Water is Life. Protect Yours..
The Toolbox
Welcome to the Resilient Watersheds Toolbox!
The Toolbox is designed to support practitioners and investors interested in exploring how Nature-based Solutions can achieve their water security, biodiversity, socio-economic, and climate goals, and has everything you need to develop a Watershed Investment Program. Watershed Investment Programs are initiatives designed to deliver ecosystem services (e.g., filtration, flood control, etc.) by investing in the protection and/or restoration of nature. They are flexible and adaptable to local contexts, can leverage diverse funding sources, and provide platforms for disparate stakeholders to collaborate toward shared objectives.
Built on over 20 years of experience on the ground, The Toolbox presents guidance, tools, online trainings, case studies, and more to support your self-guided learning.
WIP Project Cycle
Navigate the project cycle. Understand the objectives, key questions, and activities and outputs for each phase. Discover key components of watershed investment programs and how to manage toward impact.
Intro to Watershed Investment Programs
Learn the basics about how watershed investment programs employ nature-based solutions to achieve a variety of water security and co-benefit outcomes.
Resources
Navigate our Library of helpful guidance, tools, and case studies which can be filtered by subject, WIP Phase, audience, and more.
Trainings & Network
Learn about our in-person and virtual training offerings, and take a selection of the most requested, self-paced online modules. Join the Resilient Watersheds Network to receive quarterly newsletters, attend quarterly webinars, and gain access to coaching and technical assistance.
TNC
Resilient Watersheds
The water we use is directly dependent on the landscapes through which it flows. Our watersheds—the lands around rivers, lakes, and streams—are some of the most undervalued natural systems on Earth. Today, however, nearly half of all drinking water sources are significantly degraded threatening the quality and quantity of water reaching our communities and cities. About 4 billion people—nearly two-thirds of the world’s population—already experience severe water scarcity at least one month of the year, and the UN estimates that increased agricultural demand could drive a 42% gap in freshwater availability by 2030.
The persistent degradation of these watersheds and our freshwater ecosystems has driven an 84% decline in freshwater species populations since 1970. More than three-fourths of urban source watersheds are within regions of high species diversity and high endemicity; high concentrations of species unique to those regions.
But restoring the health and resiliency of our watersheds is achievable. By investing in nature-based solutions—like reforestation and regenerative agricultural practices—we can improve water security, restore biodiversity, enhance communities’ ability to adapt to climate change, and promote equitable, inclusive development.
TNC’s Resilient Watersheds Strategy Has a Three-pronged Approach
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Nature for Water Facility
The Nature for Water Facility—a partnership managed by The Nature Conservancy and Pegasys—is purpose-built to provide the gold standard in technical assistance for Nature-based Solutions. Our diverse international team featuring expertise in hydrology, GIS, ecology, governance, finance, and project management deliver effective hand-in-hand support to local champions building watershed investment programs.
The Facility offers a semi-annual Call for Proposals where successful applicants receive technical support on a pro-bono basis. Need support now? No problem. Nature for Water can be hired to support place-based engagements on a fee-for-service basis. As part of TNC’s Resilient Watersheds program, we are committed to mainstreaming nature-based solutions in the water sector by sharing project learnings, processes, tools, and new guidance on the Resilient Watersheds Toolbox. Resources generated by Nature for Water are labeled as such.
You can learn more about The Nature for Water Facility’s technical offerings and current portfolio on their site.
Together with our growing community of public and private partners, we are changing how the world achieves water security through the system-scale integration of nature-based solutions.
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