About

The Resilient Rivers Hub

The Hub has been established to provide river managers across the globe with a resource to assist them in their quest to establish resilient river systems. The hub is collaborative space that is open to anyone interested in building and supporting river resilience. It is an evolving library of knowledge that amongst other things hosts:

The Resilient Rivers Blueprint document and framework;
Sign-up opportunity (for river basins to become signatories);
Map of signatories;
Online forum and members area;
Relevant links, case studies and guidance; and
Access to tools, metrics and indicators.

The International River Foundation will have the ongoing responsibility for maintaining the Hub, with input from the Founding Partners and signatories.

The Resilient Rivers Blueprint

The Resilient Rivers Blueprint provides the vision, principles and goals to enable a river basin to become resilient. It will complement and add value to existing Integrated River Basin and Integrated Water Resource Management (IRBM/IWRM) frameworks by identifying the key principles and components for mitigating and adapting to climate change and other stresses, such as rapid population growth.

The Blueprint is not another plan. The intention is to build on existing frameworks, plans and processes by providing a ‘common understanding’ of what river resilience looks like, and the platform, mechanisms and tools to overcome barriers to successful IWRM/IRBM implementation. It will achieve this by:

Outlining a set of key principles, goals and indicators towards a paradigm shift from recovery to resilience;
Promoting collaborative and transparent partnerships across all sectors;
Encouraging a whole of system approach to river basin management;
Identifying, promoting and developing effective financing mechanisms;
Strengthening governance and institutional frameworks; and
Providing a web-based platform (Resilience Hub) to assist river managers overcome barriers through knowledge exchange, case studies, resilience networks, tools and guidance.

The development of the Blueprint is an iterative process. Ongoing workshops and global dialogue will enable the continuous refinement and shaping of the Blueprint and supporting tools and guidance.

International River Foundation and Partners

The International RiverFoundation champions integrated river basin management for the restoration, protection and sustainable management of the world’s rivers. We do this by facilitating leadership, celebration and collaboration.

Water is crucial for all life—and we need healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands for sustainable development. We promote and support effective management of these resources by facilitating knowledge sharing, education and best practice river basin management, and by recognising and rewarding those making a difference.

Our Goals

To recognise, reward and replicate exceptional efforts in the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the world’s rivers,
To facilitate global knowledge sharing in sustainable, integrated river basin management,
To raise awareness of environmental, economic, scientific, social and cultural aspects of rivers,
To facilitate multi-sector partnerships and alliances that further global action to protect and revive rivers, and
To empower and support individuals to make a positive contribution for the world’s river basins.

We draw upon our large networks, and seek to build new ones, to revive the world’s rivers through multi-sector partnerships around the world. We are committed to supporting positive ecological, economic and social outcomes through our programs, which aim to change the lives of individuals and communities

International Expert Panel

The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) brings together a cross section of internationally renowned experts across a range of disciplines that have helped guide and develop the Resilient Rivers Blueprint. The IEP have provided advice to the Steering Committee, by recommending the preferred approach to the development of the BluePrint, based on scientific evidence and expert opinion. The IEP were selected to provide a variety of expertise required for a holistic assessment of river and community resilience, including:

Climate adaption and resilience
Catchment and river management
Governance and institutional frameworks
Financial mechanisms and risk strategies
Decision support tools
Monitoring and metrics
Community/stakeholder engagement

Founding Partners and Steering Committee

The Blueprint is overseen by a small group of Founding Partners, chosen for their leadership in river management, their desire to move from river recovery to river resilience and their expertise in aspects such as governance and institutional arrangements, finance mechanisms, and collaborative partnerships. The Founding Partners formed a Steering Committee to oversee the Blueprint development and ensure that the needs and directions of the organisations are considered throughout the project.