Collaborative water management across England – An overview of the Catchment Based Approach

Environmental protection as a movement is broadening to both invite and require the participation and energy of everyone, including federal agencies, local governments, activists, and enthusiasts. Citizen science and community science, approaches rooted in non-traditional partnerships and diverse participation, are a strong approach to science, and they are especially strong approaches to a wide range of outcomes with direct impacts on the protection of the environment, from civic engagement all the way to enforcement action. There is evidence that institutions and agencies are moving towards more inclusive visions of their missions, and citizen and community scientists are motivated to engage. We propose a spectrum of engagement that defines opportunities for citizen science and community science beyond the participation of volunteers in institution-driven or scientist-driven research; we also provide examples of projects and efforts that have led to outcomes for each of the spectrum categories. We argue that the impact of citizen science and community science can be strengthened through the recognition of a wide range of partnership structures, including long-term community documentation, community pattern identification, community problem source identification, and advocacy to community. Citizen science and community science represent a more inclusive version of science, and provide a model for embracing truly collaborative environmental protection, as well.

Human changes on the Danube River have transformed it into a heavily engineered river, severely threatening its ecological status. The status and management strategies vary significantly between regions of the Danube River Basin. Citizen science approach can be the bridge in harmonizing water management practices across the Danube Basin and in recording large water quality datasets. This chapter reviews citizen science actions in the Lower Danube Basin and the available tools for citizens in this region. The study has shown that the activities with public involvement in this region have been supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or independent citizen science platforms. Citizen science activities in this region are scarce and infrequent, and most of them without supervision from professional researchers or involvement from local authorities. Limited access to funds, lack of trust between participating groups and the restricted power of communities to voice concerns have been found as factors influencing citizen science activities. The scientists may be the missing link between policy makers, water managers and citizens, while providing the optimal tools and knowledge to all sectors. Professional scientists can collaborate with NGOs and build upon their extensive expertise and success in engaging with citizens and authorities.

With the increasing attention paid to environmental protection and sustainable development in various countries worldwide, the relationship between local government competition and environmental governance has become more subtle and complex. This paper provides new insight into their relationship based on public value theory and media sentiment perspective. Utilizing panel data from 2012 to 2019 in 216 cities in China, this study integrated Data Envelopment Analysis, Conflicting Attitudes Model, Computer-Aided Text Analysis, and machine learning-based sentiment analysis, as well as nonlinear mediation model to empirically test the relationships among local governments’ competition pressure, public value conflict, media sentiments, and environmental governance performance. The study found that: (1) Competition pressure and environmental governance performance exist in a “U-curved” relationship. (2) The core mechanism of the above relationship lies in the mediating role of public value conflict. Within a specific range, the public value conflict faced by local governments increases as competition pressure increases. This conflict would push local governments into a dilemma and induce them to commit misconduct. However, when competition pressure exceeds this range, the public value conflict faced by local governments will be weakened, leading environmental governance performance to rebound. (3) Negative media sentiments significantly alleviate the negative impact of public value conflict on environmental governance performance. This study helps researchers and policymakers recognize government competition’s influence on environmental governance from a public value perspective, with further exploration and confirmation of the moderating role of media sentiments. It also provides theoretical and policy enlightenment for rethinking the behavior logic of local government and solving the dilemma of local government environmental governance.

Theory on environmental governance and water governance emphasises decentralised, devolved forms of interaction between stakeholders. As previously excluded actors are empowered to take part in governance, new forms of cooperation are created. This paper examines how the cooperative principle has influenced stakeholder interaction at the local and international scales of water governance in South Africa. Water policies and initiatives have been set up to promote multi‐level governance that emphasises cooperation between various stakeholders. The emphasis on cooperation and inclusiveness is particularly pertinent to the South African context because of its apartheid past. The paper asks whether there have been new forms of cooperation between a wider array of actors, as the theory proposes. By using the case studies of the Sabie catchment and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to examine local and international level governance, the paper finds challenges related to power disparity and interdependence of actors, and risk perceptions of inclusive decision‐making. It is found that at both the local and international level, the state, which is a ‘traditional’ actor, still plays an influential role in decision‐making. ‘New’ actors such as businesses, civil society, and regional institutions are more visible but have limited decision‐making power. Non‐linear, time‐consuming forms of cooperation occur in water governance.

