never been higher, but on the Colorado River, hope persists.

Taylor Hawes is The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Program Director and has worked at TNC for 14 years. She previously served as a water attorney for the Colorado River Water Conservation District, a regional water agency, and the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.

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Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions for

Resilient Watersheds Climate change is worsening the water crisis, but nature can help us adapt — if we act now.

BY DANIEL SHEMIE Strategy Director, Resilient Watersheds

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FEW PEOPLE TODAY NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT WE WILL FEEL THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH WATER. After all, a growing number of us already have firsthand experience living through a record-breaking storm, flood or drought. People in Cape Town, South Africa, for instance, became keenly

THE RIO GRANDE The Rio Grande runs through Big Bend National Park and serves as the international boundary between Mexico and the United States for more than 1,000 miles. © Tim Speer/TNC Photo Contest 2019

crisis. Alongside major investment in new wells and desalination plants, the city did something novel. It increased its investment in nature. Specifically, in the restoration of native fynbos shrublands known for their exceptional degree of biodiversity and relatively low water consumption.

Braving the elements at high altitudes, specialized teams organized through the Greater Cape Town Water Fund have cleared 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) of thirsty invasive plants and reclaimed 9,040 billion liters of water in the process for the drought-prone city. A recent 62 million rand ($US4.2 million) investment from Cape Town’s City Council — matched rand for rand by contribution from the private sector and others — was a critical vote of confidence for this project and will help the local watershed coalition triple the area restored. In so doing, it will help the city reclaim the equivalent of two months’ worth of water supply.

Right: Clearing Thirsty Invasive trees through the Greater Cape Town Water Fund, Luzuko Madalambane, a rope technician, cuts back invasive pines. © Roshni Lodhia

aware of how climate affects water when rainfall dropped to record lows in 2017. As reservoir levels dropped, citizens waited in lines for water and saved buckets from their short showers to flush the toilet.

Nearby farmers who share a common water source with the city certainly could not ignore the economic toll of the drought as their crops failed. Nor could the estimated 30,000 farmhands who lost their jobs.

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Emerging policy and finance commitments from countries around the world now offer us the chance to reimagine our relationship to water at a massive scale. Not long ago, the U.S. passed once-in-a-generation legislation that will invest a historic $1.2 trillion into the country’s outdated infrastructure. In the water sector, funding like this would traditionally be spent on creating more levees, dams, pipes, treatment plants and sewage systems. Fortunately, that narrative is beginning to evolve. As evident in the latest U.S. legislation, nature — including forests and wetlands — is beginning to be recognized as critical infrastructure and gaining new attention for its ability to assist in delivering clean water and reducing floods and landslides.

PANTANAL WETLANDS, BRAZIL The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands. © Gabriel Gabino Moreira/TNC Photo Contest 2019

It’s time to build on this momentum and take an interest in the watersheds where our water comes from and what can be done to protect them.

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS:

THE CHALLENGE — AND THE OPPORTUNITY Our watersheds — the lands around rivers, lakes and streams — are some of the hardest working and most undervalued natural systems on Earth.

For all they do to support our planet and our lives, watersheds are in trouble. Today, nearly half of all drinking water sources are significantly degraded. Deforestation, poor agricultural practices, illegal mining and unchecked urban development are rapidly altering these landscapes and, in doing so, killing our lakes, rivers and wetlands. Since 1970, there’s been an 84% decline in freshwater species populations driven in part by the steady degradation of watersheds, as well as the widespread damming and divertT H E N AT U R E CO N S E R VA N C Y • VO L U M E 1 • 2 0 2 2

ing of free-flowing rivers. This death by a thousand cuts has led to the collapse of freshwater ecosystems, which in turn contribute to more severe droughts and floods.

While the stakes are incredibly high and challenges before us may seem overwhelming, success is actually very achievable. At the local level, as we’ve seen in Cape Town, it starts with valuing healthy watersheds, and then agreeing to work together to conserve them at a material scale. From New York to Quito to Beijing, there are landmark collective agreements already designed to do just that.

