Watershed Conservation Research Articles

The Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Soil Conservation and Its Influencing Factors in the Ten Tributaries of the Upper Yellow River, China

Soil erosion is a global environmental problem, and soil conservation is the prevention of soil loss from erosion. The Ten Kongduis (kongdui is the translation of “short-term flood gullies” in Mongolian) are ten tributaries in the upper Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin. The study of the spatial and temporal variability in soil conservation in the Ten Kongduis is of extraordinary scientific significance both in terms of the discipline and for the ecological and environmental management of the region. With the InVEST model, the characteristics of the spatial and temporal variations in soil conservation service in the Ten Kongduis since 2000 and how rainfall and land use have influenced soil conservation were analyzed. The results show that both avoided erosion and avoided export varied considerably between years. The minimum values of avoided erosion and avoided export were both in 2015, with values of 17.59 × 106 t and 0.92 × 106 t, respectively. The maximum value of avoided erosion was 57.03 × 106 t in 2020 and that of avoided export was 4.08 × 106 t in 2000. Spatially, avoided export was primarily found in the upper reaches of the east–central portion of the study area, and avoided erosion, with values of >40 t·(ha·yr)−1, was in the upper east–central portion of the study area, followed by the upper west–central portion. The difference between upstream and downstream was larger in the western part of the study area. The effect of rainfall was dominant and positive in both avoided erosion and avoided export. The relationships between the rain erosivity factor and the values of avoided erosion and avoided export were significantly positive. Where more erosion occurs, more erosion is retained. Soil that has been eroded away from slopes under vegetation or other water conservation measures may not necessarily be transported to the stream channel in the current year. These conclusions will help us to have a clearer understanding of where sediments are generated and transported and provide a scientific basis for soil and water conservation and ecosystem safety management of watersheds.

Determining the Economic Benefit of Watershed Conservation for Urban Water Supply Based on Scarcity rent for Water and Consumer Surplus

Determining the Economic Benefit of Watershed Conservation for Urban Water Supply Based on Scarcity rent for Water and Consumer Surplus

Advancing multiple ecosystem service assessment in the tropics: Evidence from Barekese and Owabi watersheds in Ghana

Watershed ecosystems are important for the provision of multiple ecosystem services (ES) that are critical to human welfare. Few studies particularly in the tropics assess the multiple ecosystem services, economic value, and effect of land use change on economic value. This paper provides evidence of the quantitative. economic value and effect of land use change on the economic value of watershed ESs from Barekese and Owabi in Ghana. Geospatial analysis and the stated preference method were used for the study. Primary and secondary data were collected from households, institutions, and other sources to quantify and estimate ecosystem services. The geospatial analysis showed that forest degradation and deforestation have increased over the last three decades in the watershed with settlements and cropland being the major land use changes. The two watersheds provide many ecosystem services, including provisioning services (water, fuelwood, bushmeat, fish), regulating services (carbon sequestration, water supply, water purification, soil fertility), and cultural services (ecotourism). An aggregated economic value for the ESs of GH₵ 707.701 x 106 ($144.428 x 106) was estimated for the two watersheds. For the different sites, the economic value for the Barekese and Owabi watersheds were $110.645 x 106 ($6609.06/ha/yr) and $33.783 x 106 ($5857.76/ha/yr) respectively. Our analysis showed that conversion of forest to other land uses resulted in a significant reduction in the value of ecosystem services. Conversion of the watershed to Tree Crop, Food Crop, Grassland or Settlement could reduce the economic value of ESs by 4%–80 %. The study demonstrates that ecosystem services assessment could provide important information for conservation and development policies related to watershed management in the tropics. To ensure ecosystem service supply, the risks of land use change should be considered in watershed conservation strategies including land use zoning and adaptive management systems.

