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A watershed moment for healthy watersheds

Nature Sustainability volume 6, pages 233–235 (2023)Cite this article

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The healthy watersheds concept links ecosystem condition with human benefits and helps decision-makers evaluate trade-offs. Implementation requires letting go of technocratic approaches, accounting for ecosystem services, embracing watersheds’ complexity and supporting participatory processes and subsidiarity.

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Fig. 1: An example of the characteristic complexity of a watershed (Rhone River near Culoz, France).
Fig. 2: A framework for watershed health, illustrating its three pillars and principles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Pisces Foundation for supporting this work.

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Author notes

  1. Robin Abell

    Present address: The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA

  2. Sarah Hauck

    Present address: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA

    Derek Vollmer, Robin Abell, Maira Bezerra, Ian Harrison, Sarah Hauck, Kashif Shaad & Nicholas Souter

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  1. Derek Vollmer
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  2. Robin Abell
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Correspondence to Derek Vollmer.

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Nature Sustainability thanks Chris Dickens and Aliny Pires for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Vollmer, D., Abell, R., Bezerra, M. et al. A watershed moment for healthy watersheds. Nat Sustain 6, 233–235 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01027-y

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