With the rapid development of industrial economy, local governments in China have invested a large amount of financial funds in environmental protection. In the era of widespread use of clean energy, local governments have a greater responsibility to coordinate fiscal policies with industrial development policies to improve regional environment. Local governments with large fiscal surpluses would make more efforts to improve environmental efficiency, rather than attract heavily polluting industrial enterprises to develop their local economies, and more likely to promote the use of clean energy equipment and raise environmental awareness in government. This paper focuses on testing the impact of abundant fiscal revenue of local governments on the efficiency of regional environmental governance with the data in all prefecture-level cities of China’s Guangdong province from 2001 to 2020. We estimate local environmental governance efficiency score with super-efficiency SBM method, taking unexpected output into account. Then we find that fiscal affluence has significant positive effect on the efficiency of environmental governance and the environmental awareness of the government also has obvious help in improving local environmental efficiency. We hope that these findings will provide practical help for local governments to improve their fiscal policy agendas and the quality of environmental governance.

In a democratic country, civil society will develop and grow strongly. The state as an integration of political power, is the main organization of political power. Also, the state is a tool of society that has the power to regulate human relations in society and regulate the symptoms in society. Good governance can also be interpreted as a synergic and constructive relationship between the state, the private and the civil society. This study aims to find out and understand how is the relationship of the roles of both civil and private society in order to achieve good governance. In this research applied the civil society, state theory, the concept of good governance, and the concept of decentralization theory. The results that the relationship of the roles, both civil and private society can be seen through building democratic governance through the role of civil society, social and political participation in decentralization. Local governments in Indonesia, through a decentralized system, have enabled the rapid development of democracy. Thus, democratic governance depends on how much civic engagements are.

The technical efficiency of water companies plays a crucial role in ensuring the reliable and sustainable delivery of clean and safe drinking water. It also influences the effective management of water and wastewater services. Services of this kind, usually provided by a monopoly supplier, offer operators no market incentives to innovate, or improve their efficiency. So, the mission of the regulatory institutions is to simulate a competitive environment. The main aim of this contribution is to use Network Data Envelopment Analysis (N-DEA) to assess and benchmark the technical efficiency of 14 water and wastewater companies offering their services in Slovakia from 2019 - 2021. The methodology of N-DEA allows us to assess the activity’s cost and delivery efficiency, and its overall technical efficiency. We show that full cost efficiency was achieved by two small and one large water companies operating in different regions. Three of the largest suppliers of water and wastewater services and one small company achieved the efficient delivery of water services. Overall efficiency was achieved by one large company in 2021 and one small company in 2019 and 2020. The outcome of our empirical analysis demonstrates the excellent skills of managers in technically efficient companies, regardless of company size and region. That outcome may be of interest to regulatory institutions and the management of individual water companies.

Local and environmental governance is crucial for contending with the complex problems of land-use systems and socio-ecological conflicts that bedevil progress toward sustainable development. The community-based governance (CBG) framework is a practical instrument designed to identify collective problems, source the appropriate institutions and articulate joint solutions. It uses community perspectives to construct local and environmental governance models. Through a literature review, two expert workshops and 37 applied questionnaires, a bottom-up CBG model that could enhance environmental and local governance in a post-conflict era for two Colombian administrative departments is developed. Strengthening law enforcement, supporting sustainable land-use systems and promoting education are integral to a participatory-led approach to socio-ecological conflict prevention and resolution. The results are instructive for other communities and regions facing persistent conflict.

The relationship between governance, sustainability and decision making is receiving increasing attention in academic and policy circles. Governance and sustainability are, however, contested and somewhat imprecise concepts. Both concepts are inextricably linked to local circumstances and therefore need to be defined in terms of the characteristics of the people living in a given place at a given moment. In this paper we present an alternative idea of governance in which the importance of the notion of place is highlighted and the degree of interaction and cooperation between local actors is given more relevance than in conventional definitions. We base our understanding of governance on a previously defined conceptual framework for sustainability build on the three pillars of "place" (the spatial dimension), "permanence" (the temporal dimension) and "persons" (the human dimension), instead of the classic triple bottom line of economy, environment and society. This conceptual framework is arguably more sensitive than the triple-bottom-line approach to understand complex, long-term issues such as environmental governance and inter-generational justice. It also makes the idea of sustainability more adaptable to specific settings and more appropriate to understand local, regional, and global processes. Interactions between persons in a given place are usually triggered by specific problems. These interactions directly affect the overall situation in the future, constantly reshaping the temporal dimension in a continuous process of change. To test the conceptual framework presented we analyzed the governance of the water and sanitation management system in the city of Salta, Argentina. We briefly describe the system, analyze institutional changes in recent yeards and discuss the relevance of differents stakeholders acting therein in order to identify key features that might be useful to detect governance failures and succeses. We organized our finding in a semi-quantitative index that allows a more in-depth analysis of the complex links of governance and sustainability. The index is calculated by aggregating descriptors, indicators and variables in a weighted matrix. Data used to build the index come from literature reviews, information provided by the water company, field visits, and interviews with key actors. We compare our approach with other governance analytical frameworks, highlighting similarities and differences. Some specific recommendations are made to promote a better governance of the system studied.