Integrated machine learning and geospatial analysis enhanced gully erosion susceptibility modeling in the Erer watershed in Eastern Ethiopia

Land degradation from gully erosion poses a significant threat to the Erer watershed in Eastern Ethiopia, particularly due to agricultural activities and resource exploitation. Identifying erosion-prone areas and underlying factors using advanced machine learning algorithms (MLAs) and geospatial analysis is crucial for addressing this problem and prioritizing adaptive and mitigating strategies. However, previous studies have not leveraged machine learning (ML) and GIS-based approaches to generate susceptibility maps identifying these areas and conditioning factors, hindering sustainable watershed management solutions. This study aimed to predict gully erosion susceptibility (GES) and identify underlying areas and factors in the Erer watershed. Four ML models, namely, XGBoost, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and artificial neural network (ANN), were integrated with geospatial analysis using 22 geoenvironmental predictors and 1,200 inventory points (70% used for training and 30% for testing). Model performance and robustness were validated through the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, kappa coefficient, F1 score, and logarithmic loss. The relative slope position is most influential, with 100% importance in SVM and RF and 95% importance in XGBoost, while annual rainfall (AR) dominated ANN (100% importance). Notably, XGBoost demonstrated robustness and superior prediction/mapping, achieving an AUC of 0.97, 91% accuracy, 92% precision, and 81% kappa while maintaining a low logloss (0.0394). However, SVM excelled in classifying gully resistant/susceptible areas (97% sensitivity, 98% specificity, and 91% F1 score). The ANN model predicted the most areas with very high gully susceptibility (13.74%), followed by the SVM (11.69%), XGBoost (10.65%), and RF (7.85%) models, while XGBoost identified the most areas with very low susceptibility (70.19%). The ensemble technique was employed to further enhance GES modeling, and it outperformed the individual models, achieving an AUC of 0.99, 93.5% accuracy, 92.5% precision, 97.5% sensitivity, 95.4% specificity, 85.8% kappa, and 94.9% F1 score. This technique also classified the GES of the watershed as 36.48% very low, 26.51% low, 16.24% moderate, 11.55% high, and 9.22% very high. Furthermore, district-level analyses revealed the most susceptible areas, including the Babile, Fedis, Harar, and Meyumuluke districts, with high GES areas of 32.4%, 21.3%, 14.3%, and 13.6%, respectively. This study offers robust and flexible ML models with comprehensive validation metrics to enhance GES modeling and identify gully prone areas and factors, thereby supporting decision-making for sustainable watershed conservation and land degradation prevention.

Comparative analysis of RUSLE and SWPT for sub-watershed conservation prioritization in the Ayu watershed, Abay basin, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is currently facing a major environmental problem caused by soil erosion. In order to tackle this problem, it is essential to implement a comprehensive watershed management approach and give priority to conservation efforts depending on the level of severity. Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the mean annual soil erosion and rank the sub-watersheds for conservations in the Ayu watershed, utilizing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and the Sub-Watershed Prioritization Tool (SWPT). RUSLE was utilized to predict the annual average soil erosion rate, while SWPT was applied to conduct Weighted Sum Analysis (WSA) for ranking sub-watersheds. Support Vector Machine (SVM) was employed for classifying land use and land cover. The Relative importance of morphometric and topo-hydrologic features in the SWPT was analyzed using a Random Forest model. The Bland-Altman plot and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were employed to assess the agreement in prioritizing watersheds between RUSLE results and the SWPT. Furthermore, field observations were conducted to validate the land use classification by collecting ground data. In addition, the study was enhanced with local viewpoints by conducting focus group discussions with agricultural experts and farmers to obtain qualitative insights and validation of resuts. The findings showed that soil loss varied from 0 to 110 t/ha/yr, with an average of 8.95 t/ha/yr, resulting in a total loss of 384365.3 tons annually. The comparison of RUSLE and SWPT showed a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.59). The results of the Bland-Altman plot indicate a consistent agreement between the two methods. However, there is inconsistency among the five sub watersheds. This study enhances the knowledge of soil erosion patterns and offers useful guidance for watershed conservation techniques. It can be also used as a beneficial framework for managing watersheds, with possible uses outside of the Ayu watershed.

Agricultural watershed conservation and optimization using a participatory hydrological approach.

