Global WaterQuarterly Review

Issue 5March 2017

To achieve lasting and impactful change, we need to take action at a global scale. This means bringing

our solutions to new regions, identifying and pulling critical international levers, and sharing our knowledge with partners so they are able to replicate our successes

on their own. We see this as our mission, as a global team.

In this issue, we showcase projects protecting our world’s most precious natural resource by addressing

issues of river connectivity, watershed degradation and water scarcity both at the place-based and global level. These projects are intended to shed light on our global

mission, but throughout this next year, we’ll explore how we can fulfill our role more robustly in service of our regional staff and The Nature Conservancy’s

conservation agenda, at large.

We look forward to continuing our journey.

“Water is the driving force

of all nature.” - Leonardo da Vinci

of river channel with the potential for improved outcomes from Hydropower by Design and

other environmental best practices

100,000 km

In February, The Nature Conservancy provided Hydropower by Design training to Vietnamese Ministers in order to influence the trajectory of energy development in the Mekong region.

The System-Scale Water-Energy Planning Workshop at the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam (DAV) was convened by the Stimson Center and the U.S. Embassy to introduce Vietnamese Ministers to the idea of influencing regional energy development – particularly in Laos – to take a more socially and ecologically sustainable approach than the current trajectory. If Laos completes construction of their currently planned dams, then the Mekong River Delta’s fish harvest is projected to decrease by at least 50 percent.

Eloise Kendy, Senior Freshwater Scientist with The Nature Conservancy, presented on our Power of Rivers report and the implementation of Hydropower by Design with an emphasis on the Mekong region. In regions undergoing rapid hydropower development, like the Mekong, The Nature Conservancy applies a framework called “Hydropower by Design” to inform decisions about dam siting, design, and operation to minimize environmental and social impacts while maximizing regional power production. Collectively, these approaches identify pathways for river management, conservation and sustainable development that can most effectively balance society’s multiple needs. Communities will continue

to use rivers for generating energy and more, but by making better-informed decisions, they can also protect and restore healthy rivers and the services they provide.

Attendees concluded that both financial and technical capacity will be needed to lead a regional power planning effort. Moreover, all parties need to be convinced of the financial advantages of Hydropower by Design before they would be willing to support it.

In May, The Nature Conservancy will release a sequel to its Power of Rivers report, which will examine how sustainably-developed hydropower can offer a range of economic benefits to countries, as well as financial benefits to developers and investors. In essence, the Conservancy will develop a ‘business case’ to support Hydropower by Design and sustainable hydropower practices more broadly.

The report has the potential to ignite a conversation between governments in the region, and, in conjunction with the DAV workshop, it could be the start of a foundation to conduct a comprehensive Hydropower by Design approach in the Greater Mekong Region.

EXPANDING THE REACH OF HYDROPOWER BY DESIGNCONNECTIVITY + KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Yunnan, China © Ami Vitale

SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING IN COLOMBIA

CONNECTIVITY + POLICY LEVERAGE

USING MODELING TOOLS TO BRIDGE THE POLICY GAP

An in-depth look into Colombia’s new, innovative modeling tool,

SIMA.

Magdalena River Basin, Colombia© 2008 Bridget Besaw

After four years of providing technical guidance on Colombia’s project evaluation process, The Nature Conservancy-NASCA has signed an agreement with ANLA, the Colombian national authority for environmental licenses, to support system-scale assessments of hydropower development in priority regions in Colombia.

Roughly the size of Texas and Oklahoma combined, Colombia is the second most biologically diverse country on Earth, harboring one of every ten species of plants and animals on the planet. Colombia’s rich natural resources are helping to drive its expanding economy, and its government views the Magdalena River Basin as their economic engine.

It produces 80% of the country’s GDP and generates 75% of the country’s agricultural production, including 90% of Colombia’s coffee crop and the majority of the country’s commercial fisheries. Its mountainous areas, moors and lakes are the main source of drinking water for 35 million people, but beyond its natural and economic importance, the Magdalena is the cultural heart of Colombia.

SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING IN COLOMBIA

To ensure the sustainable development of the region, in December 2016, TNC-NASCA agreed to support the creation of a method that ANLA can use to evaluate the cumulative impacts of hydropower development in Colombia.

At the heart of this method is SIMA, a state-of-the-art tool for integrated decision-making in the Magdalena Basin developed by the TNC-NASCA team. The basin currently has 35 built projects with an additional 101 planned as identified in a general national inventory, and while promising to bring new resources to the country, rapid and poorly planned hydropower development could have high ecological and social costs, disturbing the natural river flows that underpin the health of wildlife and people.

To ensure the continued health of the region, SIMA allows for the comparison of potential future development scenarios and provides science-based input on how to avoid or minimize potential impacts.

