Participation in European water policy

doi:10.1016/S1474-7065(03)00094-9

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C

Volume 28, Issues 12–13, 2003, Pages 555-562

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-7065(03)00094-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper considers the possibilities for interactive policy-making in European water management. In the new European Water Framework Directive, public information and consultation are major elements in the procedure (process) that leads to River Basin Management Plans. In general, decision making in integrated water management should not be limited to the application of models and desk studies. Important decisions need a high level of participation. In this interactive approach, visions, ideas, patterns of behaviour and solutions to perceived problems of different societal actors can be identified and incorporated into the decision-making process. For example, farmer organisations, environmental groups and associations of house owners, but also individual citizens often have various and differing ideas about measures that change the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a river basin. Well-organised interaction has two main potential advantages:

1.
The quality of the decision will be higher because specific knowledge of people involved and their different views are taken into consideration.
2.
The interaction enables exchange of information which can lead to a better understanding of the ins and outs of the specific situation and in this way contribute to public support.

By means of two examples of water related policy issues in Europe, i.e. economic approaches in the water framework directive and Integrated Product Policy, various opportunities for pluralistic as well as corporatist types of participation in modern water management are presented and discussed.

Introduction

In this paper we deal with possibilities for participation of both specific stakeholders and the general public in water management within the framework directive on water policy (WFD) (EU, 2000). After a description of the concept of ‘participation’, we elaborate the concept in relation to interaction-based approaches in policy making. The directive (EU, 2000, preamble, no. 14) literally stresses the importance of such approaches: “The success of this directive relies on close co-operation and coherent action at community, Member State and local level, as well as on information, consultation and involvement of the public, including users”. Besides general developments in policy making, we discuss specific developments in the domain of water management. We consequently explore whether or not the WFD fits in the trend towards interaction and provides opportunities for the introduction of interaction-based policy approaches in community water policy. In order to build on empirical evidence we selected two cases of interactive policy-making. The first discusses the increasing attention given to economic approaches in water management, the second discusses the newly developing domain of product policy.

Section snippets

Participation in policy making

Governmental agencies can adopt several roles in the participation process, each with it’s own degree of interaction with societal actors. These roles can be seen as steps on a “ladder of participation” (see Fig. 1).

The ‘ladder of participation’ is an indicator of the government’s attitude towards participation. With every step up the ladder, interaction becomes more intense. The second column of Fig. 1 defines the style of governance and the third column the role of participating actors in the

New concepts in water management

As has been pointed out, interaction with the public and with different stakeholders can improve governmental policy and hence the management of water in all its identities. It fits in a global evolution in the water management paradigm, where step by step a development towards “interactive management” of international river basins can be identified (van Ast, 2001). Interaction refers here to the society on the one hand, and the water system on the other (see Fig. 2).

We have already elaborated

Interaction in the economic elements of the European Water Framework Directive

The first example in this article deals with the present interest in economic approaches in the WFD and the opportunities for interactive policy-making with regard to this element. Increasing attention for economic approaches is not just a trend in water management, it is increasingly present in society as a whole. This trend can be referred to as the “economisation” of society (van Ast, 1999).

In the water framework directive, economisation is reflected in, amongst other things:

•
“the polluter

Interaction regarding Integrated Product Policy

A second example of interactive policy making are the measures against diffuse pollution. When looking closely at current pollution problems in the different river catchments, it is clear that diffuse sources are one of the main threats to water quality. Examples are nutrients, pesticides, heavy metals and organic material. Recently, awareness of hazardous substances has increased, like the many additives to synthetics (softeners, pesticides, fragrances) causing problems when they leach into

Concluding remarks

It will be clear by now that the WFD provides many opportunities for interactive water management. It is suggested that decision making in modern water management will be based more and more on participation of various societal actors. At the same time water managers will also have to interact in an intensive way with the increasingly complex set of natural factors associated with the water system.

When looking at various economic approaches of the WFD, it appears that both the pluralistic and

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