Maximizing the impact of agricultural wastewater conservation practices (CP) to achieve total maximum daily load (TMDL) scenarios in agricultural watersheds is a challenge for the practitioners. The complex modeling requirements of sophisticated hydrologic models make their use and interpretation difficult, preventing the inclusion of local watershed stakeholders' knowledge in the development of optimal TMDL scenarios. The present study develops a seamless modeling approach to transform the complex modeling outcomes of Hydrologic Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) into a simplified participatory framework for developing optimized management scenarios. The study evaluates seven conservation practices in the Pomme de Terre watershed in Minnesota, USA, focusing on sediment and phosphorus pollutant load reductions incorporating farmers' opinions to guide practitioners toward implementing cost-effective CPs. Results show reduced tillage and filter strips are the most cost-effective practices for non-point source pollution reduction, followed by conservation cover perennials. The integration of SAM with HSPF is crucial for sustainable field-scale implementation of conservation practices through enhanced involvement of amateur-modeling stakeholders and farmers directly connected to fields.

Willingness to Pay for Watershed Services by Downstream Water Users in Babati District, Tanzania

Payment for Ecosystem Services promotes watershed management through Payment for Watershed Services. It encourages improved land management practices in upstream areas to enhance the quantity and quality of water downstream. The Nou Forest Reserve in Babati district covers Lake Manyara's headwaters. Its rivers are the primary water source for the area's inhabitants. However, there have been reports of declining water quality and quantity, presenting an opportunity to introduce payment for watershed services for Nou Forest Reserve conservation and management. The present study was conducted to assess the level of awareness among downstream water users about the importance of watersheds in providing sustainable water supply. Using the Contingent Valuation Method, the study estimated the communities’ willingness to pay for improved watershed services, analysed factors influencing capacity to pay, and examined possible operational modes for implementing payment mechanisms. A total of 155 domestic water users and 50 non-domestic water users were interviewed. It was found that 71% of domestic water users and 82% of non-domestic water users were willing to pay for improved watershed services, with a mean willingness to pay estimated at TAS 1261 per user/year for domestic water users and TAS 112322 per user/year for non-domestic water users. Factors such as gender, occupation, education, and farm size significantly (P<0.05) influenced water users' willingness to pay. Income was a significant factor in the willingness to pay for non-domestic water users, but it was not significant for domestic water users. The current study suggests that downstream water users in Babati district, who act as watershed service buyers, could collect a water user fee based on estimated amounts. This approach would help address declining water quality and quantity through improved watershed management and thus enhance watershed conservation and management.

Ecosystem-based management approaches for watershed conservation and geosustainability

When contributors' goals and legislative and political structures vary, as they often do in the case of worldwide fish populations, it becomes more challenging to implement ethical fishing tactics. Canada, the United States, and Mexico all fish from Pacific regions anchovies in the California Modern. Climate-driven numbers and geographic dynamics may pollute the waters of collaborative aquaculture and lead to overloading. This research expands upon prior works using a game theoretic model of Tran's boundary sardine fisheries in different climatic conditions to account for ecological links. More significant economic advantages accrue from cooperation fishing tactics that consider the mackerel's role as feed for other species in the natural system, as opposed to plans that merely take note of the worth of mackerel harvests to a particular fishing nation. The maximum environmental benefit is obtained at a fishery rate for sardines barely less than the sardine Fishery Management Safe Yield. Ecological-based control of fisheries can increase sustainability and profits, but only if investors and policy makers consider the ecology in business-applicable models. Understanding and adapting to the fast alterations in habitat distributions due to climate change and designing ways to achieve viable and lucrative fishery amidst altering environments will necessitate an increased emphasis on ecosystem-based governance.

Machine learning models for gully erosion susceptibility assessment in the Tensift catchment, Haouz Plain, Morocco for sustainable development

Gully erosion is a widespread environmental danger, threatening global socio-economic stability and sustainable development. This study comprehensively applied seven machine learning (ML) models including SVM, KNN, RF, XGBoost, ANN, DT, and LR, and evaluated gully erosion susceptibility in the Tensift catchment and predict it within the Haouz plain, Morocco. To ensure the reliability of the findings, the study employed a robust combination of gully erosion inventory, sentinel images, and Digital Surface Model. Eighteen predictors, encompassing topographical, geomorphological, environmental, and hydrological factors, were selected after multicollinearity analyses. The gully erosion susceptibility of the study revealed that approximately 28.18% of the Tensift catchment is at a very high risk of erosion. Furthermore, 15.13% and 31.28% of the catchment are categorized as low and very low respectively. These findings extend to the Haouz plain, where 7.84% of the surface area are very highly risking erosion, while 18.25% and 55.18% are characterized as low and very low risk areas. To gauge the performance of the ML models, an array of metrics including specificity, precision, sensitivity, and accuracy were employed. The study highlights XGBoost and KNN as the most promising models, achieving AUC ROC values of 0.96 and 0.93 in the test phase. The remaining models namely RF (AUC ROC = 0.89), LR (AUC ROC = 0.80), SVM (AUC ROC = 0.81), DT (AUC ROC = 0.86), and ANN (AUC ROC = 0.78), also displayed commendable performance. The novelty of this research is its innovative approach to combat gully erosion through cutting edge ML models, offering practical solutions for watershed conservation, sustainable management, and the prevention of land degradation. These insights are invaluable for addressing the challenges posed by gully erosion within the region, and beyond its geographical boundaries and can be used for defining appropriate mitigation strategies at local to national scale.

