Evaluating participation in WFD river basin management in England and Wales: Processes, communities, outputs and outcomes

River Basin Restoration and Management is the result of two workshops that took place at the 4th IWA World Water Congress: The Restoration of Degraded River Basins and River Basin Management Using Machine Learning. The Restoration of Degraded River Basins set out to share experience in the institutional, policy, and public participation elements of restoration programmes, the ‘soft’ issues surrounding restoration of a degraded river basin and the development of the river basin plan. The resulting papers include a number of case studies from a variety of river basins in Israel, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia and Central Europe. The River Basin Management Using Machine Learning workshop highlighted and compared the two different approaches to watershed management: the physically based modelling approach relying on the system physics versus the data driven modelling approach based on exploring the system ‘data behaviour’. The workshop was motivated by the recent rapid advance in information processing systems. These have pushed the hydrological research community to explore the possibilities of using intelligent systems aimed at automatically-evolving models of natural phenomena. This is the discipline of machine learning (ML), the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience. This title belongs to Water and Environmental Management Series (WEMS) ISBN: 9781843395102 (Print) ISBN: 9781780402581 (eBook)

River basins are inherently complex systems comprising many interdependent components. Development activities undertaken without full consideration of the regional, social, environmental, and economic implications can and have had adverse repercussions. Management practices that respond to a single water use, a single population segment, or a single sector have caused inadvertent disruption to other uses, populations, and sectors. This review promotes a systems approach for developing and managing river basins. By including all critical components into a river basin plan, development and management objectives will be better met. To this end, we review integrated economic river basin models covering a wide range of issues, including water quantity and quality, environmental considerations, and conflicts at the sectoral, regional, and international levels. This synopsis characterizes the essential components of economic river basin modeling, provides guidelines for model specifications, and illustrates salient points with key examples from the literature.

This paper outlines the importance of multiple time step optimization (MTO) in river basin allocation. The principal novelty of the work presented here is to provide a methodology for how to use MTO solutions in river basin planning and real-time operation. Two approaches for using the MTO results were tested on Damodar River basin in India and are presented in the paper. Using the proposed approach, the model managed flood flows without exceeding the downstream full bank channel capacity in 35 years of available historical data, while at the same time increasing generated hydropower on average by 63% annually, and supplying an additional 350 million m3 to irrigation and industry compared to the historical levels. The results presented in this study were obtained using the new Web-based Basin Management (WEB.BM) water management model, the only water allocation model with full Linear Programming (LP) optimization capabilities available online free of charge.

In the world, river basins often interwoven into two or more states or prefectures and because of that, disputes over water are common. Nevertheless, not all shared river basins are associated with water conflicts. Rivers in Japan and Malaysia play a significant role in regional economic development. They also play a significant role as water sources for industrial, domestic, agricultural, aquaculture, hydroelectric power generation, and the environment. The research aim is to determine the similarities and differences between the Sagami and Muda River Basins in order to have a better understanding of the governance needed for effectively implementing the lessons drawn from the Sagami River Basin for improving the management of the Muda River Basin in Malaysia. This research adopts qualitative and quantitative approaches. Semi-structured interviews were held with the key stakeholders from both basins and show that Japan has endeavored to present policy efforts to accommodate the innovative approaches in the management of their water resources, including the establishment of a river basin council. In Malaysia, there is little or no stakeholder involvement in the Muda River Basin, and the water resource management is not holistic and is not integrated as it should be. Besides that, there is little or no Integrated Resources Water Management, a pre-requisite for sustainable water resources. The results from this comparative study concluded that full support and participation from public stakeholders (meaning the non-government and non-private sector stakeholders) is vital for achieving sustainable water use in the Muda River Basin. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approaches such as the introduction of payments for ecosystems services and the development of river basin organization in the Muda River Basin should take place in the spirit of political willingness.

Several factors affect the concentration of contaminants in river water including, but not limited, to watershed characteristics, rainfall patterns, catchment hydrology, geology and soils, in addition to anthropogenic sources such as agricultural runoff and municipal and industrial discharges. Since surface water drains to one outlet in a watershed eventually reaching the estuary, upstream land-based activities affect the water quality at that point. This study assesses the land use impact on water quality in the Abou Ali River Basin and its coastal zone in North Lebanon, based on multiple indicators. The assessment was conducted at the end of the dry season in 2002 and 2003 and the end of the wet season in 2003 and 2004. The objectives of this research are to establish relationships among changes in contaminant concentrations in water emanating from land use and probable natural landscape influences. An approach based on the use of Geographic Information System techniques was used to investigate spatial variation of contaminant loads to Abou Ali River Basin and its associated coastal zone. Lower water quality was encountered in areas impacted by human activity, primarily urban locations. The worst water quality is apparent in the estuary area where the total pollution of the upstream flow accumulates exacerbated by local wastewater discharge. This assessment is of major importance towards developing an integrated multipurpose usage plan for the Abou Ali River as well as towards an integrated river basin and coastal zone management plan. Such integrated management plans have the potential to address many of the shortcomings in water resources management in the catchment and prevent further deterioration by anticipating and avoiding new impacts.

