Vision Generation: What Do We Seek to Achieve in River Rehabilitation?

Abstract

'If you don't know where you are going all roads lead there.' --Roman Proverb. Given the intimate link between rivers and their catchments, river rehabilitation is a complex and difficult task involving practitioners from multiple scientific disciplines, managers, and community stakeholders. Developing a vision or a guiding image in the early stages of a rehabilitation project provides a mechanism with which to successfully direct all stakeholders toward a common goal. As outlined in chapter 1, rehabilitation efforts target realistic improvements in river condition, framing the most desirable outcome in relation to available resources.