Sustainable water resource management is constrained by three pervasive myths; that societal and environmental water demands always compete with one another; that technological solutions can solve all water resource management problems; and that environmental solutions to protect and maintain freshwater resources are more expensive and less dependable than technological solutions. We argue that conservation and good stewardship of water resources can go a long way toward meeting societal demands and values. Furthermore, water requirements to sustain ecosystem health and biodiversity in rivers and their associated coastal systems can be well aligned with options for human use and deliver a suite of ecosystem goods and services to society. However, to achieve ecologically sustainable water management, we propose several key issues that must be addressed. The objective of this opinion paper is to stimulate discussion across traditional discipline boundaries with the aim of forging new partnerships and collaborations to meet this pressing challenge of ecologically sustainable water management.
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Research Article|
October 01 2006
Perspective: The challenge of ecologically sustainable water management
Emily Bernhardt;
Emily Bernhardt
bDepartment of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USAebernhar@duke.edu
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StuartE. Bunn;
aCorresponding author. Centre for Riverine Landscapes, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia 4111, s.bunn@griffith.edu.au
E-mail: s.bunn@griffith.edu.au
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David D. Hart;
David D. Hart
cPatrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA hart@acnatsci.org
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Björn Malmqvist;
Björn Malmqvist
dEcology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Swedenbjorn.malmqvist@emg.umu.se
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Timo Muotka;
Timo Muotka
eDepartment of Biology, University of Oulu, Finlandtimo.muotka@ymparisto.fi
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Robert J. Naiman;
Robert J. Naiman
fSchool of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Washington, USAnaiman@u.washington.edu
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Catherine Pringle;
Catherine Pringle
gInstitute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GeorgiaUSAcpringle@uga.edu
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Martin Reuss;
Martin Reuss
hOffice of History, US Army Corps of Engineers, USAmartin.a.reuss@hq02.usace.army.mil
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Brian van Wilgen
Brian van Wilgen
iCentre for Invasion Biology, CSIR Division of Water, Environment and Forestry Technology, P.O. Box 320Stellensbosch, 7599, South Africabvwilgen@csir.co.za
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Water Policy (2006) 8 (5): 475–479.
Article history
Received:
October 05 2005
Accepted:
October 24 2005
Citation
Emily Bernhardt, StuartE. Bunn, David D. Hart, Björn Malmqvist, Timo Muotka, Robert J. Naiman, Catherine Pringle, Martin Reuss, Brian van Wilgen; Perspective: The challenge of ecologically sustainable water management. Water Policy 1 October 2006; 8 (5): 475–479. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2006.057
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