Framing Scenarios of Binational Water Policy with a Tool to Visualize, Quantify and Valuate Changes in Ecosystem Services

Water

Laura M. Norman²  Miguel L. Villarreal²  Rewati Niraula¹  Thomas Meixner¹  George Frisvold³ 

[1] Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; E-Mails:;U.S. Geological Survey, Western Geographic Science Center, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: ecosystem services;    effluent;    scenario analysis;    water policy;    public value;    riparian change;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w5030852

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, an international wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater from cities on both sides of the border, before discharging it into the river in Arizona. These artificial flows often subsidize important perennial surface water ecosystems in the region. An explicit understanding of the benefits of maintaining instream flow for present and future generations requires the ability to assess and understand the important trade-offs implicit in water-resource management decisions. In this paper, we outline an approach for modeling and visualizing impacts of management decisions in terms of rare terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, vegetation, surface water, groundwater recharge, real-estate values and socio-environmental vulnerable communities. We identify and quantify ecosystem services and model the potential reduction in effluent discharge to the U.S. that is under scrutiny by binational water policy makers and of concern to stakeholders. Results of service provisioning are presented, and implications for policy makers and resource managers are discussed. This paper presents a robust ecosystem services assessment of multiple scenarios of watershed management as a means to discern eco-hydrological responses and consider their potential values for future generations living in the borderlands.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.