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Official Journal of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS)

Table 1 Truths of the Riverscape

From: Truths of the Riverscape: Moving beyond command-and-control to geomorphologically informed nature-based river management

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Truth 1: Respect diversity

Discipline-bound knowledges assert theoretical framings of the river as it should be

Nested hierarchical principles underpin appropriately contextualised knowledge of the geo-eco-hydrological template of a river. A holistic riverscape approach generates and applies catchment-specific knowledges of the river as it is

Truth 2: Work with process

Site/reach-scale applications, typically channel-centric, apply linear, cause-and-effect principles that conceptualise a river as a predictable entity in a dynamic equilibrium state (i.e., regime principles)

Process relationships conceptualise rivers as living, adjusting, disturbance-driven entities. Inherent uncertainties accompany understandings of rivers as non-linear, contingent and emergent entities that demonstrate complex response

Truth 3: Assess river condition

Prescriptive, checklist, cookbook applications (one size fits all) generate a static appraisal of a river, conceived as a collection of bits

Open-ended methods meaningfully compare like-with-like in process-based appraisal of character and behaviour, emphasising concerns for the integrity of river systems

Truth 4: Interpret evolutionary trajectory to determine what is realistically achievable

Site/reach scale applications are inappropriately contextualised in space and time

Interpretation of where each reach sits on a degradation or recovery pathway is used to scope realistically achievable visions, framing reach-scale moving targets in relation to recovery potential and (dis)connectivity relations at the catchment scale

Bring Truths together to inform management applications

Reactive, cost-ineffective, ad hoc applications. Locked-in mentalities and legacy effects set path dependencies that are expensive and difficult (sometimes impossible) to revoke

Proactive and precautionary catchment plans respect diversity and work with processes to improve river condition. A conservation ethos works with recovery and strategically addresses threatening processes. Monitoring underpins adaptive management programmes that adjust as necessary

  1. Limitations of a command-and-control perspective and imperatives of a nature-based approach to river management