Integrated Catchment Integrated Catchment ManagementManagement

Developing Partnerships for a Developing Partnerships for a Sustainable FutureSustainable Future

William B. Bowden

Landcare Research

www.landcare.cri.nz

What is “integrated catchment What is “integrated catchment management”?management”?

An approach which recognises the catchment or river basin as the appropriate organising unit for research on ecosystem processes for the purpose of managing natural resources in a context that includes social, economic and political considerations.

Why use an ICM approach?Why use an ICM approach?

The fundamental challengesThe fundamental challengesof managing land/water resourcesof managing land/water resources

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed across land

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed over time

Spatial organisation of resource Spatial organisation of resource usesuses

The fundamental challengesThe fundamental challengesof managing land/water resourcesof managing land/water resources

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed across land

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed over time

Time

Imp

act

mag

nit

ud

eTemporal organisation of resource usesTemporal organisation of resource uses

Single impactSingle impact

Time

Imp

act

mag

nit

ud

eTemporal organisation of resource usesTemporal organisation of resource uses

Cumulative impactsCumulative impacts

Threshold

Time

Imp

act

mag

nit

ud

eTemporal organisation of resource usesTemporal organisation of resource uses

Mixed impactMixed impact

The fundamental challengesThe fundamental challengesof managing land/water resourcesof managing land/water resources

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed across land

• Understanding the consequences of resource uses distributed over time

Okay….so how to you do it?

What is the relationship What is the relationship between integrated catchment between integrated catchment

managementmanagementandand

an ecosystem approach toan ecosystem approach toresource management?resource management?

System components

System “currencies”

Systemdrivers

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

The EcosystemThe EcosystemApproachApproach

Exploring the stateand function of representativesystems.

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

The Ecosystem ApproachT

he

Cat

chm

ent

Ap

pro

ach

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

The Simple CatchmentThe Simple CatchmentApproachApproach

Quantifying materialpools and fluxes within spatially-explicit systems.

In

Out

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

Grassland

TypicalSites

The Ecosystem Approach

Th

e C

atch

men

t A

pp

roac

h

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

The Paired CatchmentThe Paired CatchmentApproachApproach

Exploring the impactsof simple managementalternatives

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

Grassland

TypicalSites

Wetland

TypicalSites

Hetero

gen

eou

s Basin

s

The Ecosystem Approach

Th

e C

atch

men

t A

pp

roac

h

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

Exploring linkages among landscape components

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

The Integrated CatchmentThe Integrated CatchmentApproachApproach

Knowledge Product: How shouldthey be managed?

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

The “Eco-Catchment”The “Eco-Catchment”ApproachApproach

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

The Ecosystem Approach

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

Grassland

TypicalSites

Wetland

TypicalSites

Th

e C

atch

men

t A

pp

roac

h

Hetero

gen

eou

s Basin

s…other ecosystems

EngineeringPolicy

EconomicsIndustryTourism

CommunityCulture

…other knowledge bases

Knowledge Product: How do they work?

Knowledge Product: How shouldthey be managed?

BMPDSSModelsAdvice

PlantsSoils

InvertsFungi

Bacteria

WaterC/N/P

ClimateGeologyTopog

Forest

TypicalSites

The Ecosystem Approach

Th

e C

atch

men

t A

pp

roac

h

Hetero

gen

eou

s Basin

s…other ecosystems

EngineeringPolicy

EconomicsCommunity

CultureIndustryTourism

…other knowledge bases

Urban“Eco-Catchments”

Parks

TypicalSites

…theseplus

roadsstructures

…plusfertilisers

…plususer

expect’n

Develop

TypicalSites

…theseplus

buildingssewersservices

…plusenergy

…plusland value

std living

ICM

Integrated Integrated catchmentcatchmentmanagementmanagement

……as a way of thinkingas a way of thinkingabout “community”about “community”interactionsinteractions

CommunityExpectations

Researchknowledge

Outreach

GovernmentPolicy

Governance

Consulting