The role of integrating concepts in watershed rehabilitation

Watershed rehabilitation affects a large array of variables: ecological, ec onomic, cultural, and sociopolitical. Synoptic approaches aim at accounting for "everything" relevant by specifying the watershed and objectives for i ts development unambiguously. One could then calculate the optimal state of the watershed and use experts to specify the means for achieving this stat e. The development and use of integrating concepts such as "ecosystem healt h," a "living river," or "river health" that aim at describing the overall state of the watershed and general objectives for its improvement may appea r to support the synoptic approach. The present study shows that the synopt ic approaches and the integrating concepts are partly incompatible. The int egrating concepts evolve continuously and cannot as such yield a complete o bjective calculation that would specify an optimal level of rehabilitation. The integrating concepts are mainly useful in a context of communicative p lanning that accepts and encourages their evolution as new knowledge is gai ned and as stakeholders interact. Large-scale rehabilitation, therefore, mu st be supported by processes and institutional arrangements that facilitate specification of the desired states at the watershed level. The present st udy provides an example of such a process and the corresponding institution al arrangement.