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長久以來，大部分的現代社會都忽視了對河流的關注，並用開發計畫和污染對河流造成嚴重的破壞。這種趨勢已有了轉變，世界上越來越多的族群重新發現了健康河流的價值。當然，世界上還有很多族群對河流的感激，以及對於永續管理集水流域的職志是不會輕易改變的。
保護和修復河流的關鍵在於善待和尊重整個集水流域。站在集水流域的層面思考，意思是將河流看作一個複雜的、動態的土地、水和生物體系中完整相連的一部分。抽離此一體系中的任何部分，最終都將影響到其他部分。因此，關照河川就等於關照水、土壤、生態系統和空氣（因為在工業化國家，水源污染大多來自於空氣污染）。
任何淡水管理的具體策略，都應該以維護健康的集水流域為目標。也就是說集水流域不會因為森林砍伐、非永續性的農業行為或過度城市化而嚴重荒蕪，仍擁有完好的濕地和河流，且在最大可能程度上不受污染，而能供給繁多物種足以生息，並能按照它們的自然模式漲落。當前包括洪水、地下水水位下降和水質問題在內的諸多水利問題，其解決方法即在於保護並重建集水流域的生態系統。除此一途，所有的新建水壩或其他技術，都無法防止這些問題發生。
集水流域的思考模式，意味著重新認識並尊重大地、水和大氣之間互動的複合體；意味著人們應去適應這個複合體，而不是本末倒置地去控制或簡化它；它同時也意味著尊重各個集水流域的多樣性，以及生活在這些流域當中的自然及人類族群。它的意思是要我們在維持流域清淨的基礎上，尋找能夠滿足我們經濟、文化和精神所需的生活方式。最重要的是，這樣的思考模式讓我們回頭想想身旁的集水流域，並將適當的管理方案列為社區的首要事務──亦即建立一個集水流域社區。
建立一個有效的集水流域社區，涉及到統合集水流域使用者的多方利益，以便評估人類活動的整體範圍加諸於集水流域的壓力。雖然這似乎很難做到，但一個集水流域中的社區，必定存在著各種不同的利益團體，包括可能造成集水流域問題的直接關係者。既然沒有任何團體能夠單獨解決集水流域的所有問題，因此，一個由民眾、社區領導人、政治家、政府機構、環保人士、遊客、教育人士、農民、銀行家、工廠老闆、學生和科學家（僅例舉其中一些重要參與者作代表）組成的多元化集水流域社區才是成功的關鍵。對這樣一個社區來說更艱鉅卻也非常重要的任務，就是在這些相關團體間建立彼此的信任，唯有如此才能令所有的人都接受社區所設定的目標，並共同努力。
版權歸屬 國際河網IRN， 環境信託基金會（金霞 譯，吳國玢、張正慈 審校）
中英對照全文：http://news.ngo.org.tw/issue/water/2001/issue-water-irn01043001.htm |
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Most modern societies turned their backs on their rivers long ago, and badly damaged them with development projects and pollution. This is shifting, though, and a growing number of communities around the world are rediscovering the value of healthy rivers. And, of course, there are many communities around the world whose appreciation for their rivers and commitment to sustainably managing their catchments never flagged.
The key to protecting and restoring rivers lies in treating the entire catchment with care and respect. Thinking on a catchment level means seeing rivers as integral parts of a complex and dynamic system of land and water and life. Disrupting any part of the system will eventually affect all other parts. Looking after rivers thus means looking after water, soils, ecosystems and the air (because in industrialized nations, much of the pollution entering aquatic systems comes from air pollution).
Any sensible strategy of freshwater management must aim to have healthy catchments. This means they are not badly degraded by deforestation, unsustainable farming practices or excessive urbanization; and have intact wetlands and rivers which, to the greatest extent possible, are unpolluted, support a wide variety of life forms and are able to flood according to their natural pattern. The solution to many of today's water problems - including floods, lowering groundwater tables and water-quality problems - is to protect and restore catchment ecosystems. If this is not done, no amount of new dams or other technologies will be able to prevent these problems.
Catchment thinking means recognizing and respecting the complexity of the interactions between land, water and atmosphere. It means adapting to this complexity rather than making counter-productive efforts to control and simplify it. It also means respecting the diversity of different catchments and the natural and human communities that live within them. It means finding ways of living which allow our economic, cultural and spiritual needs to be satisfied while maintaining healthy watersheds. Most importantly, it means thinking about our catchments, and making their proper management a community priority. It means creating a catchment community.
Creating an effective catchment community involves bringing together the many diverse interests which use the catchment to evaluate the entire spectrum of human activities that are stressing the catchment. While it may seem difficult to do, this community must include all the different interest groups in the catchment, including those that might be perceived to be the cause of problems. Since no one group alone can solve all of a catchment's problems, a diverse catchment community - one that includes citizens, community leaders, politicians, government agencies, environmentalists, recreationalists, educators, farmers, bankers, factory owners, students and scientists, to name a few important players - is key to success. One of the more difficult but important tasks for such a group is to build trust among all these partners, so that all will accept and work toward the goals the group sets out.
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