Photo Credits, top to bottom Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Colombia © 2009 Timothy Boucher/The Nature ConservancyAndes, Colombia, Diego Ochoa © 2007 The Nature Conservancy Endangered Cottontop Tamarin, Santa Catalina, Colombia © 2008 Bridget BesawCoffee Beans, Colombia Diego Ochoa © 2007 The Nature Conservancy

Opposite PageParque Nacional Natural Sierra de Chiribiquete, Colombia © Erika Nortemann/The Nature Conservancy

A promising outcome of this joint effort arose from a basin-scale impact analysis on the development of the Cañafisto dam, a 1 GW hydroelectric plant located in the Antioquia region. ANLA originally denied the license to develop this project, but the proponent of the dam issued a request for revision of the decision.

In January, ANLA again denied the license and, this time, cited the results of SIMA’s system-scale assessment, which explored options to increase the installed capacity of hydropower in the entire Colombian national energy system. SIMA’s assessment suggested that building the Cañafisto dam would have comparatively large, negative environmental effects, impacting, among other ecosystems, the Tropical Dry Forest, a priority ecosystem for Colombia and an

important corridor for endemic species.

The decision from ANLA also included supporting contributions from the Humboldt Institute and Corantioquia, a regional environmental authority, who determined that part of the area affected by the dam construction was to be defined as a protected regional reserve.

If the project is proposed again in the future, TNC-NASCA expects that SIMA and, consequently, system-scale planning for hydropower development, will be a part of the decision-making process.

SIMA will be publically launched on March 28, 2017 in Bogotá.

SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING IN COLOMBIA

For more information, contact Juliana Delgado, NASCA Infrastructure Coordinator, jdelgado@tnc.org

The Magdalena River

PROVIDES

80% 75% million

people with drinking

water90%

of Colombia’s GDP

of Colombia’s agricultural production

of Colombia’s coffee crop production

35

Laohegou Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China © Nick Hall

In Western Colorado, The Nature Conservancy has joined with farmers, municipalities and other partners to test a large-scale approach to temporarily reduce water use in order to avoid shortages and provide certainty to water users while keeping more water in the river.

Most people know the Colorado River for its iconic landscapes, but it is also an incredibly hard-working river. It supports cities, industry and the economy of an entire region. While the river is critically important for people, it is also essential for plants and animals in this arid part of the United States. But all of this is at risk. Demands on the river exceed supply and the river has been stretched to the breaking point.

In April 2017, the Conservancy will launch a pilot project with the Grand Valley Water Users Association, the biggest irrigation provider in the valley. For the first time, the Conservancy will be contracting with a large-scale irrigation water provider rather than with individual farmers. In turn, the Grand Valley Water Users Association, known and trusted by the agricultural community, will contract with individual farmers to forgo irrigation in return for monetary compensation. The project’s 10 participants

will reduce irrigation on 1,250 acres, creating 3,200 acre-feet (about a billion gallons) of water savings that will improve river flows and provide system-wide benefits.

“We are very excited about this project,” said Aaron Derwingson, the Agricultural Coordinator for the Conservancy’s Colorado River Program. “Not only will it test the nuts and bolts of this approach, but it shows that working closely with agricultural producers and water managers to design the program is critical to its success.”

If successful, The Nature Conservancy plans to replicate this approach in other watersheds within the Colorado River Basin and across the Western United States to enhance water security for agricultural communities and keep more water in the river to support important freshwater ecosystems.

TACKLING WATER SHORTAGEWORKING WITH FARMERS TO PROTECT THE COLORADO RIVER

WATER SCARCITY + AGRICULTURE

More than 50% of the world’s cities and 75% of all irrigated farms are experiencing

water shortages on a recurring basis

Grand Junction, CO © Ken Geiger/The Nature Conservancy

About 50% of all cloud forests sit inside hydropower watersheds, driving a

US$30-40 billion green infrastructure opportunity

WATERSHED DEGRADATION + HYDROPOWER

The Cloud Forest Blue Energy Initiative, a joint venture between Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, was selected as a top three finalist out of over 125 submissions for the Climate Policy Initiative’s Global Lab for Innovation Finance.

Hydropower operators are in a tight spot. Climate change is upending their long-term hydrological models due to changing and less predictable weather patterns. Meanwhile, forest loss in tropical ecosystems is creating massive sedimentation issues that threaten the efficacy of operators’ reservoir “batteries”. The net result is a less resilient renewable energy supply. This is particularly vexing for Latin American economies, many of whose energy grids are more than 75% reliant on hydroelectric energy generation.

Cloud forests can offer a solution. These tropical montane ecosystems with persistent cloud cover provide significant watershed benefits such as catchment flow generation and sedimentation management. Moreover, they are among the world’s most biologically diverse and dense ecosystems. Approximately half of all cloud forests sit inside hydropower watersheds, and while they represent a small total surface area, they generate 21% of available tropical surface water, driving a US$30-40 billion green infrastructure opportunity. Preserving and restoring these cloud forests will generate three sources of value – increased flows & energy dispatch flexibility will enhance revenue, while sedimentation management will reduce costs.

