Defining Ecosystem Targets for Planning Environmental Sustainability and Assessing Water Development Impacts

摘要

Addressing the concept of sustainability in water resource management is beginning to be seen in the use of holistic planning practices. Two river ecosystem improvement cases were reviewed to identify practical planning methods. Planning the rehabilitation of the industrialized Quinebaug River (northeast US) used a single measurable objective to provide program direction, progress assessment, and public relevance. A target fish community was specified using common information from rivers in human dominated landscapes of the region. This ecosystem target for river rehabilitation was precise in its definition, feasible to attain, and functional as a standard for measuring environmental improvement. The environmental needs of the common fish species were used to plan specific river improvements. The upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway (central US) is an important navigation waterway for agricultural commodity exports. Comprehensive planning for navigation infrastructure redevelopment specified 21 ecosystem targets. These were developed from extensive public and agency manager input screened with three target selection criteria: policy and management relevance, technical merit, and practicality. The case studies were based on planning elements defined in measurable terms and labeled target ecosystem characteristics. The adoption of more holistic planning suggests a more comprehensive, long-term approach to water resource management appears to be emerging. However, much more application experience will be needed to realize the promise of environmental sustainability in water resource management.