Giving Compass' Take:

• Jenna Saldana, Dick Whitmore, and Mark Sullivan discuss watershed restoration techniques deployed to protect rural communities in Nicaragua from the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. 

• How can other communities learn from this program? Where are restoration efforts needed? 

• Learn how watershed management can transform communities.

Water is life. But, across Nicaragua, rampant deforestation for cattle, agriculture, and timber extraction is resulting in less water. Streams that once flowed year round are now seasonally dry. Community wells are drying up in deforested communities in the northern and central regions of the country, leaving villagers without a source of water. The situation is dire and watershed restoration is essential to save the future of water in Nicaragua.

El Porvenir’s watershed restoration program seeks to conserve existing forests and restore degraded areas throughout Nicaragua in order to increase food and water resiliency.

To accomplish our goal of improving land use and mitigating climate change to promote water and food security, we are actively engaged in the following watershed rehabilitation practices, many of which have been used for generations:

  1. Strategic reforestation where trees are integrated with livestock and crops to create a sustainable land-use system that rejuvenates damaged land while restoring stream flow, increasing rainwater absorption, and reducing soil erosion. Native grasses are used to reduce erosion, and family garden plots are established.
  2. Construction of terraces and other water conservation infrastructure like check dams and seasonal retention ponds, fencing off areas being regenerated, growing grasses to feed cattle, and constructing watering troughs away from streams to protect the riparian zone.
  3. Construction of vented, fuel-efficient stoves that use 60% less firewood than typical cook stoves to reduce deforestation and improve health.
  4. Coordination with local government and other organizations to increase impact.
  5. Educating residents on the economic and environmental benefits of climate change mitigation and watershed restoration through community workshops.
  6. Creation of a model watershed that uses all of the above practices to show people from other communities how their watershed could flourish.
  7. Training residents to create local community management committees who manage and maintain systems and programs. The training and education of residents to promote behavioral change is a pivotal part of conservation, restoration, and protection.

Read the full article about watershed restoration techniques by Jenna Saldana, Dick Whitmore and Mark Sullivan at WASHfunders.