Securing Water for Ecosystems and Human Well-being: The Importance of Environmental Flows
Water resource managers today face the complex task of balancing economic development and social welfare while ensuring the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Ecosystem services, often undervalued, play a crucial role in supporting human well-being, from providing clean water and food to regulating floods and erosion. Economic valuation and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanisms offer ways to recognize the value of ecosystem services and incentivize their conservation. Climate change exacerbates the challenge by altering flow regimes, highlighting the importance of environmental flows for ecosystem resilience and adaptation. Incorporating environmental flow considerations into water resource management is essential for achieving sustainable development goals and poverty alleviation.
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