Watershed Prioritization Using Morphometric Parameters and Multicriteria Analysis in the Las Flores, Chiapas, Mexico

The availability of water resources has significantly decreased in recent years. Therefore, it is essential to design comprehensive management strategies at the watershed level. This study included a methodological novelty by combining morphometric analysis with multicriteria analysis to prioritize sub-watersheds in the Las Flores Watershed (LFW), located in Chiapas, Mexico. The LFW catchment area covers 2517.96 km2 and was divided into 29 sub-watersheds. Morphometric analysis, based on physical characteristics (shape, stream network, and relief), allows us to infer the level of susceptibility to erosion of a watershed. However, to improve the prioritization of sub-watersheds, the erosion rate (EA) was estimated using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), as well as rainfall intensity and curve number. The results show that sub-watersheds SW20 and SW15 have the highest predicted EA values, that is, 234.76 and 222.10 t ha−1, respectively. The final prioritization framework established that the sub-watersheds classified as very high priority were SW20, SW28, SW15, SW21, and SW09, covering an area of 734.19 km2, corresponding to 29.16% of the total area of LFW. Therefore, in these sub-watersheds, the immediate implementation of water regulation structures and conservation practices is required to minimize their susceptibility to water erosion.