This paper deals with some of the strategic issues arising from the consideration of the sustainable development of river catchments. Principles and best practice are discussed, both in general terms and as challenges to professionals involved with the coordinated planning and management of river catchments. Points are illustrated with reference to experience in the highly developed River Thames catchment, where the many demands made on the water environment require complex multifunctional decision-making. Sustainability offers a new paradigm and common language to support decision-making for sustainable development. The appropriate institutional and legislative framework will be supported by tools such as environmental appraisal, strategic environmental assessment and economic instruments. Within this context, the implicit partnership between asset management planning, catchment management planning and land-use planning has the potential to deliver sustainable development for the water environment, through a process which may be called 'total' catchment planning. It is suggested that source control will play a major role in the search for 'prevention rather than cure' as a basic principle of sustainability.
