Integrated Water-Forest Economic Management Model in Switzerland (WATCH-FOR)

The project Integrated Water-Forest Economic Management Model in Switzerland (WATCH-FOR) responds to current research gaps on the integration of forest, eco-hydrology and economic sciences to improve decision-making process. This project envisages integrating environmental and economic data and modelling frameworks, in view of climatic, ecological, economic and policy-driven uncertainties to evaluate management and land use decisions, and their effect on watershed services (such as drinking water supply, hydro-power, and protection against natural hazards) and other traditional and emerging forest ecosystem services (such as timber supply and carbon sequestration). WATCH-FOR boosts interdisciplinary approaches to tackle decision making under uncertainty and the multiple and complex trade-offs and synergies involved, and in this way contributing to the knowledge base on the impact of changes in the use of land, in particular forest management regimes on watershed and forest ecosystem services.