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Protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems requires sustainable and comprehensive watershed management that revalues, restores, and reconnects watersheds and delivers tangible benefits to communities and national stakeholders. Watershed management serves as a key operational approach, translating integrated planning into localized actions that improve ecological health and local outcomes.
Image Source: UNEP
United Nations Member States, through Resolution 6/13 of the 6th United Nations Environment Assembly (2024), stated that the world is not on track to achieve the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets globally by 2030. It called for the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) to be implemented at all levels. Watershed management, a vital component of IWRM, focuses on localized interventions within defined hydrological units for local benefit and ecological health.
In response, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the European Commission, is implementing the watershed project, “Sustainable protection and restoration of rivers, wetlands, and lakes through integrated, sustainable watershed management planning in Brazil and India.” The project seeks to build on established integrated water resources management approaches and home in on watershed management at the basin level to improve people’s lives. Through integrated and participatory approaches, it brings together diverse stakeholders to address water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus challenges within each basin and sub-basin, while assessing the scale and sources of pollution, groundwater depletion, flood risk, and potential climate change impacts.
Watershed management at the basin level is essential for improving well-being by protecting ecosystems, building climate resilience, and ensuring sustainable access to clean water and sanitation. It supports livelihoods, including agriculture, while honoring communities’ cultural and recreational values. Managing watersheds as interconnected systems promotes environmental health and socio-economic stability for present and future generations.
Reference:
United Nations Environment Programme (2025). Sustainable watershed management. Retrieved January 12, 2026 from https://www.unep.org/topics/fresh-water/water-resources-management/watershed-management
