Governance & Policy
Integrated River Basin Management
Definition
River basin management is the coordinated management of water, land and related resources across a river basin, treating the hydrological unit rather than administrative borders as the management space. It is the operational form of integrated water resources management (IWRM): balancing abstraction for cities, farms and industry with environmental flows, water quality and flood management, typically through basin plans and basin organisations.
References
Source imported for editorial provenance.
This reference provides supporting context for how “Integrated River Basin Management” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The approach structures the EU Water Framework Directive (river basin management plans on six-year cycles), transboundary commissions, and national basin authorities worldwide.
Why it matters
Water problems are basin problems; governance drawn on political rather than hydrological lines systematically fails rivers and the people who depend on them.