Watershed Sustainability in the Gulf of California

In Northwest Mexico, rivers conform a way of life that has forged the natural history of communities and wetlands of the Gulf of California. Still, every year, less freshwater flows reach the sea and most aquifers are overdrafted.

In 2010 we began the Regional Project for Watershed Sustainability with the purpose of promoting the sustainable use of water in the main rivers of the Gulf of California, thereby protecting biodiversity and securing instream flows. The main components of the project include:

• Integral assessment of the six main watersheds of the Gulf of California. Identification of management strategies and incentives that promote water use efficiency.
• Maintenance of instream flows.
• Develop strategies that respond to the needs of each watershed and influence, at different levels and dimensions, the use and management of hydrologic resources.

The first phase of the project includes the Colorado River, the Culiacan-Humaya river system, and the rivers that sustain the wetlands of Marismas Nacionales.