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水就是生命，數千年來人們一直都瞭解這個基本事實。在乾旱缺水的南非尤其如此，在那裏的河流受人尊敬、珍愛。在贊泊資河(Zambezi River)被加拉巴水壩(Kariba Dam)"馴服"前，湯加(Tonga)詩人Fanual Cumanzala就已用以下詩句抓住了該國人民與這條生命之河之間關係的實質精神：
這波濤洶湧的河流就奔流在這山腳下，
贊泊資河是
上帝賜給湯加最佳的禮物，是孕育著生命的河流；
在河兩岸所種植的糧食養育了所有湯加人。
贊泊資河是湯加最明顯的特徵，其意指"偉大河流的人民"。但是近來湯加人並無法真正賴其為生，由於水壩興建的緣故，他們重新安置了家園，遠離了贊泊資河岸地區。人民與河流之間的關係一直存在於轉變中，自20世紀下半世紀以來，同樣的事情發生在南非各處，各種土地開發與規劃之進行使得人們與河流的關係產生了嚴重變化。
由於進行大型水利工程的結果，導致南非地區越來越多的城市居民生活在遠離水源的地方。有些人甚至可能認為他們對水源的依賴性因而減小，使他們誤以為水就是從水龍頭自動流出來的，而電源開關一開電就自然來了。
但無庸置疑的是，水為地區發展中最珍貴之環境資源，然而，賦予生命的水資源--將露水和雨水變成河流、沼澤地、湖泊的集水區--正日益受到威脅。誤謬的發展規劃理念以及對基礎環境生態系統所造成的傷害與衝擊往往是不可逆的，人們將為如此的開發所導致的社會不公正現象付出相對的代價，而這也已超出人們所能接受的地步。實質環境條件越來越惡劣，因而需要採取強制性的措施來避免這些賦予生命的動脈再遭到破壞。這就亟需展開大範圍、強而有力的"流域集水區保育"運動，在該地區各處展開保育工作，保護並恢復我們珍貴的水環境。然而此運動必須藉由市民們瞭解集水區之水文運作方式，以及他們自己在自然環境系統中所扮演的角色。而這就是編寫這本手冊的主因。
在二十世紀中，全世界對電力和水的需求都是呈指數成長的。在二十世紀的前80年，世界每人平均用水增加了200%，而這顯示淡水資源的消耗量增加了556%，這數據相當驚人。雖然在二十世紀全世界曾掀起一股空前的水壩建造浪潮，但是到了90年代早期，已有超過13億人遠離淡水生活，而且還有30多億人缺乏足夠的衛生設施。同樣，在過去的30年中，世界對商用能源的需求也增長了3倍。然而，世界各地仍有20多億人口過著沒有電的生活。
"水養育了地球上所有的人。"
MAZISI KUNENE
南非詩人
很清楚看出，我們需要用新的方法解決這些迫切性的問題。顯而易見的，人類社會從工業革命開始後，因電力設備的供給以及水資源的開發利用而受益匪淺。在二十世紀中，水資源與電力的開發已獲得了前所未有的效益，但由長程分析可約略發現，地球環境與社會為此所付出的慘痛代價與成本，是否能夠證明人們應否奢侈地使用與開發環境資源，對於這一點還無法說明清楚。但由環境與社會面來看，我們因開發這些資源的方式與過程所付出的代價與所面臨的衝擊，比開發前所預期的更高，或者可能已超過我們所能承受的範圍，關於這一點卻是相當清楚。
能源的開發過程對於整體環境生態特別具有破壞力，幾乎沒有一個社會或生態系統不曾受過其影響。大壩的興建、核能電廠的運轉、採礦業的營運，以及對化石燃料的過度使用，對於地球整體環境已造成了驚人的衝擊。但相當不幸的是，那些極少使用加工能源或根本不使用此類能源的地區，往往受到能源開發所產生的衝擊與災害卻是最嚴重的。
在南非各地水利工程規模與開發案件大幅遽增，這對整體環境也產生了嚴重衝擊。大壩和水利設施工程之開發，已使許多依賴河流方得以生存或延續其文化的社區受害不淺，這些地區的生態系統也受到了破壞，但在此開發過程中，因而獲得的利益卻往往集中到了社會中更富有的一部分人身上，因而又加劇了社會的不公平現象。
水利專家Sandra Postel在《最後的綠洲》書中，有一篇《面臨缺水》提出："我們在保護生物賴以生存的生態系統正常運行的同時，又必須滿足人類不斷成長的需求，這是一項嚴酷的挑戰；我們自己的命運與我們周圍水環境的命運間存在著某種關連，而掌握住此關連性是迎接未來挑戰所不可或缺的一部分。"我們的農田、工廠以及家園不僅只是資源的競爭者，同時也是整體環境生態系統中的一部分。水資源的經營與管理，對一般人而言似乎是相當獨立、與我們毫無相關似的，但人們卻往往不瞭解，就整體水環境而言，水資源一旦被截取輸送到另一地區，就如同身體中的血管與血液被切斷了一般，整個身體機能接受到衝擊，甚至危及生命的延續，而此結果則取決於決策者對於水資源配置的智慧。
這本手冊編寫的目的在於使更多的人瞭解地球環境的集水區是如何運作，何種事物會對它們造成衝擊或影響，以及如何保護它們。世界上有許多的社區和組織紛紛詢問國際河流網站（IRN）的南非工作人員，以瞭解更多關於流域與集水區的相關資訊，以此幫助他們瞭解複雜的大壩興建與水資源分派工程及其替代方案。這些都將在我們於本地區開展的河流相關工作過程中說明（請見封底中關於IRN的描述），因而我們編寫了這本手冊。希望會有更多的NGO、社區組織、學校、決策者、新聞記者以及關心河流水利相關事宜的個人來使用這本手冊。而對於發現這本手冊非常有用的人，我們極力鼓勵您立即採取行動保護並恢復你所在地區河流的流域與集水區，成為一名"集水區保護者"。我們的未來就將取決於您的行動了。
中英對照全文：http://news.ngo.org.tw/issue/water/book1/riverkeeper01.htm |
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Introduction
Water is life, a basic fact that people have understood for millenia. This has been especially true in arid Southern Africa, where rivers have been revered and treasured. The Tonga poet Fanual Cumanzala captured the spirit of his people's relation- ship to their river of life, the Zambezi, before it was "tamed" by Kariba Dam:
Down the mountains lay the mighty river
The Zambezi of the Tonga
Gift of god, river of life
The banks which yielded food for all.
The Zambezi River was the central defining characteristic of the Tonga, which means "the people of the great river". But the Tonga are no longer truly a river people, having been resettled away from the Zambezi's banks because of the dam. While the name of the people and the river may change, this story has been repeated across Southern Africa in the second half of this century, as people's links to their rivers have been severed by development schemes.
At the receiving end of Southern Africa's large water projects are an ever growing number of urban dwellers living their lives completely removed from the watery sources of life. Some may even think they are less dependent on them, believing that their water comes from taps and power from switches.
Water is arguably the region's most precious resource, and yet life-giving sources of water - the catchments that transform the dew and rain into rivers, wetlands and lakes - are increasingly under threat. The harm that is done to essential natural systems by ill-conceived development schemes is often irreparable. The social inequities that often arise from such development are likewise seen as an unnacceptably high price to pay. There is a growing realization that decisive actions are needed to avoid further degradation of these life-giving arteries. This will require a broad and strong "catchment protectors" movement, working across the region to protect and rehabilitate our precious waterscapes. Such a movement will depend upon citizens who understand the complex workings of their catchments, and their own place within these natural systems. Hence, the impetus for this manual.
The world's hunger for power and thirst for water have both grown exponentially in this century. The first 80 years of this century saw a 200 percent increase in the world's average per capita water use, which accounted for a remarkable 566 percent increase in withdrawals from freshwater resources. Despite a century of unprecedented dam building, by the early 1990s more than 1.3 billion people were without access to fresh water, and more than three billion were without adequate sanitation.
Similarly, world demand for commercial energy has increased nearly threefold in the past 30 years. Yet more than two billion people around the world remain without
power.Clearly, new solutions are needed for both of these pressing problems.
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"From water are born all peoples of the earth."
MAZISI KUNENE, SOUTH AFRICAN POET =============================
Human society has obviously benefited in many ways from the growth in power production and the spread of water service that began with the Industrial Revolution. What remains unclear is whether the huge environmental and social costs of this century's unprecedented development in these sectors will in the long run justify their profligate use. What is clear is that the way in which we have developed these resources has been more costly in environmental and social terms than we expected, or than we can afford.
The energy boom has been particularly devastating, and few societies or ecosystems have been unaffected. Big dams, nuclear power plants, mining and excessive consumption of fossil fuels have all had appalling consequences. Sadly, communities that use little or no power are often the ones most harmed by energy development projects.
The explosion in water projects throughout Southern Africa has had serious impacts, too. Large dams and irrigation projects have harmed many communities that depend on rivers for their livelihoods and culture, and have done great ecological harm across the region. The benefits have often been concentrated in the wealthier segments of society, thus increasing social inequities.
Water expert Sandra Postel writes in Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, "Grasping the connection between our own destiny and that of the water world around us is integral to the challenge of meeting human needs while protecting the ecological functions that all life depends on. Our farms, factories, and homes are not just competitors for a resource, they are members of a community embraced and supported by the ecosystems around them. To manage water as if it were separate and apart from us is like cutting off the flow of blood to one part of the body in order to send it to another - the living entity suffers, and, depending on where the diversion takes place, it may not survive."
This booklet aims to create more widespread understanding of the planet's catchments: how they work, what harms them and how to protect them. It was created after numerous communities and groups asked International Rivers Network's Southern Africa staff for more information about catchments, to help them understand the complex issues about large dams and water transfer projects - and alternatives to them - that arise in our work on river issues in the region (See back cover for a description of IRN). We hope this handbook will receive wide use by NGOs, community groups, schools, policy makers, journalists, and individuals with an interest in rivers and water issues. And for those who find it useful, we urge you to take action to protect and restore your local catchment, to become a "catchment keeper". Our future depends upon it.
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