INSIDE STORY: 'Watershared' - Adaptation, mitigation, watershed protection and economic development in Latin America

This case study describes 'Watershared' (reciprocal watershed agreements), a grassroots, incentive-based conservation model used in Latin America to promote sustainable forest and water management through local negotiations and economic incentives.

• Watershared agreements are low-cost, grassroots tools for forest conservation in Latin American upland watersheds that use economic and non-economic incentives—such as irrigation systems, fruit tree seedlings, and beehives—to encourage sustainable management by upstream landowners for the benefit of downstream users.
• These agreements are designed to be flexible and accessible, avoiding national bureaucracy and red tape. Because formal land titles are not required, the model allows for the participation of poor people and enables participants to tailor implementation to local needs rather than national laws.
• Watershared agreements serve multiple goals, including climate change mitigation, adaptation, and economic development. They are financed by private sector enterprises and households—including cattle ranchers, irrigators, and water user associations—and have been shown to reduce local conflicts.

APA

Asquith, N. (2016). INSIDE STORY: 'Watershared' - Adaptation, mitigation, watershed protection and economic development in Latin America. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/resource/inside-story-watershared-adaptation-mitigation-watershed-protection-economic-development-latin-america

Chicago

Asquith, Nigel. INSIDE STORY: 'Watershared' - Adaptation, mitigation, watershed protection and economic development in Latin America. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. https://cdkn.org/resource/inside-story-watershared-adaptation-mitigation-watershed-protection-economic-development-latin-america.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Asquith |first1=Nigel |title=INSIDE STORY: 'Watershared' - Adaptation, mitigation, watershed protection and economic development in Latin America |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=17 June 2016 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/inside-story-watershared-adaptation-mitigation-watershed-protection-economic-development-latin-america |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{asquith2016inside, author = {Asquith, Nigel}, title = {{INSIDE STORY: 'Watershared' - Adaptation, mitigation, watershed protection and economic development in Latin America}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/inside-story-watershared-adaptation-mitigation-watershed-protection-economic-development-latin-america}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }