Index of Watershed Integrity (<scp>IWI</scp>) of a Central Mexican Plateau Microwatershed: An Instrument of Environmental Governance

Watershed management must be prioritized in Mexico due to environmental degradation. To address the issue, an instrument to assess watershed functional status and specific governance conditions is needed. We assessed the functional conditions of a microwatershed (a watershed of less than 5000 ha) located in the headwater of the Querétaro River watershed using the Index of Catchment Integrity (ICI) to evaluate local conditions and the Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) to evaluate the cumulative conditions. Implementing the IWI in La Laborcilla Microwatershed (LMW) required some adaptations to the available information. We integrated data generated through two indices: The Environmental Water Quality Index (EWQ(i)), which evaluates the physicochemical conditions of water from an ecosystem perspective, and the Hydrogeomorphological Index (IHG), which assesses the conditions of naturalness or alteration of riparian ecosystems. These complementary indices generated detailed information on the stressors that affect the six functional components of the watershed. To complete the assessment, we evaluated the LMW management process within local decision-making and policy instruments. The watershed had medium-low integrity (IWI=0.43). The integrity of the catchments (ICI) spanned from 0.27 to 0.58. Watershed integrity is a relevant perspective for effective watershed management in operational forms within the territorial planning process and environmental policy instruments.