PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges for public participation in river basin management and planning and to develop a set of guidelines for a successful public consultation.Design/methodology/approachThe current paper describes and analyses the requirements and expectations regarding public participation in river basin planning and identifies some obstacles and recommendations for the process.FindingsThe research carried out identified a wide range of challenges for the practical implementation of the public involvement in river basin planning as stated in the Water Framework Directive. The involvement of the public is critical for a successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Hence, public participation is greatly emphasised in the Directive. Article 14 of the Water Framework Directive requires that Member States encourage involvement of all stakeholders into the implementation process, especially into the River Basin Management Planning.Practical implicationsThe paper may assist river basin managers to design, perform and evaluate the public consultation of river basin management plans.Originality/valueThe paper analyses the obstacles for the public consultation as part of the Water Framework Directive implementation. Based on the analysis the paper defines a range of guidelines and recommendations for the practical consultation design. This work is original, as no such analysis has been carried out before.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the prospects of integrated planning and management of the environment in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and river basin planning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses the legal framework of the WFD and other related water and environmental legislation as well as the provisions for integrative practice in the WFD. Moreover it analyses the potential for integration with issues that are not provided for in the WFD, such as land use. The procedural elements of the WFD and other EU legislation are analysed for identifying common elements within a modern consensus and efficiency based planning mode.FindingsThree aspects of the integrated management framework for water and other environmental resources are highlighted. The first concerns the need for interaction between spatial land use planning and the integrated river basin management plans of the WFD, in order to ensure that land‐use plans do not contradict water goals and that water planning also takes into account broader landscape related aspects. This demands the establishment of platforms for institutional interplay. The second is the need to integrate water goals into sectoral policies. This may be ensured by activating the impact assessment procedures for projects, plans and programmes which may have an impact on water resources and quality. The third concerns elements and procedures which are common to several pieces of legislations (e.g. management plans, monitoring, public participation), and which could benefit from the establishment of common databases, spatial information systems, and methods of communication.Originality/valueThe paper aims to identify key issues related to integration of the WFD with other environmental EU legislation, the associated challenges posed to water management and other environmental management institutions and procedures, and the information systems and methods which may facilitate the integration.
This study has been inspired by the methods and procedures from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), to assess and compare information on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems.
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