Many more forward-looking businesses, governments and water utility companies are following suit and increasingly asking how nature-based solutions can help them adapt to a

WATER FUND TRAINING IN NAIROBI, KENYA Technical assistance and trainings introduce the concept of nature-based solutions and train partners on how to design and operate their own watershed investment projects. © Enigma Images

changing climate. Unfortunately, they are often finding that even where the benefits of investing in nature are outsized, raising the necessary financial and political capital to implement nature-based solutions across a watershed can be painstaking interdisciplinary work. That’s where more work is needed and where TNC is uniquely positioned to help.

TO SOLVE THE WATER AND CLIMATE CHALLENGE, DREAM BIGGER To adapt to a changing climate, water users and operators urgently need to re-examine their relationship to water resources and invest in nature-based solutions. This requires demon-

stration projects, but also more immediate action to solve demand and supply-side market failures. TNC is working with partners to spur this paradigm shift through a multi-faceted approach.

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Demonstrate nature-based solutions work on the ground TNC has 14 flagship watershed investment programs around the world that employ nature-based solutions to address a range of challenges, including living with wildfires, mitigating flooding, increasing water quality and dry season availability, and improving market access for farmers and ranchers.

Individually, these place-based projects deliver a stack of climate, biodiversity and livelihood outcomes. In aggregate, they’ve come to BRIDGE |

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serve as a learning laboratory and generated troves of evidence and lessons.

2.

Equip partners with training, tools and technical support to succeed Over the last five years, we’ve increased our focus on equipping partners by providing both technical assistance and trainings that introduce the concept of nature-based solutions and, subsequently, training partners on how to design and operate their own watershed investment programs. We’ve trained well over 500 practitioners in the last year alone, including tailored trainings for corporate partners whose value chains reach every corner of the world. By tailoring training to AB InBev employees, for example, our corporate partners can deliver on the promise of their sustainability goals and ensure those efforts have tangible, lasting impacts.

Beyond training, we are rolling out new tools in field programs that show promise for wider adoption. This year we launched WaterProof, which will be able to calculate a return on investment for nature-based solution portfolios and drastically reduce the cost and time needed to make a go or no-go decision on investing in nature.

Once a project has proven to be a strong investment, we then work with partners to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to bring transparency over who’s doing what and where. It’s common for several organizations to work in the same watershed, and the DSS helps stakeholders work together to ensure they’re complementing each other’s work and implementing the highest impact projects.

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Increase investment in nature-based solutions and remove barriers for their adoption Despite growing interest in nature-based solutions, companies and water providers often discover they don’t have the remit to invest in the watersheds where they operate. This is particularly salient for water

utilities that have a directive to supply water to customers in the most cost-effective way. If regulation only permits traditional built infrastructure, the utility’s options for potential investment are limited.

Brazil is on the leading edge of updating regulaRIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL © iStock/EduLeite tion to allow water providers to invest in nature-based solutions. A recent return-on-investment analysis of the Water Producer Program in Camboriú, Santa Catarina helped spur the state’s regulatory agency to permit watershed investments in water tariffs. This decision impacts cities across the entire state, and regulatory BRAZILIAN WATERFALL agencies in Minas Chapada dos Guimarães, in central Brazil, is an important Gerais State and the hydromorphic region—its rocks are responsible for Federal District have absorbing water from the clouds and redistributing it. also moved to repli© Carlos Goulart cate this structure.

Securing sustainable funding, like tariffs, for conservation can also help mobilize the repayable financing needed to cover high upfront costs of largescale restoration efforts. That’s why we’re also working together with investment banks — including the Inter-American Development Bank and the Agence

Today less than <1% of water sector investments go towards nature-based solutions.

Française de Development — to help build a pipeline of investment-ready nature-based solutions programs.

While regulation changes can impact hundreds of watersheds, commitments by multi-national corporations to invest in nature-based solutions across their value chains can impact thousands. Fortunately, more and more companies are interested in investing in nature as a cost-effective means of achieving their operational and sustainable water targets and see nature-based solutions as a means to achieve other important co-benefits, like climate mitigation and adaptation. In fact, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi were early investors in the São Paulo and Cape Town watershed investment programs, despite being fierce rivals in the marketplace. Over 100 companies have invested more than $60 million in TNC’s Resilient Watersheds programs to date, but corporations usually cannot provide the magnitude of capital needed to anchor a watershed investment program; more is needed from big spenders — like utilities — to sustain these programs long-term.

