Achieving European Water Quality Ambitions: Governance Conditions for More Effective Approaches at the Local-Regional Scale

Abstract

Worldwide countries face challenges to restore and preserve water resources. This paper analyses how governance approaches support the attainment of water quality ambitions set out in the European Water Framework Directive and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, the connection between the physical water system and the governing legal and societal systems is explored, using scientific literature and empirical material on governance approaches in the subdomains of drinking water resources, freshwater ecosystems and bathing water in The Netherlands. The results show the effects of the intricate relationship between water system characteristics and the drivers of water quality versus the various elements of a governance approach. For instance, hydrological, morphological and chemical objectives set different demands on governance conditions, related to the scale, roles and responsibilities of actors who need to be involved and coherence of the legal and policy frameworks in place. These demands can also be different during the different stages of a policy process. Choices made in a governance approach (who to involve, availability and use of legal instruments, measures and monitoring) may therefore influence the level of water quality improvement that can be achieved. A joint approach from the social-economic, legal and ecological knowledge domain during all stages of a policy process is necessary to overcome such unintended results.

Structural and Contentual Complexity in Water Governance

“…This means, for instance, as Baron et al [49] (p. 1248) indicate for water resources management, the development of "a coherent policy that more equitably allocates water resources between natural ecosystem function and societal needs". In a similar way, Wuijts et al [50] argue that assessing a river's needs, and identifying the needs that require improvement in order to achieve a good ecological status, are necessary to identify the governance needs to improve water quality. This directly refers to maintaining a sustainable natural equilibrium.…”

“…(2) Wuijts et al [50] conclude that it is important to governance conditions to dispose of a shared perception of risks, the use of transparent and smart decision-making and the monitoring of outcome (water quality improvement) rather than progress of measures. Reducing or eliminating perverse incentives like particular types of subsidies will decrease pressures on biodiversity from specific economic sectors (agriculture, transport), while improving overall economic efficiency.…”

“…PNS is in between (DisKnow) and (PubGovStyl), in which the public involvement ('knowledge co-production') stands for the extended peer community. To illustrate the ambiguity of using knowledge, Wuijts et al [50] note that scholars of different knowledge domains have different perspectives on the effectiveness of water governance approaches and hence interactions between them play an important role in achieving water quality ambitions.…”

“…(1) Discussing governance aspects of the EU Water Framework Directive, Wuijts et al [50] stress the importance of developing 'bridging mechanisms' to enhance connectivity between actors across hydrological scales, regional authorities, and institutional levels. (2) The importance of time and space scales of ES G&Ss, applied to the Water Framework Directive/Elbe river basin, is explained by Bastian et al [37], arguing, for instance, that ecological structures and processes, as well as ES G&Ss, "manifest themselves at different scales and in quite different manners at the local, the regional and the global scale" [37] (p. 5).…”

Assessment and sensitive analysis of biological water risks in water resources with application of classical mass transfer computations

“…Biological risks that target water resources and facilities, both covertly and openly through biological and chemical agents, threaten public health infrastructure. Many experts consider the possibility of using biological weapons to target water resources and networks very high, so it is necessary to prepare all responsible institutions against the possible occurrence of these hazards [8][9][10][11][12].…”