Unpacking place-based narratives: enhancing campus community participation in watershed conservation

Purpose The study aims to identify the evoked “sense of place” that the campus community attributes to a watershed area in a Malaysian higher institution, aiming to enhance their participation in watershed conservation. Central to this objective is the incorporation of the concept of a watershed as a place, serving as the conceptual framework for analysis. Design/methodology/approach This case study explores an urban lake at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia’s oldest higher institution. It uses diverse qualitative data, including document analysis, semi-structured interviews, vox-pop interviews and a co-production workshop, to generate place-based narratives reflecting the meanings and values that staff and students associate with the watershed. Thematic analysis is then applied for further examination. Findings The data patterns reveal shared sense of place responses on: campus as a historic place, student, staff and campus identity, in-place learning experiences and interweaving of community well-being and watershed health. Recommendations advocate translating these narratives into campus sustainability communication through empirical findings and continuous co-production of knowledge and strategies with the campus community. Practical implications The research findings play a critical role in influencing sustainable campus planning and community inclusion by integrating place-based frameworks into sustainable development and watershed management. The study recommends the process of identifying place-based narratives with implications for the development of sustainability communication in a campus environment. Originality/value This paper contributes both conceptually and empirically to the sustainable management of a campus watershed area through place-based thinking. It outlines a process for enhancing campus sustainability communication strategies.

Modeling Landscape Influence on Stream Baseflows for Watershed Conservation

Instream flows are vital to the ecology of riverine and riparian systems. The influence of watershed characteristics on these systems is helpful in developing landscape policies to maintain these flows. Watershed characteristics like precipitation, forest cover, impervious cover, soil drainage, and slope affect baseflows. Spatial analysis using GIS and nonlinear regression analysis is used to analyze spatial and temporal information from gauged watersheds in Massachusetts to quantify the relationship between baseflows and watershed metrics. The marginal functions of landscape factors that reflect changes in baseflow are quantified. This information is then applied to watershed policy toward improving base flows. The interactions of three fixed attributes, soil drainage, rainfall incidence, and slope, are analyzed for the manageable landscape attributes of impervious and forest cover. Developing watershed policy to protect baseflows involves evaluating the complex interactions and functional relationships between these landscape factors and their use in watershed conservation planning.

Community perception to pay for conservation of Barekese and Owabi watersheds in Ghana

There is growing concern globally to conserve natural systems including watersheds due to increasing forest degradation and deforestation. The Barekese and Owabi watersheds provide several ecosystem services to communities, health facilities and industries. The watersheds are found in a rapidly degrading environment due to increasing anthropogenic activities. This paper addressed the neglected, but critical, question of the importance of watershed ecosystem services. The objective of the study was to determine willingness of households in downstream communities to pay for watershed conservation and the drivers of WTP. Households were willing to pay a mean of $1.5 ± 0.2 additional on their monthly water bills. Quotations for Willingness to pay varied from as low as $0.02 to as high as $ 20.58 per month. Age, household size and years of residence were significantly related with willingness to pay, amount to pay and reasons for protest bids. The younger generations and women were ready to pay extra amount for watershed management. The results indicated that downstream communities are willing to support conservation and that demographic factors influence the amount people are willing to pay. The concept of WTP is useful and applicable to conservation of watersheds in the tropics through the design and implementation of PES schemes. It also provides important information for conservation and development policies related to watershed management in developing countries.

Mapping pollutant source to enhance water quality conservation in agricultural watersheds: Nonpoint no more?

