The new generation of watershed management

Watershed human ecology

Most people live in watershed or river basin ecosystems that have been moulded to human needs throughout history. With the exception of a few residual and strictly protected areas, the ecology of most watersheds is in many ways human-made.

Four main factors should be considered in appraising watershed human ecology: local population dynamics, local livelihood systems, external interests, and policies, norms and laws (Figure 1). Interactions among these factors largely determine a watershed’s environmental conditions at a given time.

Figure 1

Population dynamics are changes in the number and socio-economic composition of the people living in a given area. They include changes to the balance between births and deaths (“natural growth”), and in- and outmigration.

Local livelihood systems are the most direct link between the human population and the watershed natural resources. They comprise the assets, strategies, norms and institutions that allow households to make a living and reproduce within a particular natural and political environment.

The socio-economic importance of watershed ecosystems goes far beyond local residents’ interests. External actors such as the nation State and decentralized governance units (departments, districts, municipalities, etc.) are the most prominent external actors in watershed human ecology. Global markets and international institutions have become increasingly important in determining access to and use of watershed natural resources over the last 50 years.

States and international agreements regulate access, tenure and use of watershed resources through policies, norms and laws. These regulations may have major implications on in- and outmigration dynamics and livelihood systems, and often play a crucial role in shaping the human ecology of the watershed.