Watershed-based Systems

1
Watershed-based Systems
Saied Mostaghimi Biological Systems
Engineering Virginia Tech
2
Scope

• Review literature on the state of the science in
  watershed-based systems
• Hired a part-time research associate
• Two graduate students
• Identified relevant watershed protection and
  restoration projects
• Sustainable agriculture and natural resource
  management
• Cross-system linkages
• Selected 15 major projects for detailed review
• Shared information with several investigators who
  submitted bridge proposals and planning grants

3
Scope

• Identify Projects for case study analysis
• Develop case studies characterizing critical SA
  NRM system issues
• Eight case studies were analyzed
• Added articles to SANREM metadata bank
• Water supplies quantity and quality
• Factors that defined success or failure

4
Case Studies
Sub-Saharan Africa

• Senegal River Basin integrated
• management model
• Small dam protection in
• Zimbabwe

5
Case Studies
Europe and Eurasia

• Operation Twinkling Star
• Pronya River Watershed, Russia
• Mountain watersheds in the
• Czech Republic

6
Case Studies
Asia and the Near East

• Watershed management in
• Karnataka, India
• Erosion control in the Upper
• Mahaweli in Sri Lanka

7
Case Studies
Latin America the Caribbean

• Water budget model for the
• Cabuyal watershed in Columbia
• Economic model for the Rio Chiquito
• watershed in Costa Rica

8
Scope

• Draft synthetic review of the state of the art
  and science
• A first draft completed
• Chapter 4

9
Purpose
To provide guidance in solving water resources
problems at the watershed scale in developing
countries.
10
Relation to other chapters
FARM
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
ECOSYSTEM
FIELD
POLICY
WATERSHED
11
USDA-NRCS Planning Process
PHASE I Collection and Analysis
PHASE II Decision Support
PHASE III Application and Evaluation
12
I. Collection and Analysis

• Forming a stakeholder
• committee
• Agree on the nature of problems
• Developing objectives
• Measurable and obtainable
• Basic data needs
• Tools for collecting and
• analyzing data

13
II. Decision Support

• Suggestions for developing
• alternatives
• Cost-effectiveness and implementation
• Tools for evaluating alternatives
• Stakeholders, rather than
• program funding, should drive
• the selection process.

14
III. Application and Evaluation

• Encourage farmers to provide
  feedback on the practices
• Refine the objectives
• Example criteria are listed
• The problem with incentives
• Benefits not evident for several years
• Incentives used to prime implementation
• Stakeholder evaluation of practices

15
Additional Study Needs

• Handbook of field measurement
• and estimation methods
• Development and access of
• basic GIS layers
• Documentation of long-term
• results

16
Keys to Success

• Stakeholder-driven process
• Availability of basic data
• Measurable and obtainable objectives
• Practices with obvious short-term
• benefits to the producer
• Cautious use of incentive payments
• Means for evaluating and improving
• strategies