Scientists and decision makers from the world's largest rivers call for the formation of a global forum to facilitate discussion of issues related to the management of large rivers.

Rivers are fundamental to life and provide us with drinking water, food, hydropower, navigation, irrigation, ecosystem services and recreation. However, they are currently threatened by unsustainable overuse, and problems of increased floods and droughts driven by climate change, leading to changes in morphology, greater pollution, degradation of aquatic habitats and the extinction of species. These changes undermine the many benefits of rivers and their continuing contribution to human needs.

To provide a scientific forum to discuss these benefits and threats, the first International Conference on the Status and Future of the World's Large Rivers was held in Vienna, Austria, from 11 to 14 April 2011, supported by UNESCO, the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), World Association for Sediment and Erosion Research (WASER) and the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG).

A commitment to the world's rivers. The main output of the conference was the Vienna Declaration, which aims to assess the existing and future needs of large rivers to better integrate their use, protection and restoration and to devise an action plan. Over 450 conference participants, from 73 nations and representing all continents, large rivers and relevant thematic fields, contributed to the Declaration.

"The Vienna Declaration provides a valuable means of drawing together their findings and messages and emphasising the global significance of these problems and challenges and the need for concerted action at the global scale," said Des Walling, Professor at the University of Exeter, England.

A time for action. The Declaration acknowledges the current challenges facing large rivers, including exploitation to meet human needs and pressures from conflicting uses, which can lead to disruption of the continuum of water and sediment transfer from source to mouth.
"It is important to create the Declaration now," said conference organiser Helmut Habersack, Head of Christian Doppler Laboratory for Advanced Methods in River Monitoring, Modelling and Engineering, "because globally there is great pressure on the large rivers, which provide essential values for mankind as well as for nature."

Current challenges and future needs. The Declaration calls for analysis of the current status, demands and future development of large rivers, the formation of a global forum to facilitate discussion of issues related to the management of large rivers and efforts to promote the preservation of the remaining near natural large rivers and the sustainable management or rehabilitation of impacted rivers.

"In the future we must aim for integrated and sustainable management of the World's Large Rivers," said Walling. "This will require careful balancing of many different needs, and perhaps opposing needs, in order to safeguard their important contribution to human wellbeing and the global environment."
The most important feature of the Declaration is the detailed action plan for the future of large rivers. "The Vienna Declaration is particularly important inasmuch [as] it foresees a concrete, realistic and timely action plan," said Giampaolo diSilvio, Professor at the University of Padova, Italy, and President of WASER. "Its practical implementation, however, may still present some challenges and delay."

Support from all levels. One of the steps in the action plan is to close knowledge gaps relating to large rivers. Based on the contributions to the conference, a UNESCO-led and internationally funded medium-term project to assemble and analyse existing data and knowledge on the status and future of large rivers, including evaluation of potential future infrastructure projects, their impact on large rivers and possible mitigation strategies. Particular attention will be given to transferring knowledge to the next generation of scientists, stakeholders, decision makers and the general public.

"Whilst the need for such action is readily accepted by most scientists, future progress towards sustainable management and restoration will depend heavily on the support and engagement of politicians and international organisations and collaboration between river managers from across the world," said Walling. "It is important that the management of specific river basins should be seen as contributing to a wider global goal."

Continuing the discussions. The Declaration suggests that a World River Forum be established to bring together scientists, stakeholders and decision makers to promote and improve integrated management of large rivers. The commissions responsible for sustainable management of large rivers should meet regularly to exchange experiences, define common standards on integrated management and debate future needs. "The ICPDR could play a major role in the World Large River Commissions Meetings," says Habersack.

"The most important part now is to implement the action plan," said Habersack. "One action is to organise future large rivers conferences, which is already on the way for 2014 in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil."

For more information, visit:
http://worldslargerivers.boku.ac.at/wlr/.

Kirstie Shepherd is a freelance journalist living in Vienna and has called the Danube River Basin home since 2000.