States and localities play a critical role in bringing the United States into compliance with its international human rights commitments. The human rights framework embraces the importance of local decision making and implementation, as well as a significant role for subnational incorporation of human rights obligations. Realization of human rights in affected communities requires strong cooperation and collaboration among local, state, and federal governments, and between government and civil society (Melish 2009). Moreover, state and local implementation of human rights may eventually help influence national policy and broader acceptance of international human rights norms (Burroughs 2006, 420–24; Davis 2008a, 436; Powell 2001, 249; Resnik 2006, 1581; Soohoo and Stoltz 2008, 475). Indeed, human rights treaties are intended to be implemented at the local level with a great deal of democratic input. They provide mechanisms and opportunities for reporting on conditions within communities (both positive and negative), training government officials and agencies as well as the community to promote equality and nondiscrimination, conducting hearings to explore and examine the relevance of findings by international treaty bodies, and issuing recommendations for future action. They also provide a set of standards that local governments should adhere to in administering their own laws and policies. Subnational implementation of human rights, particularly in areas traditionally reserved for state and local regulation, is also consistent with the U.S. federalist system.

Traditional data sources provide insufficient knowledge for measuring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data related to SDGs are sourced primarily from global databases maintained by international organizations, national statistical offices and other government agencies. Recent studies show the value of using data from Citizen Science (CS) for assessing the SDGs. There is an important online presence of CS programs, professional networks for CS and online communities of citizen scientists, leading to the generation of several CS platforms. In this context, the role of computational data science is key. This paper explores and exemplifies opportunities for combining web-data mining techniques and automatic classifiers to enhance the understanding of the inter-relation between CS and the SDGs. An analysis of different automatic classifiers is presented by comparing the results obtained from their application in a sample of 208 CS project descriptions. The results of this study indicate the benefits and limitations of these techniques (nCoder, ESA, OSDG and BERT), but also provides a discussion of the potential benefits of using data from CS projects to map the 17 SDGs.

Environmental governance implementation at all levels starting from EU up to local level need to have necessary capacity and whole set of governance instruments to ensure that the governance process reaches planned outcomes. The primary aim of the environmental governance assessment in Latvia is to review the implementation of environmental governance at the national level, but considering importance of municipal level as well. The initial part of this study was also part of the European Commission project, realized in the all EU Member States and then were studied several good governance characteristics as transparency, accountability, access to justice, participation, effectiveness and efficiency, and others. There were done all related document studies and additional selected interviews with key experts in the field and representing both governance levels, national and local. The continuation studies done kept similar approaches, however aiming at qualitative updating of environmental governance situation overview, according to the various substantial environmental and administrative-terririal and other changes which were taking place in the meantime in Latvia. Also there were additional studies performed, especially, stressing the importance of municipal environmental governance. Researchers used data and document studies, as well as consultations (express interviews) with related environmental experts/practitioners of different governance levels in the country. There are various environmental governance instruments at national level, having planned impact on local level governance, but local municipalities, as legal entities in the field of public law, first of all rely on regulatory enactments which define in detail the functions, rights and duties of local governments. The legislative framework is exhaustive and detailed, but it is fragmented in relation to the environment protection. Coordination mechanisms between local, regional, and national levels are complicated. The development of infrastructure at national level is mainly linked to existing standards, regulations and procedures for construction, exploitation, etc., as well as the distribution of available EU funds and monitoring and control of use. The financial-economic framework at national level defines the source of municipal finances – real estate tax, population income tax, natural resources tax, but there are yet limited financial mechanisms for local governments of municipalities to stimulate business development in their territory, promote sustainable forms of business, promote the use of renewable energy sources (e.g. wind parks). As regards the institutional and administrative framework and the framework for communication process and its complementary instruments, there are only separate restrictions imposed by regulatory enactments, leaving the local government level with a relatively large freedom of choice, but within their administrative capacities and financial resources available. Effective mechanisms to enable members of the public to make complaints about environmental problems are in place, and for those complaints to be properly addressed, are an important part of environmental compliance assurance. They also reinforce public confidence in environmental laws. Environmental governance in general in Latvia is well enough framed and developed in all governance levels – national, regional, local and grass-root level.

