Sierra Nevada 지역은 캘리포니아 물 공급량의 60% 이상을 충족하는 수자원으로, 2천300만 명의 인구를 위한 식수와 미국에서 가장 비옥한 농경지에 물을 대는 관개수를 제공한다.

그러나 기후변화, 산불, 지속되는 가뭄 등은 이 지역을 위험으로 몰아넣고 있다. 이러한 도전과제 속에서 미국 산림청(USFS)와 파트너십을 맺고 있는 Sierra Nevada 관리단(SNC)은 Sierra Nevada 분수령 향상 프로그램(WIP)의 시행을 공식적으로 발표했다. WIP는 투자 증가와 정책변화를 통해 캘리포니아 1차 분수령의 건강성을 복원하기 위한 협력·통합·공동 프로그램이다.

 

 

 

The Sierra Nevada Region is the source of more than 60 percent of California's water supply. It provides drinking water for 23 million people and irrigation water to the nation's most fertile agricultural land. Climate change, damaging forest fires and ongoing drought are placing this important region at risk, and the impacts to water, forests, agriculture, public health, energy, and safety are great. 

 

In response to these challenges, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS), has officially announced the launch of the Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP). The WIP is a coordinated, integrated, collaborative program to restore the health of California's primary watershed through increased investment and needed policy changes.

 

"California's Sierra Nevada forests and watersheds are at a critical point. Failure to understand the urgency of the situation will have devastating impacts on California's economy, water supply and air quality," said Jim Branham, SNC executive officer. "Decades of fire suppression, a changing climate and a shortage of forest restoration efforts have led to unhealthy conditions in many Sierra forests -- the region where the majority of our state's drinking water originates."

 

The WIP is a large-scale watershed restoration program designed to address a variety of ecosystem health issues in the Sierra Nevada. Restoring streams and meadows, improving habitat conditions, preserving working landscapes, restoring forest health, and improving local socio-economic conditions will be key outcomes of the WIP. Because forests link all of these issues, they are the first area of focus for the program.

 

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 3월 5일]