Fluvial hydrosystems: a management perspective

Abstract

River management should involve resource utilization without deterioration of the natural basis (Mellquist, 1992), a concept promoted in the Brundtland Report (1987). In practice, river management involves important choices (Boon, 1992). First, for rivers that are essentially pristine, there is an overwhelming case for preservation. The challenge is to allow natural changes within fluvial hydrosystems (those caused by floods, droughts, erosion and sedimentation — and variations in the frequency and duration of these processes with changing weather patterns) whilst protecting the river from artificial influences. In most cases, however, the pressures for land and water development, and the resulting problems of waste disposal, will require management to limit artificial changes within the catchment and to mitigate the impacts of human actions.