Primary Functions
- Visualize critical watershed information
- Identify threats to watershed health
- Screen for sustainable natural infrastructure solutions
Detailed Description
Water is critical for economic development around the world—from the parched farmlands of eastern Africa, to growing cities across India and Brazil that rely on hydropower for reliable electricity, to communities in the western United States that continue to grapple with water scarcity and catastrophic wildfires. Intensifying water stress demands a new paradigm for water resources management that prioritizes holistic and integrated solutions. At the center of such an approach is natural infrastructure.
Natural infrastructure uses landscape management strategies like restoration, conservation and sustainable management to provide essential services like clean and abundant water supply, aquifer recharge and flood control. WRI is dedicated to scaling up these smart and cost-effective strategies, which support rural communities while also enabling sustainable development in an increasingly urbanizing world. We leverage WRI’s geospatial mapping like Global Forest Watch and economic expertise to track water risks; unveil natural infrastructure opportunities; and inform, finance, and scale smart strategies to secure water resources.
Through our projects spanning across North and South America, Africa, and Asia, we convene and empower champions at all levels of decision-making. We provide the cutting-edge data and best practice guidance to put natural infrastructure into action. We steward collective learning through extensive networks of water utility managers, conservationists, businesses, financial institutions and governments united behind a common goal: to enhance water security and bolster economic development through landscape restoration and conservation.
