Sweeney S. Water-related issues in the Czech Republic: the context of environmental restoration. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 19, No. 4, 435-448, 2000. An international consensus on the direction and goals of freshwater ecosystems management is emerging. This international consensus emphasises the importance 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 work of the Commission for Sustainable Development and the GEF Operational Strategy, provide an opportunity for articulating an integrated river basin management of water resources. The relationship between the developing international freshwater management regime and the Czech discourse on water in the landscape is here explored.