Selected Issues of Adaptive Water Management on the Example of the Białka River Basin

Abstract

Water is a fundamental resource needed for human life and functioning and the environment. Water management requires a comprehensive, adaptive approach that also considers the dynamics of changes in the water management system. This is particularly important in areas where different groups of stakeholders intertwine, whose needs often contradict, which hampers effective water management, particularly in places of high natural value. This research aimed to analyze selected issues in water management in the Białka River Basin in Southern Poland. The analysis was based on a review of scientific publications, internet sources, and a survey on water management in the basin. Our research shows that the dominant issues in the study area are the flood risk and water pollution related to, among other factors, the intensive development of tourism. Moreover, the effective management of water resources is hampered by poor communication between the administration and stakeholders, which results in a low level of knowledge, negative attitudes towards nature protection, and the emergence of conflicts. The main conclusion of this paper indicates that, despite the existing social potential for implementing comprehensive water management methods, the lack of an appropriate legal framework prevents the implementation of concepts such as Adaptive Water Management.

Causes and mechanisms of the disappearance of braided channel patterns (the example of the Białka River, Western Carpathians)

“…The shortage of bed material in the Białka River as well as increasing human impact in the form of changing land use constitute favorable conditions for incision at the expense of bank erosion. Over the last few centuries a leading source of clastic material supplied to the Białka channel has been arable land, which constituted about 65% of all agricultural land in the 20th century in the study area (Górz, 1994;Bryła et al, 2021). The share of arable land began to decline in the 1990s when Poland began its political and economic transition.…”

Precipitation and hydrological extremes during the warm season in response to climate change: the example from the Polish Carpathians

“…Floods in mountain basins used to be accompanied by several processes coupling between hillslopes and channels (Stoffel et al 2016). Mountain basins often respond rapidly to intense rainfall having high slopes and a quasi-circular morphology resulting in strong connectivity (Ruiz-Villanueva et al 2010;Hlavčová et al 2016;Bryndal et al 2017;Bryła et al 2021;Bezák et al 2023).…”