Sustainable land and water management

Land and water are two closely linked natural resources that provide a vast range of ecosystem services, from food and energy to climate regulation. At SRI, we contribute to science and policymaking on sustainable land and water management in several ways. First, we work with participatory methods to understand local land users’ decision-making processes. Second, we employ environmental models to study the interaction between socio-economic and ecological systems across multiple scales. We use these models and other methods to develop scenarios that aid policy-makers to support environmental governance. Finally, we look at the roles that markets play in the management of land and water resources, such as the potential of non-market valuation to bring about greater sustainable use. We work in various environments ranging from Patagonia to China, with particular attention to drylands and sub-Saharan Africa.