Restoration in Integrated River Basin Management

Abstract

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD; European Commission 2000) introduced a new focus in river management by putting the protection and restoration of the aquatic environment as a key issue on the water policy agenda. This expanded emphasis on restoration activities reflects global efforts to make river management more sustainable by better integrating policy and science to harmonize engineering, ecological, and social concerns in governing river basins. Over the last 20–30 years, several management frameworks such as Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) or adaptive management (AM) have been developed in a series of separate, parallel experiments to achieve these goals. While specific details may vary, most of these management lineages converged on broadly common ways to sustainably manage natural resources and human activities in river basins in an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. The need to put restoration and conservation activities in a social context is increasingly considered mandatory in recent management programs (see Chap. 16).