World Bank2014-01-232014-01-232013-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16600This study, policy and investment priorities to reduce environmental degradation of the Lake Nicaragua watershed, has assessed the sources and the magnitude of the pressures that threaten Lake Cocibolca. It was accomplished by applying a hydrological and land use model to the lake's watershed and by conducting additional estimates of nutrients generated from wastewater sources and tilapia farming. The study has confirmed that sediment loads are very high, and has estimated their magnitude in each sub-watershed. The key results of the study are the estimation of sedimentation levels in the watershed and the identification of erosion hotspots. The Lake Cocibolca watershed is a globally unique cradle of biodiversity with major importance not only to the global and local environment, but also to the 750,000 people living within its boundaries. Several fish species are endemic to the lake, and the watershed's location within the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor has made it a meeting ground for fish, bird and mammal species from North and South America. Apart from its importance for fishing and recreation industries, the lake is beginning to be used as a source of water supply for some coastal towns; its role as a source of drinking water may grow in the future. Lake Cocibolca and its watershed are under pressure from multiple sources but, in the absence of reliable monitoring information, the extent of the environmental degradation is unclear. Environmental deterioration in the watershed is high on the government's agenda.La región de América Latina y el Caribe reúne una combinación única de cualidades y retos en el ámbito medioambiental. No en vano, la región posee una dotación excepcional de recursos naturales y cultivos valiosos para la biodiversidad mundial, además de acoger al mayor sumidero de carbono del mundo: el Amazonas. Sin embargo, la región también acusa las mayores tasas de urbanización del mundo en desarrollo, niveles altos de contaminación y sobreutilización de recursos naturales e hídricos, con efectos perjudiciales sobre la salud (especialmente la de los pobres), y sobre el medio ambiente. En concreto, en este informe se analiza el caso del Lago Cocibolca, en Nicaragua, que es una fuente de abastecimiento de agua cada vez más importante para el país, además de un hotspot de biodiversidad, que se encuentra sometido a importantes presiones de origen diverso. En el mismo se presentan los resultados del modelo hidrológico y de los usos del suelo (SWAT) que se utilizó para evaluar estas presiones, estimar los niveles de sedimentación de la cuenca e identificar los puntos importantes de erosión; lo que permitió llenar lagunas de conocimiento importantes al dibujar un panorama más exhaustivo de las fuentes de contaminación. La formación técnica y las experiencias regionales compartidas con Colombia y Costa Rica desarrolladas a lo largo de este estudio han demostrado cómo el uso de herramientas de modelación como el SWAT puede ayudar a identificar zonas críticas y contribuir a establecer prioridades en los planes de acción de las cuencas, incluyendo el diseño de posibles soluciones de política e inversión.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO WATERACTION PLANSACTIVE ENGAGEMENTACTUAL RAINFALLADVERSE EFFECTSADVERSE IMPACTSAGRICULTURAL ACTIVITYAGRICULTURAL FIELDSAGRICULTURAL LANDAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTUREAIR QUALITYALGAEALGAL GROWTHANNUAL PRECIPITATIONANNUAL RUNOFFAQUACULTUREAQUATIC LIFEAQUEDUCTSAQUIFERAQUIFER CONTAMINATIONAQUIFERSAROMATIC HYDROCARBONSBACTERIABASINSBEACHESBIODIVERSITYBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONBIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIESBIOSPHEREBIOSPHERE RESERVEBIRDBIRD SPECIESBIRDSBODBREEDINGBROAD RANGECARBONCARBON SINKCATCHMENTSCATTLECERTIFICATIONCLIMATECLIMATE CHANGECOASTCOASTAL AREASCONSERVATIONCONSERVATION TILLAGECONSTRUCTIONCONTAMINANTSCONTINUOUS MONITORINGCRITICAL AREASCROPSDATA GAPSDECISION MAKINGDEFORESTATIONDISCHARGEDOMESTIC USEDOMESTIC WATERDREDGINGDRINKING WATERDRINKING WATER QUALITYECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONSECOLOGICAL PROCESSESECOLOGYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICIESECOSYSTEMECOSYSTEM HEALTHECOSYSTEMSEMISSION REDUCTIONENGINEERINGENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATIONENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATIONENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTENVIRONMENTAL MONITORINGENVIRONMENTAL POLICYENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMSENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCHEROSIONEUTROPHICATIONEUTROPHICATION PROBLEMSFARMSFISHFISH BREEDING GROUNDSFISH KILLSFISH STOCKSFISHERIESFISHINGFLOODSFOOD POLICY RESEARCHFORESTFOREST COVERFORESTRYFORESTSFRESHWATERGEOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONGEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMSGLOBAL BIODIVERSITYGRASSLANDSGRAVITYGRAVITY FLOWGROUNDWATERGROUNDWATER DISCHARGEHABITATSHIGH LEVELSHYDROLOGYIMAGESINDUSTRIAL WATERINVASIVE SPECIESIRONIRRIGATIONIRRIGATION SYSTEMSIRRIGATION WATERLAKELAKE SEDIMENTSLAKESLAND USELAND USESLEAKAGELIVESTOCKLIVESTOCK PRODUCTIONMAMMAL SPECIESMESOAMERICAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDORMETALSMITIGATIONMONITORING PROGRAMMUNICIPAL WASTEWATERNATIONAL FISHERIESNATIVE FISHNATIVE SPECIESNATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTNATURAL RESOURCESNATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATIONNEW SPECIESNITROGENNUTRIENT CONTENTNUTRIENT FLOWSNUTRIENT LEVELSNUTRIENT LOADSORGANIC COMPOUNDSOXYGEN DEMANDOXYGEN LEVELSPASTUREPASTURESPHOSPHORUSPLANNING PROCESSPOINT SOURCEPOINT SOURCE POLLUTIONPOLLUTANTSPOPULATION GROWTHPOTABLE WATERPRECIPITATIONPRESSUREPROTECTED AREASPUBLIC AWARENESSPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC HEALTH RISKSPUMPINGPUMPING STATIONSQUALITY STANDARDSRAINFALL CHARACTERISTICSRAINFALL PATTERNSRANGESREGIONAL CLIMATEREMOTE SENSINGREPTILESRESERVOIRRESOURCE MANAGEMENTRESTORATIONRIVERRIVER BASINSRIVER WATERSHEDRIVERSRUNOFFSANITATIONSEDIMENTSEDIMENT LOADSEDIMENT LOADSSEDIMENTSSHORESHORESSHRUBSSOIL DEGRADATIONSOIL EROSIONSOIL PRODUCTIVITYSOILSSPECIESSTORMSSTREAMSTREAMSSURFACE AREASUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURESUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTSUSTAINABLE GROWTHSUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENTSUSTAINABLE TOURISMSUSTAINABLE USESUSTAINABLE WATERTILAPIATOPOGRAPHYTOURISM DEVELOPMENTTOURIST ATTRACTIONSTOXIC ALGAETREATING WASTEWATERWASTE DISPOSALWASTEWATER TREATMENTWATER CONSUMPTIONWATER CONTAMINATIONWATER FLOWSWATER POLLUTIONWATER QUANTITYWATER RESOURCESWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENTWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLANSWATER SECTORWATER SOURCESWATER SUPPLYWATER SYSTEMWATER TREATMENTWATER USEWATERSWATERSHEDWATERSHED MANAGEMENTWATERSHED PROTECTIONWATERSHEDSWETLANDWETLAND MANAGEMENTWETLAND PROTECTIONWETLANDSWILDLIFEWILDLIFE HABITATSWorld Bank10.1596/16600