Mapping pollutant source to enhance water quality conservation in agricultural watersheds: Nonpoint no more?

HYDROLOGICAL MODELING USING SWAT IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF RIVER BASINS.

The conservation of watersheds is a concern in all countries because of the scarcity of water for capitation and use and the anthropogenic degradation of this natural resource. Thus the objective of this study is to make a systematic review on the themes ecosystem service, hydrological modeling using the SWAT model. Emphasizing the importance of this theme in the decision-making process in the management of water resources. The research is exploratory, having as main method the literature/scientific review. The bibliographic survey used was carried out on the Scopus platform, in chronological order in the range from 2018 to 2022. The two years of the health crisis were the years of greatest scientific production. Two publications stood out for the number of citations: A review of SWAT Applications, performance and Future needs for Simulation of Hydro-Climatic Extremes and, Comparison of the SWAT and Invest models to determine hydrological Ecosystem service Spatial Patterns, Priorities and trade-offs in a Complex Basin, both published in 2020. The most prominent countries in research publications in the area of Environmental Science were China, USA, Canada, Germany, Brazil and Norway. The relevance of studies involving this theme become evident because they are tools used in the decision-making process in water management, showing up as a vast field for research in Latin America and South America, but specifically in Brazil for its continental dimension and its diversity.

Synergistic roles of articulation, intellectual passion, conviviality and commitment in determining the citizens’ awareness and initiatives for sustainable watershed resources management

To attain high quality watershed, citizens or stakeholders should work harmoniously with the researchers and the local government units. There should be a pleasant relationship among the three which can only be attained if there is intellectual passion among the three concerned characters. This watershed management research has employed a combined socio-scientific and philosophical research design. The researchers as scientists are determined to be actively involved in sharing his intellectual passion to attain greater objectivity and rationality in sustaining watershed resources. This study found that people's jobs and social status significantly influenced their awareness and actions regarding watershed conservation. Students, local government officials, and local residents have only a moderate understanding of how industrialization impacts watershed resources. Surprisingly, local government officials are unaware of how siltation affects the quality and biodiversity of these resources. Additionally, students show little initiative in attending watershed conservation seminars, likely due to the high cost of scientific conferences, which they may find financially challenging. Through the inculcation of Polanyi’s philosophical concepts, the researchers highly recommend the conduct of more hands-on community outreach activities regarding watershed conservation.

Environmental land use conflicts and ecosystem services: a paper review

The topic of potential conflicts related to land use involving human activities in a watershed is an important matter to be discussed. The background of this research is that conditions in mountainous watersheds, and agricultural land use cause changes in ecosystem services, with trade-offs between crop production and erosion regulation. Watershed management with an environmental concept often faces problems with different interests among stakeholders. Although several studies have initiated the mapping of land-use conflicts between human activities and conservation, the spatial assessment of land-use conflicts on environmental issues and trade-offs of ecosystem services in agricultural areas has not been fully considered. The purpose of this study is to map land use, with indicators of measuring conflicts in the value of conservation and agricultural development, through scenarios of the level of erosion hazard on agricultural land. This study provides input to decision-makers regarding watershed conservation efforts that still consider aspects of the economic needs of agricultural land. The objective of the reviewers is to understand how the concept of mapping the potential conflict of land use in the Haean watershed in South Korea can be applied in Indonesia. The methodology used is to apply the agricultural land suitability index based on various analytical criteria to estimate the spatial preferences of agricultural activities. To predict erosion, using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) method and the classification of agricultural land in the watershed is divided into four levels of land use conflict (lowest, low, high, and highest).

Multi-Criteria Prioritization of Watersheds for Post-Fire Restoration Using GIS Tools and Google Earth Engine: A Case Study from the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia

The Santa Cruz department in Bolivia is characterized by a wide range of ecosystems and by its richness in water resources. In recent years, extended drought caused by climate change has led to extensive fire events. Combined with deforestation, this is resulting in the degradation of the region’s ecosystems and water resources. To address restoration needs from both a land- and water-management perspective, this study proposes to prioritize restoration areas by applying a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) based on two main principles: (1) using the watershed as the main study unit and (2) involving stakeholders in the definition of priority watersheds. Local stakeholders selected criteria representing water resources, biophysical characteristics, land management, productive areas, and fire disaster threats, and reclassified the spatial information based on perceived importance. Different prioritization scenarios were developed and compared in a Google Earth Engine (GEE) application. Priority restoration areas largely depend on the weighting scheme. Focusing solely on past fires leads to prioritizing the south-east basins, while the conservation of the western watersheds becomes more important when increasing the weight of the water resources criteria. This study represents the first step in developing a participatory MCA tool at the watershed scale in Santa Cruz. Highlighting the impact of different prioritization criteria can support collective decision-making around land and watershed restoration.

