Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Potential for Community-based Watershed Monitoring to Enhance Ecosystem Health and Watershed Governance in Canada
Abstract
Watershed monitoring is an essential component of watershed management; however, widespread federal and provincial decentralization efforts have resulted in reduced government funding for such monitoring. In response, communities are mobilizing to address this deficit in Canada by undertaking a practice called community-based watershed monitoring (CBWM). Although CBWM is being employed to address this gap, monitoring data collected by CBWM organizations remains underutilized by decision-makers in watershed governance. Moreover, CBWM organizations face significant challenges with knowledge exchange due to a lack of rigorous scientific protocols and high organizational turnover. At the same time, decision-makers are experiencing minimal capacity to utilize CBWM data due to restricted mandates and resources. Nonetheless, research suggests that communities significantly benefit from CBWM, but less evidence exists to confirm effects of CBWM activities on ecosystem health and there is scant literature about successful CBWM data integration. Anecdotal evidence regarding ecosystem benefits provided by CBWM exists in grey literature and on websites; however, more peer-reviewed literature must be established to support these claims. Uncertainty still remains regarding how to track the success of CBWM and watershed restoration efforts.The following license files are associated with this item:
- Creative Commons