Participatory Methods Within The Eu Water Framework Directive

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 1,3, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, course: Environmental and Sustainability Studies, language: English, abstract: This essay explores in detail the participatory methods employed by the Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA) during the revision of the WFD and offers an evaluation. As the European Union attemps to tackle the challenges of handling an ever growing number of issues within its ever growing boundaries and simultaniously tries to regain democratic credibility and rebuild its relationship with its citizens, the concept of participatory governance has taken central stage in european policy making. In this paper I want to explore the following questions: What kind of participatory methods were employed by Catalonia during the second cycle of planification of the EU Water Framework Directive in order to involve citizens? How can we estimate the quality of these methods and how do they comply with the theory of participatory governance?

Does participatory governance benefit the environment? The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in 2000 with the aim of revolutionizing European water governance, mandates participatory river basin management planning across the European Union. The belief of European policymakers and the European Commission is that participation will deliver better policy outputs and implementation. This book examines a range of approaches to participatory river basin management planning, and considers whether and how participation impacted on the environmental standard of planning documents, quality of implementation, and social outcomes. It draws on evidence from WFD implementation in eight case studies from Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom on the basis of a matched comparative case study design. The Directive sets common timeframes and procedural requirements, which provides a perfect test-bed and unique opportunity to study the effects of participation on implementation and outcomes in comparative perspective.

Special Offer: Water Framework Directive Series Set. Visit www.iwapublishing.com to buy all four titles including Volume 3 and save £100! Water resources planning and management and the development of appropriate policies requires methodologies and tools that are able to support systematic, integrative and multidisciplinary assessments at various scales. It also requires the quantification of various uncertainties in both data and models, and the incorporation of stakeholders participation and institutional mechanisms into the various tools and risk assessment methodologies, to help decision makers understand and evaluate alternative measures and decisions. This requirement has been explicitly recognised in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). This book is one of the concrete outcomes of the Harmoni-CA concerted action (supported by the European Commission). It provides a framework for model-supported participatory planning of measures at various river basin scales and practical guidance to water managers and other interested stakeholders on the model-supported implementation of the WFD. The objective of the book is to offer guidance to water managers on the model-supported implementation of the Water Framework Directive at the level of a river basin district and at other levels (such as sub-basins, national, or international scale in the case of international river basins). It should help water managers to better understand how models may be used for planning purposes, while special attention is given to the problem of predicting an uncertain future, one very likely to differ from the present. Six case studies from different parts of Europe are provided to illustrate the practical applicability of the planning framework in the WFD implementation. They are very important for illustrating how concepts from earlier parts of the document are applied to real-world situations. The case studies cover several aspects of mesoscale river basin management, water quantity and quality issues, and the role of modelling, with two case studies located in pilot river basins. This text is intended for use by water managers and hydrologists engaged in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The other three volumes in the Water Framework Directive Series are: Modelling Aspects of Water Framework Directive Implementation - Volume 1 edited by Prof. Peter A. Vanrolleghem Integrated Assessment for WFD implementation: Data, economic and human dimension - Volume 2 edited by Peter A. Vanrolleghem Decision support for WFD implementation - Volume 3 edited by Peter A. Vanrolleghem

The management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance. This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters. It will raise the awareness of practitioners of the various issues needed to be taken into account when making water management decisions and provide a practically-based overview for advanced students. The authors show clearly how vital it is to cooperate effectively over the management of shared waters to unlock their contribution to regional sustainable development. The book is largely based on a long-running and tested international training programme, run by the Stockholm International Water Institute and Ramboll Natura, and supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), where the respective authors have presented modules on the programmes. It addresses issues not only of conflict, but also of managing power asymmetries, benefit-sharing, stakeholder participation, international water law, environmental water requirements and regional development. It will be particularly useful for those with a background in hydrology or engineering who wish to broaden their management skills.

Research results discussed in this book demonstrate that effective water management tools and decision-making practices are needed to support interventions to increase availability and manage demand for scarce water supplies. Furthermore, the book bridges the gap between ideas and actions endorsed in the research-oriented environmental debate and their translation into policymaking structures and programs in developed and developing countries.

The Adaptiveness of IWRM provides new insights and knowledge on the challenges and solutions that current water management faces in a situation of complexity and uncertainty. Drawing on the available results from a wide range of European research projects under several framework programmes, the book provides an overview of the state of the art in European research on Integrated Water Resources Management on the topics of Participation, Transboundary regimes, Economics, Vulnerability, Climate change, Advanced monitoring, Spatial planning, and the Social dimensions of water management. The achievements of EU research projects are considered in view of the extent to which IWRM responds to the current complexity and uncertainty water management is facing. These achievements are positioned in a wider context of worldwide developments in the respective topics which account for the future challenges. From this, the book concludes with the required focus of European research in the near future and promotes the concept of Adaptive Water Management as the preferred direction for the development of IWRM. The book presents the achievements of European IWRM research on a range of water management topics and offers conclusions and recommendations for research foci that will be invaluable to water managers, policy-makers and academic researchers working in the field of IWRM.

Water is one of the most essential element for the survival of living beings. With the increase in demand and decreasing quality and quantity, water has become one of the major issues and problems in the world today. It is unevenly distributed geographically and temporally, resulting in surpluses for some people and a threat for others. This book c

This important new book provides an excellent critical evaluation of new modes of governance in environmental and sustainability policy. The multidisciplinary team of contributors combine fresh insights from all levels of governance all around a carefully crafted conceptual framework to advance our understanding of the effectiveness and legitimacy of new types of steering, including networks, public private partnerships, and multi-stakeholder dialogues. This is a crucial contribution to the field. Frank Biermann, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands Can new modes of governance, such as public private partnerships, stakeholder consultations and networks, promote effective environmental policy performance as well as increased deliberative and participatory quality? This book argues that in academic inquiry and policy practice there has been a deliberative turn, manifested in a revitalized interest in deliberative democracy coupled with calls for novel forms of public private governance. By linking theory and practice, the contributors critically examine the legitimacy and effectiveness of new modes of governance, using a range of case studies on climate, forestry, water and food safety policies from local to global levels. Environmental Politics and Deliberative Democracy will appeal to scholars, both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate, as well as researchers of environmental politics, international relations, environmental studies and political science. It will also interest practitioners involved in the actual design and implementation of new governance modes in areas of sustainable development, food safety, forestry and climate change.