Water and Natural Resources Management
Sixty per cent of the world’s 227 largest rivers are moderately to greatly fragmented by dams, diversions and canals, often adversely impacting surrounding ecosystems. Photo by Flickr/Rhys Jones |
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The Challenge
Water is a vital resource not just for humans, but for a variety of aquatic ecosystems, including wetlands, watersheds, riparian zones, estuaries, and coastal areas. These critical habitats, in turn, supply surrounding communities with a variety of valuable ecosystems goods and services, such as sustaining biodiversity, moderating floods and droughts, filtering water-borne contaminants, and forming the foundation of coastal and aquatic food chains. However, misuse and abuse of the water resources on which these ecosystems depend is hastening their degradation, threatening human settlements as well as nature.
USAID’s Response
USAID’s natural resource management efforts focus on recognizing and sustaining aquatic ecosystem services as the foundation for further sustainable development. The agency explores opportunities to protect, restore and rehabilitate aquatic systems, and chooses interventions based on sound science and meaningful analysis of costs and benefits.
USAID’s work on water-related natural resources management includes:
- Watershed Protection and River Basin Management
- Coastal Zone Management
- Freshwater Ecosystems Management
Related Projects
- USAID/Jamaica’s “Ridge to Reef” Environmental Program
- Global Water for Sustainability Programs (GLOWS)
- Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems Program (SUCCESS)
- Water Resource Planning and Natural Resources Management in Polokwane, South Africa [PDF 191 KB]
Related Publications
- Adapting to Coastal Climate Change: A Guidebook for Development Planners
- Fisheries Opportunities Assessment (2006) [PDF 658 KB]
- Appendix 3: Africa’s Freshwater Fisheries [PDF 948 KB]
- Appendix 4: Capture Fisheries and Gender [PDF 376 KB]
- Integrated Water Resources Management: A framework for action in freshwater and coastal systems (2002) [PDF 777 KB]
- Managing Freshwater Inflows to Estuaries: A Method Guide (PDF 3.538MB)
- Implications for Coral Reef Management and Policy: Relevant findings from the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium (2002) [14.23MB]
- International Trade in Coral and Coral Reef Species: The Role of the United States (2000) [PDF 7.02 MB]
- Building Institutional Capacity for Environmentally Sustainable Mariculture (2001) [PDF 437 KB]
Learn More
- Coastal Resources Management
- Marine and Coastal Protected Areas
- More info on Aquatic Ecosystems:
- Coastal and Coral Reef Ecosystems
- Wetland and Freshwater Ecosystems
- Estuarine Ecosystems
- Natural Resources Information Clearinghouse