The Nature Conservancy already has operational water funds in Latin America where enabling conditions - cloud forests and hydropower - coincide. Winning this competition ignites a six-month process of preparing the idea for a global consortium of climate finance funders, which could expand the opportunity for these water funds where we already have established relationships. The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance identifies, develops, and pilots transformative climate finance instruments that can drive billions of dollars of private investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. The Global Lab is funded by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the U.S. Department of State, the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

The International Hydropower Association has asked The Nature Conservancy to present the Cloud Forest Blue Energy Initiative at a symposium at the upcoming Hydropower World Congress in May.

JOINING FORCES FOR PEOPLE & NATURETHE CLOUD FOREST BLUE ENERGY INITIATIVE

São Rafael Falls, Amazon, Brazil© 2011 Carlos Villalón

BEYOND THE SOURCE

WATERSHED DEGRADATION + SCIENCE

EXPLORING THE CO-BENEFITS OF SOURCE WATER PROTECTION

An in-depth look into The Nature Conservancy’s new report, BEYOND THE SOURCE.

Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica © Sergio Pucci/The Nature Conservancy

BEYOND THE SOURCECO-BENEFITS OF SOURCE WATER PROTECTION

The Nature Conservancy’s new report, Beyond the Source, quantifies the global potential co-benefits of source water protection for people and nature.

We live on a blue planet where about 70 percent of our world is covered by water, but where less than 1 percent of it is easily accessible and drinkable. The freshwater that reaches your tap has a long journey from source to faucet, and its quality is directly dependent on the landscapes through which the water moves. Good land management can promote water filtration, generate more reliable downstream flows, and reduce the amount of sediments and nutrients that can make their way into the rivers, springs and aquifers that feed urban water supplies.

Unfortunately, many of our lands around the world are not always managed well, which leads to impaired downstream reservoirs. Deforestation, poor agricultural

practices and other land uses have led to moderate to high degradation in 40 percent of the world’s urban source watersheds. Water quality and quantity challenges have typically been met with the addition of more gray infrastructure – including aqueducts, reservoirs and treatment plants – to move and treat water for human and industrial purposes. But the path to water security doesn’t have to be lined exclusively in concrete.

Improving the health of the lands around our water sources, a strategy called source water protection, can improve water quality, restore reliable water flows and bring added benefits to local ecosystems and communities.

The Nature Conservancy’s new global report, “Beyond the Source: The environmental, economic and community benefits of source water protection,” demonstrates how nature-based solutions for source water protection can reduce water treatment costs, while simultaneously providing important co-benefits - carbon mitigation, climate resilience, human health and well-being, and biodiversity – for people and nature.

Of the more than 4,000 cities analyzed, four out of five could meaningfully reduce sediment and nutrient pollution in their waterways if they employ at least one of three source water protection activities - forest protection, reforestation of

pastureland and planting cover crops. The Nature Conservancy found that one in six cities could recoup the cost of implementing source water protection activities through savings in annual water treatment costs alone. Further, half of the cities analyzed could implement these activities for only US$2 per person annually.

Even cities that don’t break even on utility costs may realize great value by ‘stacking’ other co-benefits of source water protection on top of their savings in water treatment costs.

The path to water security is not exclusively lined in concrete.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ©iStock./EduLeite

BIODIVERSITY CLIMATE RESILIENCE

HUMAN HEALTH & WELL-BEINGCARBON MITIGATION

More than three-fourths of urban source watersheds are within regions of high species diversity combined with high

concentrations of species unique to those regions. Source water protection can play

an important role in protecting habitat for both terrestrial and aquatic plant and

animal species.

Changes in the hydrological cycle driven by climate change have resulted in

increased incidences of both drought and flooding. Models predict increased soil

erosion in 83 percent of source watersheds by mid-century and increased fire

frequency in 24 percent.

Source water protection activities can reduce the transmission of water-borne diseases, and protect natural habitat for bees and other pollinating insects which

are crucial for the production of fruit and vegetable crops that deliver essential micronutrients to millions of people

around the world.

Restoring and protecting forests help capture and avoid the release of carbon.

With 64 percent of the total carbon in tropical above-ground biomass located

in source watersheds, preserving these ecosystems is a vital part of a

comprehensive mitigation strategy.

NATURE CAN HELP.The report explores how water funds can be a successful mechanism for downstream water users to fund upstream land conservation and restoration practices, providing an option on how to sustainably accomplish such beneficial results.

As cities and populations grow, and climate change puts undue pressure on vulnerable freshwater systems, maintaining healthy lands that support our water sources will be increasingly vital to a future with water security. By investing in nature, we also invest in our future.

Download the report at nature.org/beyondthesource or visit www.protectingwater.org to explore the data using an interactive map.

BEYOND THE SOURCECO-BENEFITS OF SOURCE WATER PROTECTION

Photo Credits, left to right: Aracari, Brazil © Shutterstock/Cuson; Sao Felix Do Xingu, Pará, Brazil © Kevin Arnold; Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico © 2010 Alan Eckert Photography

Cover Photo: Colorado River © Nick Hall Inside Cover Photo: Una River, Bosnia © Ken Geiger/The Nature Conservancy