We’re running out of time to protect our watersheds, but there’s plenty of reason for hope. New infrastructure investments from countries around the world could forever change the way nature — like forests, floodplains and wetlands — is valued by society.

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investments in nature to address their water security needs. And both are currently engaging in some of the most consequential climate and biodiversity negotiations of the decade.

Fortunately, we know what to do. We need to protect, restore and invest in our watersheds and upstream communities — we need nature now.

Water Funds Updates Around the World

What is a Water Fund?

Water Funds are collective action mechanisms that unite public, private and civil society stakeholders around a common goal to improve water security through naturebased solutions and sustainable watershed management.

TNC has worked with over 200 partners in 13 countries to create design and strengthen nearly 50 water funds– and counting.

USA: New Mexico’s Rio Grande Water Fund The Nature Conservancy and partners launched the Rio Grande Water Fund in 2014, following the devastating 2011 Los Cochas Fire which burned 156,000 acres in the Jemez mountains and disrupted water delivery to Albuquerque for forty days. The collaborative large-scale effort – with 100 signatories – is designed to restore 600,000 acres of at-risk forests from southwest Col-

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orado to Albuquerque. Already the Water Fund has led controlled burns on over 140,000 acres to thin underbrush that would otherwise fuel flames. The icing on the cake: these investments are not only maintaining habitat and improving water supply but have supported small business and rural economies to the tune of $120 million in economic impact.

ENGLAND: Norfolk Water Programme Together with partners including

Water Resources East, Norfolk County Council and Anglian Water, TNC launched the Norfolk Water Strategy Programme to test our Water Funds strategy in Eastern England. As TNC’s first water fund in Europe, it will use nature-based solutions, like wetlands, to address pressures from increasing demand and climate change, while supporting wildlife that depend on freshwater bodies. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, has thrown his support behind these efforts. His Sandringham Estate is actively engaged through the steering committee, alongside other local and regional partners.

SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Town Water Fund The City of Cape Town announced that it will invest >$4M USD (R62 million) over three years to advance the operations of the Greater Cape Town Water Fund, which was established by the City and TNC in 2018 to clear thirsty, invasive plants from the mountainous catchment areas that supply water to Cape Town’s 4 million people. While the Water Fund has succeeded in removing thousands of hectares of invasive trees to date, the City’s investment will be critical to accelerating this work and realizing the project’s aggressive water saving goals.

NEW ZEALAND: Waikato Water Fund At 425 kilometers, The Waikato River is New Zealand’s longest river and a freshwater system of great

cultural significance to Waikato-Tainui and other river Iwi (indigenous tribe). It also has become a highly modified system and has been heavily impacted by agricultural, industrial, and urban run-off.

TNC is partnering with the Waikato-Tainui Iwi to develop the Waikato Catchment Care Water Fund as a way to restore the river system and we are working jointly to recruit a locally-based project manager.

A commitment from DB Breweries (parent company: Heineken) has provided early support critical for the fund’s development. Stay tuned for more developments in 2022.

CHINA: Qiandao Lake Water Fund In 2018, TNC partnered with Alibaba Foundation, Mingshengtonghui Charity Foundations and Wanxiang Trust on a large-scale conservation project at Qiandao Lake, which supplies drinking water for a population of 10 million. The goal is to reduce agricultural pollution in the surrounding areas and support improved water quality for Qiandao Lake within 10 years, which will benefit people in the Yangtze River Delta area. During the first three years (Stage I) of the Qiandao Lake Water Fund, TNC reduced chemicals used in rice field pilot sites by at least one-third, while increasing rice yield by 10 percent.

The Fund was recognized as one of the Biodiversity 100+ Global Typical Cases by the United Nations COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat in Kunming, China, 2021.

