Why Watersheds?

restoring the wealth of the land

The world’s watersheds are currently facing ongoing anthropogenic threats that endanger their biological value and their ability to provide ecosystem services to countless communities and species. 

What is a Watershed?

Why are these ecosystems so important?

Watersheds provide critical benefits to our Ocean Planet both above and below ground. In fact, they can capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide at 10x the rate of a mature tropical forest by sequestering it in the ground for many years.

By storing carbon in the ground in its biomass and soils, watersheds provide improved soil structure and stability that leads to:

  • reduced soil erosion
  • improved soil biodiversity
  • increased nutrient holding and use capacity
  • increased water holding capacity
  • increased crop yields and profitability
  • and improved water quality in runoff into the ocean

Without healthy watersheds, the risk of pollutant and sediment loading are much higher, which can lead to decreased water supplies, water quality, and potentially devastating effects to the offshore local marine ecosystems.

However, despite all watersheds do for us, they are repeatedly degraded across the world by human activity, land use, deforestation, and high population growth. Additionally, climate change has continuously exacerbated the degradation of watersheds and is currently putting communities both upstream and downstream at risk. 

By restoring coastal watersheds around the world, we are not only preventing carbon from being released back into the atmosphere but also providing sustainable benefits for local communities who depend on these areas for survival

A UNIQUE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING

Threatened Globally

To learn more about our coastal watershed restoration projects, please visit the following pages on our website.