Vogl al 20150708_1730_upmc_jussieu_-_room_103

1 Decision-Relevant Science for Water Security 8 July 2015

DECISION-RELEVANT SCIENCE FOR WATER SECURITY:

An iterative process for targeting and

evaluating watershed investments

Adrian L. Vogl*, Joshua Goldstein, Rob McDonald, Perrine Hamel, Mary Ruckelshaus

* Natural Capital Project, Stanford University

Our Common Future Conference, 8 July 2015

[email protected]


OUTLINE

• Investments in Watershed Services (IWS) as a climate change adaptation strategy

• The benefits of and barriers to IWS

• Addressing the Information Gap through targeted decision support tools

• Examples

– Regional screening for IWS opportunities

– Designing efficient IWS to improve ecosystem services for beneficiaries

• Key Frontiers and ongoing challenges


INVESTMENTS IN WATERSHED

SERVICES:

AN EMERGING APPROACH TO WATER

SECURITY


Bennett &

Carroll 2014


Locations of Water

Funds (in operation as of

Jan 2014)

Created and operating

In design

EXPANDING WATER FUNDS

Sources: Latin American

Water Funds Partnership

Dashboard (Nov 2013);

TNC Internal Survey of

Water Funds (Dec 2013)

GET UPDATED

MAP fr SOWI 2014

doc


Bennett &

Carroll 2014


Photo by Leah Bremer

BENEFITS OF IWS

• Co-benefits for many environmental services

• Carbon emissions mitigation

• Retain options for future development and adaptation to changing climate conditions

• Potential to bring together diverse stakeholders & funding sources around a critical resource


BARRIERS TO IWS

Institutional – disconnect between providers and beneficiaries of land practices that enhance water security.

• Lack of incentives for cooperation

• Risk of non-traditional strategies

Markets – externalities in costs and benefits

• Full-cost accounting for water

• Knowledge of and support for creative financial mechanisms

Information – disconnect between scientific knowledge and decision support for assessing nature’s benefits.

• Tools and information targeted to decision context

• Comparable grey/green performance metrics

Modified from: Turner

& Daily 2008


ADDRESSING THE

INFORMATION GAP


Individual Households

Communities

Employees

Local Municipalities

Water Utilities

Watershed Councils

Corp. Facilities

Regional/

National Nations

States or Provinces

Regional Operations

Global Multi-laterals

Corporations

Dev. aid agencies

NGOs

ACTORS

WHO DECIDES?


- Assess IWS options

- Quantify co-benefits and

engage partners

- Assess ROI

- Design local IWS programs

- Monitor program impacts

- Design policies to

implement targets

- Create incentives for IWS

- Direct resources to

programs with highest ROI

- Monitor policy impacts

- Decide to

participate based on

information, capacity

and incentives

- Implement

according to site-

specific conditions

- Set sustainability goals

& IWS targets

- Influence policy

- Allocate infrastructure

funds to IWS

- Monitor progress

toward targets


Communities

Employees


Water Utilities

Watershed Councils

Corp. Facilities

Regional/

National Nations

States or Provinces

Regional Operations


Corporations

Dev. aid agencies

NGOs

ACTORS

ACTIONS

WHO DECIDES?


- Decide to



and incentives

- Implement

according to site-

specific conditions



engage partners

- Assess ROI




& IWS targets

- Influence policy


funds to IWS

- Monitor progress

toward targets


Communities

Employees


Water Utilities

Watershed Councils

Corp. Facilities


Corporations

Dev. aid agencies

NGOs



engage partners

- Assess ROI




implement targets





- Decide to



and incentives

- Implement

according to site-

specific conditions


& IWS targets

- Influence policy


funds to IWS

- Monitor progress

toward targets


Communities

Employees


Water Utilities

Watershed Councils

Corp. Facilities

Regional/

National Nations

States or Provinces

Regional Operations


Corporations

Dev. aid agencies

NGOs

ACTORS

ACTIONS

SCREENING: RISKS & OPPORTUNITIES


McDonald &

Shemie 2014


Area of reforestation to get a 10 percent reduction

in phosphorus, by city.

McDonald &

Shemie 2014


SOURCE WATER

PROTECTION SCREENING

WEB APPLICATION

• Update analyses (spatial connectivity, in-stream nutrient attenuation)

• Transform to web portal

• Launch in October 2015 at IWA



implement targets





- Decide to



and incentives

- Implement

according to site-

specific conditions


& IWS targets

- Influence policy


funds to IWS

- Monitor progress

toward targets


Communities

Employees

Regional/

National Nations

States or Provinces

Regional Operations


Corporations

Dev. aid agencies

NGOs

ACTORS

ACTIONS



engage partners

- Assess ROI




Water Utilities

Watershed Councils

Corp. Facilities

DESIGNING IWS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES


A STREAMLINED APPROACH FOR LATIN

AMERICAN WATER FUNDS

RIOS Core Team Advisory Group

Software Development Team

Science Team

Resource

Investment

Optimization

System


Biophysical

effectiveness


Biophysical

effectiveness

Feasible

activities

Stakeholder

preferences


Biophysical

effectiveness

Feasible

activities

Stakeholder

preferences

Cost data

Budget

Investment

Portfolio


EXAMPLE UPPER TANA – NAIROBI

WATER FUND, KENYA

Drinking water for 4 million people, 60%

of Nairobi’s energy

Objectives: Improve sediment retention

(water quality) and dry season

baseflow (water supply)

Activities:

• Terracing

• Grass strips

• Road mitigation

• Reforestation

• Agroforestry

• Riparian management


Sagana

Maragua

Thika-Chania

3.0M

4.5M

2.5M

Investment Portfolios $10 million USD


CONCLUSIONS

• New methods to make information accessible and decision-ready are critical

– stakeholder and policymaker engagement is key

• Information itself is not enough – also requires high-level policy support for

– “risky” institutional and financial mechanisms

– broader array of acceptable performance metrics for infrastructure performance

– financial and regulatory incentives to increase corporate engagement


LINKS

• Urban Water Blueprint results: http://water.nature.org/waterblueprint/

• RIOS model: http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/RIOS.html

• Nairobi Water Fund application: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/explore/nairobi-water-fund.xml

http://water.nature.org/waterblueprint/

http://water.nature.org/waterblueprint/

http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/RIOS.html

http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/RIOS.html

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/explore/nairobi-water-fund.xml







Heather Tallis, Stacie Wolny, Fernando Veiga, Paulo Petry, Juan Sebastián Lozano,

Silvia Benitez, Jorge Leon, Rich Sharp, James Douglass, Leah Bremer, Eddie Game

Special thanks to the Water Funds Working Group, the Latin American Water Funds

Platform, The Nature Conservancy, Water Funds Secretariats, Staff and Partners.

Funding provided by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Vogl al 20150708_1730_upmc_jussieu_-_room_103

Science

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