Sustainable Watersheds: Integrating Ecosystem Services and Public Health

Abstract

Sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems is a worldwide priority; the integrity of these systems depends, in turn, on the integrity of the watersheds (catchments) in which they are embedded. In this article, we present the concepts, background, and scientific foundations for assessing, both nationally and at finer scales, the relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and socioeconomic values in the context of water quality, water quantity, landscapes, the condition of watersheds, and the connectivity of waters, from headwaters to estuaries and the coastal ocean. These assessments will be a foundation for what we have termed “watershed epidemiology,” through which the connections between ecosystems and human health can be explored over broad spatial and temporal scales. Understanding and communicating these relationships should lead to greater awareness of the roles watersheds play in human well-being, and hence to better management and stewardship of water resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing the research, models, and planning tools to support operational national assessments of watershed sustainability, building upon ongoing assessments of aquatic resources in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries.

Natural Resource Conservation Based on Community Economic Empowerment: Perspectives on Watershed Management and Slum Settlements in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…[58], mention that the anthropogenic activities and natural factors that affect river water quality and can assist in the design of efficient strategies for controlling river water pollution at the watershed scale. Furthermore, productive harmony "between humans and nature depends on the integrity of the ecosystem in terms of their structure, function and capacity to produce goods and services that humans need, including clean and abundant water [59].…”

Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: An Integrated Systems Framework

“…Recent research has also investigated how connectivity contributes to ecosystem services (Mitchell et al. ; Jordan and Benson ) and its importance to watershed and aquatic ecosystem management and protection of vulnerable waters (Uden et al. ; Crook et al.…”

“…In just the last few years, numerous studies have focused on aquatic connectivity, including: (1) connectivity between wetlands (McIntyre et al 2014;Uden et al 2014;Hayashi et al 2016;Leibowitz et al 2016; (2) connectivity between hillslopes and streams (Jencso et al 2010;Jencso and McGlynn 2011;Bracken et al 2013;Reaney et al 2013;Janzen and McDonnell 2015); (3) connectivity between rivers, floodplains, and floodplain wetlands (Rooney et al 2013;Vilizzi et al 2013;Wolf et al 2013;Zilli and Paggi 2013;Scott et al 2014;Jones et al 2015;Reid et al 2015); (4) connectivity between wetlands occurring in nonfloodplain areas and rivers (McLaughlin et al 2014;McDonough et al 2015;Cohen et al 2016;Evenson et al 2016;Golden et al 2016;Rains et al 2016);and (5) connectivity between other river system components (Giblin et al 2014;Harvey and Gooseff 2015;Moore 2015;Hauer et al 2016). Recent research has also investigated how connectivity contributes to ecosystem services (Mitchell et al 2013;Jordan and Benson 2015) and its importance to watershed and aquatic ecosystem management and protection of vulnerable waters (Uden et al 2014;Crook et al 2015;Moore 2015;Creed et al 2017).…”

Watersheds in planetary health research and action

“…3 There have been recent calls for the development of a discipline of "watershed epidemiology", recognising this geophysically bounded landscape as a socioecologically relevant unit of investigation to improve our understanding of the water-landhuman health nexus. 5 Few studies have explicitly connected watershed condition with public health. A review of scientific literature published between 2000 and 2010, 6 revealed that human health is addressed in only 3•5% of academic journal articles on watershed management, and watershed management is virtually absent from public health literature.…”