Grazing management impacts on ecosystem services under contrasting climatic conditions in Texas and North Dakota

Grazing management is an important factor affecting the delivery of ecosystem services at the watershed scale. Moreover, characterizing the impacts of climate variation on water resources is essential in managing rangelands. In this study, the effects of alternative grazing management scenarios on provisioning, regulating, and supporting services were assessed in two watersheds with contrasting climates; the Lower Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River (LPDTFR) Watershed in North Texas and the Apple Watershed in South Dakota. The impacts of heavy stocking continuous grazing, light stocking continuous grazing, Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing, and an ungrazed exclosure were compared using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Our results indicate that the quantity of snow and timing of snow melt substantially influenced grazing management effects on ecosystem services in the Apple Watershed. In contrast, precipitation was the main factor influencing these effects in the LPDTFR Watershed because it highly affected the variation in water cycling, streamflow, sediment, and nutrient controls. Simulated results indicated that AMP grazing was the optimal grazing management approach for enhancing water conservation and ecosystem services in both watersheds regardless of climatic conditions. The Apple Watershed, which is a snow-dominated watershed, exhibited greater ecosystem service improvements under AMP grazing (50.6%, 58.7%, 74.4%, 61.5% and 72.6% reduction in surface runoff, streamflow, and sediment, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) losses, respectively as compared to HC grazing) than the LPDTFR Watershed (46.0%, 22.8%, 34.1%, 18.9% and 38.4% reduction in surface runoff, streamflow, and sediment, TN and TP losses, respectively). Our results suggest that improved grazing management practices enhance ecosystem services and water catchment functions in rangeland-dominated areas, especially in colder climates.

Planning for ecosystem services compensation in the central highlands of Ethiopia.

The rapid deterioration of the upper Akaki catchment natural environment has led to an increasing impact not only on the watershed ecosystem but also the livelihood and the general well-being of the local community. As a result, the water supply is becoming a problem for Addis Ababa and its surrounding residents. This may lead to a greater willingness to pay and cooperate in initiatives to protect the watersheds. Therefore, a market-based instrument and participatory arrangements are critical for resolving socioecological problems. This research aimed to demonstrate a need for an incentive-based watershed conservation approach that can be used to support nature conservation through long-term financial investments in the central watersheds and elsewhere. To support the market-based intervention, sealable ecosystem services and cost-benefit analysis, as well as relevant stakeholders, institutions, and legal frameworks, were assessed. The prime factors for designing market-based approaches to halt biodiversity loss and reversing ecological processes are discussed. A domestic water tariff increase of ETB 1 per m3 (US$ 0.08) could raise approximately US$ 3.24 million annually for watershed management, which could compensate smallholder farmers' annual opportunity costs for crop and livestock forage loss. Furthermore, the practice could help to abate biodiversity loss, improve the local economy, and accelerate the implementation of global biodiversity targets. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:965-974. © 2023 SETAC.

Dryland Water Resource Conservation and Conflict Management in Loisukut Sub-catchment in Laikipia North Sub-country, Kenya

The study examines access to water, use and management of water resources and conflicts in the Loisukut sub-catchment in Laikipia North Sub-Country. Additionally, the study provides information on grassroots initiatives that seek to improve and ensure equitable management of water resources by establishing connections with significant stakeholders. The study is supported by information acquired through the distribution of a questionnaire to various stakeholders, water users' groups, and communities. The study's conclusions indicate a relationship between water availability, consumption, and management that has a significant impact on water conflicts. The discrepancies in access to water are due to ineffective water management initiatives. The study recommends watershed conservation and diversifying pastoralists' economic opportunities will have positive effects on the environment, economy and society.