Build Resilience
What is The Freshwater Trust doing here?
Building resilience in conservation starts with improving funding. The Freshwater Trust (TFT) has collaborated with experts to design an innovative solution to build a more resilient funding model. We call this solution the Watershed Outcomes Bank, and it’s designed to bring multiple conservation funding sources together and deliver funds as needed to the region's most effective and strategically located projects.
TFT is working to gain proof of concept for this solution by launching a pilot program in the Cosumnes watershed.
Funding gathered from this pilot program will be distributed toward projects that build environmental resiliency in the region, which could include:
- Forest management and thinning to prevent devastating wildfires.
- Improving habitat in streams and wetlands to support fish and wildlife.
- Improving irrigation water usage to increase water volume and reduce sediment loads.
Why is this important?
Conservation actions cost money, but no universal system ensures that the money spent will create measurable results. In other words, we’re throwing money at a problem but not necessarily solving anything.
Money spent inefficiently without proof of results will not solve the water crisis.
TFT focuses on measurable results for every action (quantified conservation). After all, the only way we can fix conservation problems is to prove our results and show how our methods can be replicated and scaled to fix and restore freshwater ecosystems across the country.
We know that fixing the funding situation will require support from many stakeholders and significant policy changes, and TFT is also working on those fronts. Still, as innovators, we want to try various solutions to determine what will do the most good for the environment and the economy.
How can you support these efforts?
One key way to support our efforts is through donations. TFT ensures that every dollar you give delivers measurable results that will make a difference.
You can also support us by subscribing to our newsletter and following or sharing our updates on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to help drive meaningful freshwater conservation.
Want to take a deeper dive?
Please review the following video and articles to learn more about building resilience, our Watershed Outcomes Bank project, and related topics.