<p>Citizen science has globally been recognized as a vital part of open science and as a way of doing research that enables new levels of science education and science communication. Due to its high levels of public participation, citizen science can be of great value in bringing society and science closer together. Universities across the world have acknowledged this value and aim to incorporate citizen science in their policies and daily practices as part of their open science practices.</p><p>The Delft University of Technology has set the goal to develop an open science program that includes citizen science. However, implementing and incorporating citizen science in an open science program is not a straightforward task and demands knowledge, understanding, and experience of the field as well as the practical implications. What should a university do to support the goals of various citizen science initiatives, within an open science context, and to assist and facilitate researchers to perform effective participatory science? To gain a deeper understanding of what a citizen science project entails within the context of a university, we performed a case-study implementing citizen science methods for hydrological research. The project, called Delft Measures Rain, was developed in collaboration with external partners and several internal departments and their staff, some already having experience with developing and coordinating citizen science projects. Citizens of Delft were encouraged to participate and work together with scientists from the Water Management department to investigate rainfall patterns within the city. In total, 95 citizens collaborated for two months to collect over 1900 individual rainfall measurements spread over the city and taken with home-made rain gauges.  We developed tailored recruitment strategies, data collection and validation tools, data visuals, and communication strategies. Overall, the project has delivered valuable results, including reliable rainfall data, involvement and enthusiasm of citizens, and valuable feedback from participants. Additionally, this project has led to more cooperation of relevant institutions and civil society organizations (CSO) across the city and between different departments within the university itself.</p><p>This case-study has showcased how various stakeholders (researchers, citizens, civil servants, CSO’s, etc.) can benefit from co-developed participatory research implementing citizen science and open science principles. With this case study, we were able to identify the benefits, drawbacks, and opportunities for all stakeholders involved. Furthermore, we identified key tools and facilitation needs to assist researchers within the university to perform effective participatory science. During the session, we would like to share our methods, successes, challenges, and lessons learned. This project shows that, with the right knowledge and tools, citizen science can deliver what it promises and be of great value to universities and open science in general. </p>

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a key driver of global biodiversity loss. Reducing their spread and impact is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 15.8) and of the EU IAS Regulation 1143/2014. The use of citizen science offers various benefits to alien species’ decision-making and to society, since public participation in research and management boosts awareness, engagement and scientific literacy and can reduce conflict in IAS management. We report the results of a survey on alien species citizen science initiatives within the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Alien-CSI. We gathered metadata on 103 initiatives across 41 countries, excluding general biodiversity reporting portals, spanning from 2005 to 2020, offering the most comprehensive account of alien species citizen science initiatives on the continent to date. We retrieved information on project scope, policy relevance, engagement methods, data capture, data quality and data management, methods and technologies applied and performance indicators such as the number of records coming from projects, the numbers of participants and publications. The 103 initiatives were unevenly distributed geographically, with countries with a tradition of citizen science showing more active projects. The majority of projects were contributory and were run at a national scale, targeting the general public, alien plants and insects, and terrestrial ecosystems. These factors of project scope were consistent between geographic regions. Most projects focused on collecting species presence or abundance data, aiming to map presence and spread. As 75% of the initiatives specifically collected data on IAS of Union Concern, citizen science in Europe is of policy relevance. Despite this, only half of the projects indicated sustainable funding. Nearly all projects had validation in place to verify species identifications. Strikingly, only about one third of the projects shared their data with open data repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility or the European Alien Species Information Network. Moreover, many did not adhere to the principles of FAIR data management. Finally, certain factors of engagement, feedback and support, had significant impacts on project performance, with the provision of a map with sightings being especially beneficial. Based on this dataset, we offer suggestions to strengthen the network of IAS citizen science projects and to foster knowledge exchange among citizens, scientists, managers, policy-makers, local authorities, and other stakeholders.

Starting with the view that the emergence of citizen science initiatives proves the fullest potential to address environmental problems and promote sustainability from the ground up, this conceptual paper aims to explore why citizen science matters for a low-carbon future in the Mekong region. Based on a literature review and semi-structured expert interviews, this paper highlights the im-portance and unique impacts of citizen science in science, policy, and sustainability education spheres. These impacts are reflected in case studies of United States and Belgium. Results from empirical data also reveal that citizen science is transforming research, educating and informing the public, and decentralizing and informing policy. The results further provide promises for ad-dressing environmental problems in Mekong countries where environmental degradation seems to be getting murkier. The paper concludes with a discussion as to how citizen science should be embedded in local environmental governance as it revolutionizes our understanding of the envi-ronmental challenges and promotes evidence-informed policy making.