A Six‐Step Framework for Ecologically Sustainable Water Management

Concern about the availability of freshwater for use by human populations has been increasing (Gleick 1998; Postel 1999; IUCN 2000; Postel 2000). Over the last 50 years, water development projects have proliferated in developed countries and are now rapidly growing in developing countries (WCD 2000). International debate has proffered sustainable water development— managing human uses of water such that enough water of sufficient quality is available for use by present and future generations—as a goal for human communities around the world (IUCN 2000). Unfortunately, this neglects the impacts water development projects have on other species. In the United States, freshwater species are the most imperiled and at risk for extinction (IUCN 2000; Pringle et al. 2000; Stein et al. 2000; Baron et al. 2002). To address the drastic consequences of unfettered human water use on freshwater ecosystems, concern for the species that depend upon freshwater to survive must be added to sustainable water management. The resulting ecologically sustainable water management retains the flows necessary to protect native species and sustain the full array of products and services provided by natural freshwater ecosystems while meeting inter-generational human needs for water (Richter et al. 2003). The following six-step framework (Figure 1) is a guide for achieving ecologically sustainable water management (Richter et al. 2003). The fundamentals included in these steps have been developed and used by scientists, water managers, conservationists, and other professionals around the world. Packaging these together in a six-step framework creates a baseline of the critical elements required for meeting the goal of ecologically sustainable water management. The framework is a reference point that can be used to track progress toward ecologically sustainable water management. While these six steps are listed in a linear fashion and are numbered sequentially, it is for the purpose of simplifying their presentation. In many situations, these steps may occur in a different order or may be circled back to repeatedly. The six step framework for ecologically sustainable water management is: