Community-based planning and management for sustainable water supply in small watersheds of southern Chile

Background/Question/Methods

Water supply for human use in rural sectors of southern Chile, and other developing countries, is generally obtained from small streams. Current land use often generates problems of water quantity and quality, however local water users may not influence decisions of landowners upstream. Public institutions often work in an uncoordinated manner and do not provide tools or incentives to improve watershed management with water supply as a goal. In this context, a multidisciplinary team of experts and professionals (i.e. forester, hydrologist, agronomist, veterinarian, anthropologist, historian, journalist) developed a plan to implement Integrated Watershed Management, with the participation of local stakeholders. In this process, we made an effort to integrate the economic needs of landowners, allowing for land management within the catchments, without compromising the provision of water quality and quantity. The methodology used is a Participatory Model for Social Research, called Participant Action Research, a process that aims to develop questions, experiments, and disseminate the knowledge necessary to understand the problems and find socially acceptable solutions.

Results/Conclusions

In four areas of southern Chile (40° S), in the temperate forest region, we identified watersheds that supply water to local communities and began a community-based planning process. The multi-scale approach (stand, farm, watershed and landscape) allowed us to connect history, traditional land use, and its effects on water production and land cover. The multidisciplinary professional team supported decision-making through a participatory process, offering scientific and technical advice. We worked directly with stakeholders to improve production practices and create areas for riparian zone protection. In addition, training and environmental education helped improve knowledge of ecosystems, promoting a dialogue between traditional ecological knowledge and science. Monitoring of water quality and quantity, established with the support of the local university, determined that watersheds with native forest cover delivered better water quality and provided more sustainable stream flows than other land cover. Finally, we suggested a shift for current government support programs in rural areas, but without concrete results. This work sought to put into practice a new paradigm in human-nature relationship, which is based on considering human beings as part of ecosystems, and shows that integrated watershed management by multiple stakeholders can be achieved successfully through participatory research.