Addressing Impacts of Freshwater Flows to Estuaries

A picture to represent the current project With funding from The US Agency for International Development (USAID), the CRC and The Nature Conservancy joined together to develop and pilot test low-cost methods for addressing the impacts of changes in freshwater inflows on estuaries. Emphasis was placed upon methods that might be applied in less-developed countries where data availability and scientific or management capacity might be quite limited.

A major product of this project (ended September 2006) was a Methods Guide for Managing Freshwater Inflows to Estuaries. The guide drew on an analysis of past and anticipated changes to freshwater inflows to two estuaries in the Caribbean region. These were Samana Bay in the Dominican Republic and the Laguna de Terminos in the state of Campeche in Mexico. At both sites, interdisciplinary teams worked with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to assess the issues posed by changes to freshwater inflows and formulated action strategies that addressed the consequences of such changes.