Managing freshwater inflows to estuaries: a methods guide

Abstract

The management of freshwater and the management of estuaries have in most countries evolved as independent programs that operate with distinct mandates, authorities, policies and institutional structures. This Guide addresses the need to better integrate river and catchment (watershed) management with estuary management by combining important features of integrated coastal management (ICM) with integrated water resources management (IWRM). This approach recognizes that catchments, coastlines, estuaries and near-shore tidal waters are all elements of discrete, but closely coupled, ecosystems.