Estuary planning and management: the case of Vouga Estuary (Ria de Aveiro), Portugal

Abstract

Estuarine areas often concentrate complex and conflicting sets of natural, economic and social resources and activities with multiple challenges to planning and management approaches as well as to governance practices. Using a set of integration factors depicted from the literature review, the paper analyzes the main features of the new set of the Portuguese estuary types of plans and assesses their potential added value, while focusing the analysis on the estuary of the Vouga River (Ria de Aveiro). The results are twofold. On the one side, their uniqueness, by treating the estuary as a planning unit, integrating the water resources and the land use planning systems and by establishing mandatory rules for the estuary uses, embodies relevant potential for reducing boundary tensions and to improve integrative approaches. On the other side, while at the level of plan content the contribution of the Portuguese Estuary Land Use and Management Plans (Planos de Ordenamento de Estu ario) legislation brings strong new prospects for integration, at the level of planning process and implementation, further efforts should be undertaken. Their added value, especially in complex institutional and societal estuarine contexts, such as the Ria de Aveiro, strongly depends on more robust participation schemes through which knowledge, institutions, aims and measures are articulated in a collective vision and shared governance process.

Governance for Sustainability of Estuarine Areas—Assessing Alternative Models Using the Case of Ria de Aveiro, Portugal

“…Focused on spatial planning approaches but with the concern of floods and risk management, Dawson [21] added the relevance of "governance arrangements" in the process of designing and adopting new structural risk prevention measures. The consideration of estuaries as planning units, while integrating sectoral policy approaches and related rules, may reduce boundary tensions and facilitate integrative governance approaches [31]. Moreover, besides the relevance of estuary plans to improve estuary management, robust "governance models" for plan preparation and implementation are also mentioned [37].…”

“…This goal requires an integrated, or at least an articulated system of planning, permitting, and monitoring, as well as of economic instruments to support maintenance measures, such as dredging, banks protection, habitats recovery, water treatment, and pollution prevention. For this, the articulation between policy objectives, measures, and rules adopted by water, nature conservation, and many other sectors relevant in the estuary is crucial [22,31]. This articulation calls for collaborative schemes to identify and reduce conflicts [30,89].…”

Unravelling Persistent Problems to Transformative Marine Governance

“…Instigating such wide ranging transformations in the pursuit of integration is a "methodological and value-laden process" (Fidélis andCarvalho, 2014, p. 1175) and needs to be implemented through system-wide processes (Kelly et al, 2018b). Marine governance reform, however, is seldom undertaken in such a systematic manner, with new management approaches usually being implemented within current regimes.…”

Coastal Lagoons in Europe: Integrated Water Resource Strategies

“…Apart from improving the lagoon's environment, its economic competitiveness and its resilience to natural hazards like floods and coastal erosion, this programme has been important since it involved a strong collaborative work between the central administration and CIRA (Fidélis & Carvalho, 2014). However, despite these efforts, conflicts between uses and activities as well as their impacts/ pressures on Ria de Aveiro, are not being addressed as a whole.…”

“…The cost recovery for water services and the promotion of public participation in water management are some of the principles addressed by this law . In some domains, the Water Law goes beyond the guidelines of the WFD, particularly regarding the creation of a new instrument, the Estuary Management Plans Fidélis & Carvalho, 2014). This new instrument is a legally binding tool that materializes the territorial contiguity of spatial planning.…”