Biotic homogenization, a de facto symptom of a global biodiversity crisis, underscores the
urgency of reforming water resources management to focus on the health and viability of ecosystems.
Global population and economic growth, coupled with inadequate investment in maintenance of ecological
systems, threaten to degrade environmental integrity and ecosystem services that support the global socioeconomic
system, indicative of a system governed by the Growth and Underinvestment (G&U) archetype.
Water resources management is linked to biotic homogenization and degradation of system integrity
through alteration of water systems, ecosystem dynamics, and composition of the biota. Consistent with
the G&U archetype, water resources planning primarily treats ecological considerations as exogenous constraints
rather than integral, dynamic, and responsive parts of the system. It is essential that the ecological
considerations be made objectives of water resources development plans to facilitate the analysis of feedbacks
and potential trade-offs between socioeconomic gains and ecological losses. We call for expediting a
shift to ecosystem-based management of water resources, which requires a better understanding of the
dynamics and links between water resources management actions, ecological side-effects, and associated
long-term ramifications for sustainability. To address existing knowledge gaps, models that include dynamics
and estimated thresholds for regime shifts or ecosystem degradation need to be developed. Policy levers
for implementation of ecosystem-based water resources management include shifting away from
growth-oriented supply management, better demand management, increased public awareness, and institutional
reform that promotes adaptive and transdisciplinary management approaches.