The Ripple Effect: How a healthy Rio Grande sustains communities and cultures
© Day’s Edge/WWF-US
As humans, we depend on nature, as an essential part of our daily life. That is especially true in the case of water. We rely on it not just for drinking and bathing, but also for growing crops, manufacturing, and transport. When our water sources are healthy and protected, they thrive. And when nature thrives, we thrive. This concept underpins the urgent need to for value and protect the natural world around us.
At WWF, we believe that conservation solutions require collaboration across many entities, from governments to NGOs to businesses. This is particularly true when it comes to helping safeguard freshwater basins globally. WWF works with corporate partners, like Reckitt's brand Finish Dishwashing, to implement comprehensive approaches to help safeguard water for nature and the people who depend on it. The partnership aims to demonstrate how companies can go beyond adopting water-efficient practices, to become water stewards.
The connection between people and nature is especially apparent in The Rio Grande (Rio Bravo in Mexico). Winding 1,800 miles from Colorado, through New Mexico, Texas and down through Mexico, The Rio Grande supports more than 16 million people, including 22 indigenous nations. It irrigates more than 1.8 million acres of cropland that produce cattle feed crops, cotton, nuts, fruits and vegetables for the Americas. For some, water is also an essential part of their communities, cultures, and identities.
Yet this river is also one of the 10 most endangered rivers on earth. Climate change and extensive agricultural irrigation has led to significant challenges such as severe flow depletion. This issue jeopardizes the everyday needs of the millions who rely on this water source, and the communities whose histories and cultures are intertwined together with the river. WWF and Finish are dedicated to restoring the river’s natural flow to ensure that communities along the Rio Grande and ecosystems can continue to thrive together.
Through funding provided by Finish, local organizations are implementing four projects that will help replenish and improve the health of the Rio Grande Basin and its ecosystems. The four projects range from wild trout fishery conservation, wetland, water conservation and tributary restoration for beaver reintroduction in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, and tributary stream storage enhancement in Big Bend. Learn more about the four projects here.
Earlier this year, members of WWF’s Freshwater team had the opportunity to visit some of the conservation project sites that Finish is helping to fund in New Mexico and speak with local community members on the ground. These community members will see firsthand how the impact of water conservation and stewardship can make a lasting impact for the future.
Meet three of the water stewards helping to restore and protect the Rio Grande.
Adeline Murthy lives in Santa Fe and is an Open Space and Trails Planner for Santa Fe County where she helps protect and restore open spaces along the river. She grew up in Albuquerque and studied biology in college because of the Rio Grande.
“We serve the community, and the community-driven processes are more successful in the long term.”
Adeline Murthy Sante Fe County
Daniel Denipah works as a Forestry Director in the Stana Clara Pueblo, a village that has deep ancestral and cultural ties to the water, land, and native species of the Rio Grande. As a Forestry Director, Daniel works to restore ecological function of the Rio Grande while also ensuring the rich histories and traditions of Pueblo residents continue to live on through the youth.
“Water is life... we still want to make sure we are restoring this place back to what it historically used to be or as close to it as possible.”
Daniel Denipah Santa Clara Pueblo
Michael Chavez lives in Bernardo and has managed farmland at Bernardo Wildlife Area for 12 years caring for the land and migratory cranes who visit every year. His job involves growing corn and other crops specifically for the cranes. He is carrying on the tradition started by his father in 1956.
“Look at my office right here. There's nothing like working so hard in the summertime... and that first crane comes around and lands here and you think, 'that was worth it.'”
Michael Chavez Bernardo
Read more about Adeline, Daniel, and Michael.
Conservation has a ripple effect, and it’s not done in a vacuum. When we invest in nature, we are also investing in a future for plants, wildlife, and people. By continuing to protect and restore the natural flow of the Rio Grande, species and biodiversity will return to health. 16 million people who rely on the river for clean water will be supported, and irrigation for agriculture will be improved. The rich histories, traditions and cultures tied to the river will continue to live on to the next generation.