Water-related issues in the Czech Republic: The context of environmental restoration

An international consensus on the direction and goals of freshwater ecosyst ems management is emerging. This international consensus emphasises the imp ortance of holistic approaches that define rights and responsibilities and that integrate the preservation of ecosystem functions as a central goal of water resources policies. Major international initiatives, such as the wor k of the Commission for Sustainable Development and the GEF Operational Str ategy, provide an opportunity for articulating an integrated river basin ma nagement of water resources. The relationship between the developing intern ational freshwater management regime and the Czech discourse on water in th e landscape is here explored.