1 Returns on investment in watershed conservation: Application of a best practices analytical framework to the Rio Camboriú Water Producer program, Santa Catarina, Brazil Timm Kroeger 1* , Claudio Klemz 2 , Timothy Boucher 3 , Jonathan R. B. Fisher 4 , Eileen Acosta 5 , Andre Targa Cavassani 6 , P. James Dennedy-Frank 7 , Luis Garbossa 8 , Everton Blainski 9 , Rafaela Comparim Santos 10 , Silvana Giberti 11 , Paulo Petry 12 , Daniel Shemie 13 and Kelli Dacol 14 1 Global Science, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203, USA. Email: tkroeger@tnc.org 2 Atlantic Forest and Central Savannas Program, The Nature Conservancy, Avenida das Pitangueiras 168, Daniela, CEP 88.053-050, Florianópolis, Santa Catarine, Brasil. Email: cklemz@tnc.org 3 Global Science, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203, USA. Email: tboucher@tnc.org 4 Center for Sustainability Science, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203, USA. Email: jon_fisher@tnc.org 5 Atlantic Forest and Central Savannas Program, The Nature Conservancy, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Email: eacosta@tnc.org 6 Latin America Region Ecosystem Services Program, The Nature Conservancy, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Email: atcavassani@tnc.org 7 Department of Earth System Science, 473 Via Ortega, Room 140, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA. Email: pjdf@stanford.edu 8 Centro de Informações de Recursos Ambientais e de Hidrometeorologia, Rodovia Admar Gonzaga 1347, Itacorubi, Caixa Postal 502, Cep 88034-901, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Email: luisgarbossa@epagri.sc.gov.br 9 Centro de Informações de Recursos Ambientais e de Hidrometeorologia, Rodovia Admar Gonzaga 1347, Itacorubi, Caixa Postal 502, Cep 88034-901, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Email: evertonblainski@gmail.com 10 Empresa Municipal de Água e Saneamento, 4a Avenida n250 Centro, CEP 88330-104, Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Email: rafaela.s@emasa.com.br 11 Global Science, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203, USA. Email: sgiberti@tnc.org 12 Latin America Region Science Program, The Nature Conservancy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Email: ppetry@tnc.org 13 Freshwater Focal Area Program, The Nature Conservancy, 322 8 th Avenue, 16 th floor, New York, New York, USA. Email: dshemie@tnc.org 14 Empresa Municipal de Água e Saneamento, 4a Avenida n250 Centro, CEP 88330-104, Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Email: kellidacol@gmail.com *Corresponding author —Email: tkroeger@tnc.org; Address: 4245 N. Fairfax Drive Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, USA