Water Policy In The Netherlands

As a low-lying delta region with a high population density, the Netherlands has long focused on the prevention of flooding catastrophes and the reclamation of valuable land. The evolution of Dutch water governance, beginning with the creation of local 'water boards' in the Middle Ages and growing into a complex infrastructure of polders, dams, and controlled waterways offers a compelling study of pitfalls and successes within one of the worlds most challenging regions for water management. Water Policy in the Netherlands traces the arc of water governance in the country, from technological innovations to prevent wide-scale flooding, to strategies focused primarily on improving water quality, to an integral water management approach which brings together perspectives from economics, hydrology, ecology, water law, and water technology. The contributions in this book demonstrate how both the technical and social sciences must play key roles in crafting policy in the face of serious environmental challenges including climate change, sea level rise, and increasing soil subsidence. Innovative themes explored in the work include: how economic models and pricing structures might improve efficiency in the distribution of water resources, how the competing uses for water-including for recreation, arable agriculture, fisheries, and natural preservation-create demands on both the quantity and quality of water resources, and how public participation, cogovernance, and the balance of public and private interests will be necessary to meet the goals of the EUs Water Framework Directive. This resource serves as both an invaluable case study and as a text to develop the analytical tool of integral water management for students, policy-makers, and NGO professionals in developed and developing regions.

This report assesses the extent to which Dutch water governance is fit for future challenges and sketches an agenda for the reform of water policies in the Netherlands. It builds on a one-year policy dialogue with over 100 Dutch stakeholders, supported by robust analytical work and drawing on international best practice. The Netherlands is a pioneer country in water management. It is widely known for its track record in reclaiming land from the sea, as well as its world-class engineering, strong water industry, and agricultural performance. But are these assets enough to cope with current and future challenges? Or do these challenges call for different organisational settings? It is the purpose of the OECD-Netherlands water policy dialogue to address this question,by applying a lens to the current state of play in Dutch water management and identifying ways in which the governance framework can be adjusted so that it is "fit for the future". This report on the outcomes of the policy dialogue focuses on the close interconnection between water governance and water security, both now and in the future. It outlines an agenda for future water policies in the Netherlands, which can improve the country's capacity to cope with future trends driven by climate change, economic growth, demographic patterns or innovation.

Network models for analysing public policy have become widely used in recent years. This volume, originally published in 1995, assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in England and Wales, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, the USA and at the level of the EU. Water policy – addressing basic human needs for the supply of adequate surface and groundwater as well as for the maintenance and improvement of water quality, is an increasingly salient subject. Each case covered in this volume treats the issues of water policy network composition and structure, and determinants of network characteristics, as well as documenting the influence of the networks on policy developments towards more network openness, emulation of business behaviour nd less domination by traditional professional groups such as engineers. Essays by the editors provide a common analytical perspective and offer both explicitly-comparative conclusions and evidence-based assessments of the strengths and limitations of the network perspective.

All over the world countries struggle with water stress. Problems vary from water scarcity and a degrading water quality, to floods and a rising sea level due to climate change. The European Union adopted a Water Framework Directive to improve the sustainability of water management in its member states. Water management should be coordinated at the level of river basins as a whole. Interests of various user groups should be better represented. River basin visions should take into account the impact of all human activities on the status of the resource. Water legislation needs streamlining and more focus on its implementation. The European Union advocates regulating water prices by charging the costs of water services on the basis of full cost recovery and the polluter pays principle. This book examines the development of water management in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. It is based on the European research project EUWARENESS. The authors apply a theoretical framework for the analysis of institutional regimes, water governance and property rights. The evolution of national water resource regimes is described over a period of almost 200 years (1800-2000). The long-term perspective enables the reader to see the conditions under which regime transformation and paradigm change are made possible. The book also includes a critical analysis of policy making by the European Union, and a comparative review and analysis of regime development in the six countries involved. This book is followed by another volume published with Kluwer Academic Publishers on "Integrated Governance and Water Basin Management", edited by Hans Bressers and Stefan Kuks.

This book provides the necessary elements to determine exactly what information should be collected to make the collected information relevant for policy makers. It highlights the dissatisfaction of information users about the information they get and the reasons for this dissatisfaction. It also discusses general issues around the role and use of information in policy making. The text then describes the how to develop a full understanding of the policy makers’ information needs and will describe how policy makers can be included in the process. Finally, the book describes how the results from this process are input for the information production process.