Eco-profile studies help in continuous assessment and monitoring of river basin functions; the planners, and decision-makers deploy study findings to address problems associated within river basins. In this paper, we reviewed the study covering the eco-profile based watershed and river basin management practices and the benefits of eco-profile in understanding and addressing water-related issues at the micro-level. The study uses a systematic literature review approach called the PRISMA framework (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) to collect and process the literature. Our study found that eco-profile based implementations improves the river basin functions and addresses the micro-level issues related to water rights and conflicts that are usually not addressed during water resources management. Through eco-profile study, the key ecological indicators at micro and macro scales can be identified that help to predict the continuous changes of biotic and abiotic conditions within the watershed and river basin regions. The present study discusses the advantage of eco-profile in the watershed, measures to comprehend river basin function, community role, and approach to solve the water rights and conflicts at the micro scale. The study also recommends the inclusion of eco-profile framework and eco-profile policy in integrated water resources management programs specific to river basin/watershed management activities.

The concept of “river basin management” calls for managing water resources at the river basin level in order to promote the sustainable use of water resources. Often the concept of river basin management is associated with the introduction of “river basin organisations” (RBOs) as special purpose organisations. However, in many developing countries, RBOs remain underfunded. Fiscal decentralisation involves shifting certain responsibilities for expenditures or revenues to lower levels of government. It usually involves a reallocation of functions and revenues so that functions are adequately funded. Fiscal decentralisation is supported by the principles of subsidiarity, disentanglement, cooperation, accountability and fiscal equivalence, with the latter asking for a congruence of those who pay for, who decide upon and who benefit from public goods. On the one hand, fiscal decentralisation can support RBOs if sufficient financial resources are allocated to them to fulfil their tasks. However, if RBOs are excluded from resources at the sub-national level, it can also be counterproductive and lead to increased competition with general-purpose jurisdictions at the sub-national level. <br> This discussion paper, therefore, asks the question of whether fiscal decentralisation supports or counteracts the funding of river basin management in the case of Mongolia, which has undergone parallel processes of institutionalising RBOs and of fiscal decentralisation in the last decade. In order to answer the overriding question, the paper analyses i) how competencies for various water governance functions between RBOs and other bodies at the sub-national level are formally allocated; ii) the funding arrangements in place for water-related functions of RBOs and other sub-national bodies; and iii) how RBOs and other sub-national authorities coordinate or compete for water governance funding, and what this implies for sustainable water resource use. The paper compares the responsibilities of national and various sub-national entities and assesses the extent to which the principles of disentanglement, cooperation, subsidiarity and accountability are applied in Mongolian water governance. It also analyses the formal and de facto funding sources and budgeting systems of the sub-national entities responsible for water management, in order to assess to what extent the principle of fiscal equivalence is realised. <br> The discussion paper finds that there is still considerable room for improving the realisation of the principles of disentanglement, cooperation, subsidiarity and accountability in the allocation of competencies in Mongolian water governance. At the sub-national level, a high number of actors are involved in water governance, and the allocation of various water governance functions between river basin authorities (RBAs), river basin councils (RBCs), Aimag environmental agencies (AEAs), and governors and assemblies at the levels of provinces (Aimags), districts (Soums) and communities (Bahgs) remains complex and convoluted. Despite a broad division of labour, a high level of overlap exists in terms of data management; monitoring water resources, water uses and law implementation; law enforcement; and to a certain degree the implementation of measures among these actors. <br> The principle of fiscal equivalence is also not fully realised in Mongolian water resources management. In terms of financing water governance, RBAs are primarily financed through the national budget and AEAs through sub-national province budgets. However, uncertainties exist regarding the allocation of water-use fees due to inconsistent legal provisions. In practice, available funds to RBAs only cover fixed costs. Thus, RBAs are largely assigned unfunded mandates for planning, monitoring and implementing water protection. This considerably limits the effectiveness of the river basin management approach. Overall, AEAs have somewhat higher budgets for environmental protection than RBAs. However, the case study shows, for example, that AEAs sometimes do not allocate any funds for water-related projects at all and do not necessarily earmark 35 per cent of water-use fees for environmental protection. <br> Furthermore, problems of underfinancing exacerbate problems of overlapping responsibilities. The inconsistent legal provisions on water-use fees have led to competition between AEAs and RBAs, which undermines trust between the different agencies and makes it more difficult to perform the tasks that they share as well as to coordinate on those tasks where their responsibilities overlap. Still, in the case analysed, recent first attempts have been undertaken to clarify responsibilities in Memorandums of Understanding. While the effectiveness of these Memorandums of Understanding should be subject to future research, they alone will hardly solve the problem of underfinancing. Therefore, the paper concludes that in Mongolia, fiscal decentralisation and the institutionalisation of river basin management are, so far, hardly mutually supportive, but rather competitive processes. It recommends a number of legal adjustments as well as the financial empowerment of RBAs and RBCs in order to support the sustainable use of water resources.

