Measuring watershed health – Madre de Dios River basin

Measuring watershed health: training conservation planners how to use biophysical tools for monitoring streams in neo-tropical ecosystems Watersheds are the natural building blocks of conservation areas. They are the sources of the clean fresh water that is the life’s blood of all living things, from the largest mammals to the smallest microorganisms. And because they are also the drainage systems for all activities on the land, their streams and rivers are sensitive and accurate barometers of the ecosystem’s health. Yet, despite the critical role that water plays in the life and biodiversity of conserved areas, little is known about the condition of the streams and rivers that convey it to the Andes-Amazon region. The absence of such knowledge has meant that the quality and quantity of fresh water have typically not been included in conservation plans, with the result that landowners, conservation workers, and policy makers have lacked an invaluable tool to help them establish conservation priorities, measure the success of conservation efforts, and calculate the true value of conserved land. The goal of the Stroud Center’s project was to demonstrate the feasibility and value of using information on water quality, water monitoring, and stream health to support and strengthen th