ECUADOR: The Quito Water Protection Fund (FONAG) The Nature Conservancy and the Municipal Drinking Water Company of the City of Quito (EPMAPS) joined forces in 2000 to restore Ecuador’s high Andean grasslands — an area rich in biodiversity that also supplies water to Quito’s 2.6 million residents. Since its inception, FONAG has worked with more than 400 local families to protect and restore more than 45,000 hectares of páramos and Andean forests using a variety of strategies. A 2017 business case conducted on a small area of the watershed revealed that EPMAPS can recover $2.15 in future operational costs for every $1 it invests in FONAG. A comprehensive ROI study for the entirety of the Water Fund area is currently underway and early findings reinforce what we’ve long known to be true: investing in nature is one of the most cost-effective ways to meet our water security needs.

Daniel Shemie leads The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds Strategy. Daniel holds a Master of Science in water science and management from the University of Oxford and is a faculty advisor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

He currently lives in New York.

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Notes

From the Field

Joseph and Anna Gatheru pose next to their rainwater harvesting pan. © Roshni Lodhia

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Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Becomes Independent Entity THE UPPER TANA-NAIROBI WATER FUND, TNC’s first water fund in Africa, reached a critical milestone as it became an independent Kenyan registered entity in September 2021.

TNC and partners established the water fund in 2015 to address deteriorating water quality and quantity in the Tana River, which supplies 95% of Nairobi’s freshwater supply and 50% of Kenya’s hydropower.

Through the introduction of sustainable farming practices in the river’s upper watershed, the fund is improving water security for the downstream city and bolstering the livelihoods of small-scale farmers. To date, nearly 45,000 farmers have implemented conservation activities (out of a target of 50,000).

While the water fund is no longer a formal TNC program, a three-year agreement ensures TNC will continue to support the water fund and capture the lessons of its transition to an independent entity. The program’s independence was made possible by its deep capacity, mature governance and strong financial health.

EVELYNE KARANJA

The Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund by the Numbers:

44,725

farmers implementing conservation activities

3.4M 163 trees planted

hectares of public forest rehabilitated

11% 35,000

Water quality improved

youth introduced to watershed conservation through their schools

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Even as an independent trust, The Nature Conservancy continues to be at hand to help us navigate through our new status. We could never have been where we are today without the expertise and the material support availed to us. As the first water fund in Africa, we hope to be a fitting model that will be replicated across the whole continent.”

Eddy Njoroge, Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund President, in a September 2021 letter announcing the fund’s new status.

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Located in Xichuan County in Henan Province, the Danjiang Wetland National Nature Reserve provides drinking water for 69 million people in 44 cities in North China. TNC is helping to protect water quality and to conserve wildlife habitat within the reserve. © Qing Du

Restoring Degraded Water Sources and Habitat in China’s Henan Province IN 2014, China’s “Mid-Route Southto-North Water Diversion Project,” the world’s largest water diversion project, began transferring water from the Danjiankou Reservoir to Northern China, benefiting 69 million people in 44 cities along the route. The Danjiang Wetland National Nature Reserve, located in Xichuan County in Henan Province, is the last barrier before Danjiang water enters the Danjiankou Reservoir and plays an important role in collecting, storing, and filtering clean water bound for northern China.

The Reserve’s wetland and forest ecosystems also sustain hundreds of species of wildlife, including the endangered Chinese merganser and the nationally important black stork and whooper swan. All told, tens of thousands of waterbirds stop at the reserve to rest and refuel during their long migrations.

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The Danjiang Wetland National Nature Reserve, however, has long been plagued by environmental problems that have degraded the water supply, including rocky desertification in the mountains, soil erosion on slopes, surface pollution of farmland, and the unsustainable use of wetlands.

Now that the Danjiang Wetland National Nature Reserve is bringing water to millions more people through the South-to-North project, as well as continuing to sustain the area’s wildlife, the need to solve these challenges has become even more urgent. To help, the TNC China Henan Project has cooperated over the past three years with various Chinese groups and organizations to: • Restore a rocky-deserted area over 100 hectares; • Develop a demonstration area of over 2.67 hectares for green agriculture technology to reduce surface pollution of farmland;

• Restore 400 hectares of degraded wetlands; •P lan a patrol and management system; and • Organize five professional, skill-training sessions.

This project also actively explores the development of new green industries such as forestry carbon sinks and ecological bird watching, which will continue to increase the income of local community residents. The United Nations COP 15 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity recognized the achievements of the project, which will be featured in Kunming, China, as an official case study for the conference’s 100+ best practices around the world.

