An iterative technique to delineate protection buffers for wetlands in regions subject to intensive groundwater pumping

Wetlands are vulnerable to groundwater extraction, which has proven detrimental to aquatic ecosystems around the planet. As wetlands rank among the world’s most endangered ecosystems, versatile strategies are required to protect them. This paper provides a modelling-based method to delineate protection buffers in wetlands subject to groundwater extraction. The technique is sufficiently flexible to cater to a wide variety of conditions, and simple enough to underpin management decisions on a daily basis. A numerical model is used to obtain a map of the critical rate of groundwater abstraction, based on the distance between wetlands and suitable discharge thresholds. The outcomes determine the allowed pumping rate at any point under steady and transient-state conditions. A new iteration is developed every time a new pumping allowance is made. This procedure is demonstrated by means of hypothetical scenarios, as well as by a case study application in the Valle del Cauca region, Colombia.