Water, a renewable natural resource that is indispensable both to human life and to economic processes, has had its hydrological cycle threatened by pollution and contamination of hydrological resources. In Brazil, in 1997, Law 9.433 established the river basin as the unit for territorial planning and management of water resources. The proposal presented in this paper has an integrating focus, aiming at pointing out indicators for the sustainable development of river basins. The indicators are analyzed through social, environmental, economic and political–institutional frameworks, supported by internationally accepted methodologies. The implementation of this kind of project requires a large and reliable data set. Thus, we propose gradual implementation of sustainable development diagnosis in the river basins. To begin this process, we selected three indicators—public water supply, public sewerage and municipal trash collection. The values obtained for these indicators were compared with those of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which establish 50% reduction in them by 2015. The indicators were applied to the Guanabara Bay Watershed (GBW) in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a case study.

River basin planning as a strategy for rural development in Nigeria

The pursuit of more integrated water resource management based on hydrological boundaries (i.e. river basins) poses significant challenges for domestic environmental governance, let alone in situations where rivers transcend national borders. This paper examines which conditions of governance (and beyond) favour cooperative transboundary river basin management practices under the European Water Framework Directive. This directive, with its detailed procedural provisions for (international) river basin management planning, offers an excellent test bed to investigate and assess the factors and mechanisms of transboundary river basin management. Postulates of neo‐liberal theory of international cooperation, drawn from international relations, help to identify relevant conditions for analysis, covering the two dimensions of state interests and transaction costs. Results of a qualitative comparative analysis show that transaction costs have a strong mitigating influence on the occurrence of cooperative river basin planning. However, reduced transaction costs alone do not suffice for states to enter into cooperation, but the latter have to be activated by a favourable incentive structure, i.e. high problem pressure or legal or domestic incentives. While these insights hold for most cooperative river basin districts, a few basins that follow a contradictory pattern without reduced transaction costs deserve further attention. The findings shed further light on the influence of contextual factors in shaping water governance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

<i>River Basin Management – Under a Changing Climate</i> is a collection of relevant research, experiments, and case study chapters. This book offers a comprehensive overview of recent developments in water resources planning, monitoring, and management using in situ measurements, modeling, and community participation. The book includes five sections and fourteen chapters that discuss water resources management, focusing on river basins, which includes quantifying water resources, evaluating water quality, and evaluating the impact of hydraulic structures on water resources management. Chapters also discuss the critical role of community/stakeholders in water resources, planning, monitoring, conservation, and management at smaller to larger river basins.

River-basin planning and management: The social life of a concept

Public participation in environmental governance plays a pivotal role in fostering a healthy and sustainable relationship between society and the environment. Despite the convenience afforded by the internet, the level of participation among Chinese citizens remains notably low. Thus, enhancing public enthusiasm for environmental governance is imperative, particularly given the paucity of academic research in this area. To address this gap, we employed the volume of messages on a leadership message board as a proxy for measuring the motivation behind public participation in environmental governance. Utilizing a provincial panel regression analysis, we investigated the determinants of public participation and subsequently conducted a mechanism analysis. Our findings reveal that deteriorating local air quality correlates with heightened motivation for public involvement in environmental governance. Additionally, increased public attention to environmental issues significantly amplifies this motivation, with the availability of internet access and the degree of emphasis placed by local governments on public participation further facilitating this process. This study contributes a theoretical and empirical foundation for enhancing public engagement in environmental governance, thereby fostering the development of a sustainable society.

ABSTRACTRecently, the government of India has proposed the River Basin Management Bill, 2018. This Bill seeks to establish a River Basin Authority for the management and development of inter-state rivers and river basins in India. The Bill also seeks to entrench the tenets of Integrated River Basin Management in the Indian social and legal setup. This note attempts to normatively analyse the proposed Bill in light of the environmental justice principles, namely, distribution, participation and recognition. Through such analysis, this note argues that integrated river basin planning must not only focus on developing water resources but also human resources living within a river basin. This note also puts forth the proposition that water resource development within a river basin must be carried out taking into consideration the wider social, economic and political aspects of the people living within a basin area.

There is a growing research interest on the transdisciplinary measurement of vulnerability to climatic hazards from the perspective of integrated river basin management. However, the incorporation of stakeholders’ participation, local knowledge and locally spatial characteristics into the process of such vulnerability assessment is one of the challenges faced by decision-makers, especially in developing countries. This article proposes a novel methodology for assessing and communicating vulnerability to policymaking at the river basin level through a case study of Tachia River basin in Taiwan. The authors used a multicriteria decision analysis to develop an integrated vulnerability index applied to a participatory geographic information system (GIS) to map vulnerability to climatic hazards. Using a GIS-based spatial statistics technique and multivariate analysis, we test the degree to which vulnerabilities are spatially autocorrelated throughout the river basin, explain why clustering of vulnerable areas occurs in specific locations, and why some regions are particularly vulnerable. Results demonstrate that vulnerable areas are spatially correlated across the river basin. Moreover, exposure, biophysical sensitivity, land uses and adaptive capacity are key factors contributing to the formation of localized ‘hot spots’ of similarly and particularly vulnerable areas. Finally, we discuss how the findings provide direction for more effective approaches to river basin planning and management.