JOSEPH NOBLE

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Removing Dams in the Blue Heart of Europe

Removing outdated dams that serve no meaningful purpose is one of the most economical and accessible methods to restore river health, improve biodiversity and benefit communities in Southeast Europe.”

THE WESTERN BALKANS REGION in Southeast Europe is widely known for its pristine rivers. It’s even aptly dubbed the “blue heart of Europe.”

But the Vezišnica River, one of the most biodiverse tributaries of the ehotina River in Montenegro, has been muzzled by three non-functional, illegal dams for years. Working with lead partner WWF Adria, TNC supported the removal of all three structures to allow the waters of the Vezišnica to flow freely once again.

DRAGANA MILEUSNIC TNC’s Southeastern Europe Program Manager

With hundreds, if not thousands, of new dams planned and under construction in the region, TNC is advocating for smart renewable energy use and the removal of outdated and dysfunctional dams. We’re sharing our expertise in durable river protection and planning, which most recently helped protect the Krupa River in Croatia and Zeta River in Montenegro—now one of the newest nature parks in Southeast Europe. We are currently working to protect the ehotina River, which will be healthier and more productive now that the dams have been removed from the Vezišnica River—an important win for nature and true testament to our partnership with WWF Adria.

As the first-ever barrier removal in the Balkans, this work marks a major milestone in the conservation of these exceptional waters. Poorly planned dams harm the environment and surrounding communities. They decrease biodiversity—blocking fish migrations and trapping sediments and nutrients that maintain habitat health—and alter flow patterns that drive the productivity of downstream floodplains and wetlands.

KIM NYE

Left: One of three recent dam removals in Montenegro ©WWF Adria

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Community-Based Conservation in Water-Scarce Areas NEARLY HALF OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION — roughly

3.6 billion people — live in areas that suffer from water scarcity at least one month each year. Where it persists, water scarcity affects everything from agriculture and industry to human well-being and the environment, and the impacts are felt most acutely

by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) who do not have the resources or influence needed to secure sufficient clean water. As climate change accelerates, water scarcity is predicted to be one of the

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most devasting consequences, and it is these communities that will pay the greatest price.

• Rights and access to water are essential. It is often not sufficient to own land — communities also need a priority right to water. Change requires a deep un-

TNC is working to engage IPLC around the world on a variety of water scarcity issues through the implementation of community-based conservation strategies. Our recent report, Community-Based Conservation in Water-Scarce Areas, captures lessons learned from five projects in Australia, India, Peru and the United States, offering a roadmap for others working in this space.

derstanding of complex historical, political and legal frameworks.

• Partnerships are key and must be built on trust. This calls for an investment of time and resources, including cultural competency training for TNC staff and conservation training for local groups.

• Ecological and human well-being are significantly impacted by large-scale users and are the most

“At the crux of this work is the idea that community-based conservation can secure water supplies to meet ecological needs and improve local communities’ water tenure,” said Allison Aldous, Director, Freshwater Community-Based Conservation. “It is a critical tool for ensuring adequate water for wildlife, plants and ecological functions and helping address the historical practices that have long led to widespread injustice for IPLC.”

vulnerable to declines in water availability. Authentic collaboration can help us achieve durable solutions for both people and nature.

• Local knowledge can merge with Western science to provide a much greater likelihood of innovative and transformational conservation.

TNC’s work with IPLC on water scarcity is a component of the organization’s broader grappling with historical and current conservation practices that contribute to inequity and injustice. It is an important method for increasing resilience in the face of climate change and helping communities manage their increasingly scarce water resources.

While each community-based conservation project is unique, the report outlines a set of guiding principles relevant to all:

CAITLIN DOUGHTY

What is Water Scarcity?

Water scarcity is an excess of water demand over available supply. The reason for this vary from ...

1.

2.

3.

Physical water shortage

Infrastructure failures

Governance failures

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NEW RESEARCH:

Green Stormwater Infrastructure Can Improve Flood Resilience in Dallas

Above: Sidewalk bioretention areas in Deep Ellum. © Katy Evans/ City of Dallas

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Nature can improve overall community health and resilience when integrated into the fabric of our cities.

