Value Chains in water cycles; innovations in water governance

Abstract: water management deals with great challenges regarding the demand for the many valuable functions water systems provide. The optimisation of the different values can be met with institutional arrangements that include the values in decision-making processes. Instruments like (Societal) Cost Benefit Analysis and participation of stakeholders and public could enhance this optimisation, resulting in more sustainable water management. The concepts of value-based governance and co-valuation are presented, that enable value chains to provide the highest collective value. Illustrations of water system change are provided in which the theoretical approach of Elinor Ostrom (1990) towards Common Pool Resources Management is applied in regional implementation of the EU-Water Framework Directive. Further exploration requires extended research about how the valuation process should be institutionalized, about which values are to be included in the value concept and about which variables are relevant for value-based governance.