Healthy River Ecosystems: vision or reality?

Abstract

Ecosystem health is a relatively new field that brings together our biophysical understanding of how natural systems function with societal goals and human values (Rapport et al., 1998). Its central theme is the essential services provided by ecosystems that are vital to human welfare. There are obvious tensions that arise from this mix of medical, social and ecological disciplines and the emerging field of ecosystem health is often a topic of considerable debate (Fairweather, 1999). Despite these tensions, there are several good reasons why this broader ecosystem approach has merit. There is no doubt that the human health analogy strikes a chord with the wider public and helps to promote awareness of what are serious environmental issues. There are also obvious direct relationships between river health and human health and it is now well recognised that rivers and wetlands provide essential ecosystem services that also benefit humans. Furthermore, many other human uses of rivers and associated wetlands are dependent on them being in a healthy state. Throughout this paper, I use the term ‘healthy’ to describe ‘in good condition’, acknowledging that in the case of ecosystems desired endpoints can be set from either an ecocentric or anthropocentric perspective (Karr, 1999).