DR. KATHY JACK

DALLAS-FORT WORTH is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation. But as more and more of the area’s natural land cover is converted to impervious surfaces, like concrete and asphalt, stormwater and urban flooding are becoming growing challenges for municipalities across the region.

A new analysis from TNC and Texas A&M AgriLife (AgriLife) reveals that investments in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) can help. Not only could GSI enhance urban flood resilience within the metropolitan area, but it could be 77% less expensive than upgrading gray infrastructure alone, the research found. Bioretention areas, particularly those placed in existing parking lots, were found to offer the greatest return on investment in incorporating GSI. Similarly, the analysis identified bioretention areas in parks, commercial sidewalks and streetscapes, and distributed rain gardens and cisterns at homes and businesses as important GSI opportunities to pursue.

“This analysis provides important data on how and where decision-makers and investors in Dallas can best leverage the benefits of nature to reduce urban flooding,” said Dr. Kathy Jack, Dallas Healthy Cities Program Director for TNC in Texas and study author. “When considered as a part of comprehensive stormwater planning efforts and site and neighborhood level designs, GSI can contribute to multiple, stacked benefits—for people and nature.”

The impacts of this analysis are already being felt beyond the Dallas city limits as other regions begin to leverage its findings to address their own stormwater challenges. “Balancing the growth of cities with conservation requires thoughtful, collaborative planning,” says Dr. Jack. “Nature can improve overall community health and resilience when integrated into the fabric of our cities.”

ANNE ZUPARKO

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Jim Howe

IN CONVERSATION WITH

The Sustainable Rivers Program (SRP) is a collaboration between TNC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that works to find more sustainable ways to manage river infrastructure in order to maximize benefits for people and nature. SRP celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Jim Howe, who recently marked his 25th anniversary with TNC, is the program’s new director. He sat down with TNC’s Debbie Crane to discuss SRP and his new role.

for freshwater. Globally, our goal is to improve management of 550,000 kilometers of river systems and 20 million hectares of lakes and floodplains. Partnering with public water management agencies like USACE, which is the largest water manager in the U.S., will be critical. USACE dams and infrastructure influence more than 53,000 miles (or about 85,000 kilometers) of rivers and the floodplains along them.

DC: As SRP celebrates its 20th anDEBBIE CRANE: You’ve worked with TNC for a long time, most recently as Director of the Central and Western New York Chapter. What prompted you to take on this new challenge?

JIM HOWE: The opportunity to work nationally on freshwater policy is exciting to me. Freshwater is our most precious resource and one that’s increasingly threatened by climate change. I’m also excited to be part of our North America Policy & Government Relations team. The Nature Conservancy won’t be successful at the scale we need to be without greater investment in the policy arena.

niversary, what do you see the next 10 years looking like? What’s on the horizon for SRP? JH: More than 11,000 miles of river systems — about 20% of USACE’s portfolio — are currently enrolled in SRP. Can we expand this to all 53,000 miles by 2030? And can we increase SRP’s impact by delivering greater environmental benefits from SRP actions? We’re also hoping to replicate SRP’s science-based, collaborative approach with other federal agencies and water managers, both in the U.S. and globally.

“

If you want to see how the world is changing, follow the water. Freshwater systems have the highest number of imperiled species when compared to any other ecosystem type.” streams, lakes and rivers. Ensuring that flows in rivers, lakes and streams more closely mimic natural patterns is one of the most important things we can do to restore freshwater biodiversity and resilience.

DC: In particular, how does SRP fit DC: How does SRP fit into TNC’s

2030 goals?

JH: The mission of SRP is improve the

health of America’s rivers by working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to operate its dams in ways that restore and protect ecosystems.

The beauty of this program is that this can be done while maintaining the benefits that dams provide for navigation, recreation and hydropower. SRP is well aligned with our 2030 goals

into TNC’s climate change work?

JH: If you want to see how the world is changing, follow the water. Freshwater systems have the highest number of imperiled species when compared to any other ecosystem type. A changing climate poses even more challenges for freshwater biodiversity. We’re seeing more and more extreme conditions — high and low — in our

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