Search results

This Briefing Paper presents one of six analyses of cross-sectoral coordination challenges that were conducted as part of the STEER research project and on which separate Briefing Papers are available.The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to achieve a good status for all waters by 2027. Mediterranean countries, including Spain, are facing significant problems of water quantity, which is why one of their main challenges in achieving a good water status is to maintain ecological flows and reduce over-extraction of groundwater. Authorities are confronted with mediating between the competing interests of different water using sectors, such as irrigation, urban water supply and tourism, and non-consumptive uses, such as the environment. Despite recurring requests by scholars and commitments by policy-makers to strengthen cross-sectoral and cross-level coordination to address these trade-offs, coordination deficits remain in the Mediterranean, but also in many other parts of the world. This Briefing Paper examines coordination and implementation challenges between the water and agricultural sectors in relation to water quantity in the context of WFD implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, southern Spain. These have been identified as: (i) the lack of revision of water rights after the implementation of drip irrigation, (ii) weaknesses in monitoring water use and closing illegal wells, and (iii) limited cross-sectoral exchange during participatory processes. These challenges are interlinked by the underlying difficulty of imposing unpopular decisions against the will of powerful actors in the agricultural sector. To address these challenges, we suggest various coordination instruments based on incentives, voluntary cooperation, persuasion and information exchange. In particular, we recommend the following:• Increase financial and human resources for the revision of water rights, monitoring of water use and closure of illegal wells.• Facilitate cooperative processes to achieve a multisectoral consensus on how and where water rights will be reduced.• Provide incentives for irrigation communities to further strengthen self-control of groundwater use among members.• Strengthen cross-sectoral exchange among stakeholders within participatory processes, especially between environmental and agricultural interest groups and improve communication with citizens.• Use more comprehensive and inclusive ways of providing information in the context of river basin planning.However, since the identified challenges are systemic and relate to fundamental distributional questions, there are limits to the potential of coordination instruments. Thus, a clear indication of political will is also needed.

Diese Veröffentlichung stellt eine von sechs Analysen sektorenübergreifender Herausforderungen für Wasser-Governance dar, die als Teil des STEER-Forschungsprojekts durchgeführt wurden und deren Resultate in separaten Analysen und Stellungnahmen vorliegen.Das Ziel der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (WRRL) der Europäischen Union (EU) ist es einen "guten Zustand" aller Gewässer bis 2027 zu erreichen. Spanien steht in diesem Zusammenhang vor erheblichen Wasserquantitätsproblemen, weshalb die Einhaltung des ökologischen Mindestwasserbedarfs von Oberflächengewässer sowie die Reduzierung übermäßiger Grundwasserentnahmen eine der größten Herausforderungen ist. Die Behörden müssen daher zwischen konkurrierenden Wassernutzungen, wie Bewässerung, städtische Wasserversorgung, Tourismus oder Umwelt vermitteln. Trotz wiederholter Forderungen von Wissenschaftler*innen und Zusagen politischer Entscheidungsträger*innen, die sektor- und ebenenübergreifende Koordination zur Lösung dieser Zielkonflikte zu verstärken, bestehen weiterhin Koordinationsdefizite. Diese Veröffentlichung untersucht Koordinations- und Implementierungsherausforderungen zwischen dem Wasser- und dem Landwirtschaftssektor in Bezug auf Wasserquantität bei der WWRL-Umsetzung im Guadalquivir in Südspanien. Diese sind (i) ausbleibende Überprüfung der Wasserrechte nach der Einführung der Tröpfchenbewässerung, (ii) Schwächen beim Monitoring der Wassernutzung und bei der Schließung illegaler Brunnen und (iii) begrenzter sektorübergreifender Austausch im Rahmen partizipativer Prozesse.Diese Herausforderungen sind mit der Schwierigkeit verbunden, unpopuläre Entscheidungen gegen den Willen mächtiger landwirtschaftlicher Akteur*innen durchzusetzen. Um den Herausforderungen zu begegnen, schlagen wir verschiedene Koordinationsinstrumente vor, die auf Anreizen, freiwilliger Zusammenarbeit, Überzeugungsarbeit und Informationsaustausch beruhen. Insbesondere empfehlen wir Folgendes:• Erhöhung der finanziellen und personellen Ressourcen für die Neuregelung der Wasserrechte, für das Monitoring der Wassernutzung und die Schließung illegaler Brunnen.• Förderung kooperativer Prozesse, um einen multisektoralen Konsens zu erreichen, wie und wo Wasserrechte eingeschränkt werden sollen.• Schaffung von Anreizen für Bewässerungsgemeinschaften, um die Selbstkontrolle der Grundwassernutzung unter den Mitgliedern weiter zu stärken.• Stärkung des sektorübergreifenden Austauschs unter den Stakeholdern durch partizipative Prozesse, insbesondere zwischen Umwelt- und landwirtschaftlichen Interessengruppen, und Verbesserung der Kommunikation mit den Bürger*innen.• Nutzung integrativerer Möglichkeiten der Informationsvermittlung bei Planungsprozessen.Da die identifizierten Herausforderungen jedoch systemischer Natur sind und grundlegende Verteilungsfragen berühren, sind den Koordinierungsinstrumenten Grenzen gesetzt. Daher ist auch ein klareres Bekenntnis des politischen Willens erforderlich.

This Briefing Paper presents one of six analyses of cross-sectoral coordination challenges that were conducted as part of the STEER research project and on which separate Briefing Papers are available. The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to achieve a good status for all waters by 2027. Mediterranean countries, including Spain, are facing significant problems of water quantity, which is why one of their main challenges in achieving a good water status is to maintain ecological flows and reduce over-extraction of groundwater. Authorities are confronted with mediating between the competing interests of different water using sectors, such as irrigation, urban water supply and tourism, and non-consumptive uses, such as the environment. Despite recurring requests by scholars and commitments by policy-makers to strengthen cross-sectoral and cross-level coordination to address these trade-offs, coordination deficits remain in the Mediterranean, but also in many other parts of the world. This Briefing Paper examines coordination and implementation challenges between the water and agricultural sectors in relation to water quantity in the context of WFD implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, southern Spain. These have been identified as: (i) the lack of revision of water rights after the implementation of drip irrigation, (ii) weaknesses in monitoring water use and closing illegal wells, and (iii) limited cross-sectoral exchange during participatory processes. These challenges are interlinked by the underlying difficulty of imposing unpopular decisions against the will of powerful actors in the agricultural sector. To address these challenges, we suggest various coordination instruments based on incentives, voluntary cooperation, persuasion and information exchange. In particular, we recommend the following: * Increase financial and human resources for the revision of water rights, monitoring of water use and closure of illegal wells. * Facilitate cooperative processes to achieve a multisectoral consensus on how and where water rights will be reduced. * Provide incentives for irrigation communities to further strengthen self-control of groundwater use among members. * Strengthen cross-sectoral exchange among stakeholders within participatory processes, especially between environmental and agricultural interest groups and improve communication with citizens. * Use more comprehensive and inclusive ways of providing information in the context of river basin planning. However, since the identified challenges are systemic and relate to fundamental distributional questions, there are limits to the potential of coordination instruments. Thus, a clear indication of political will is also needed.

Diese Veröffentlichung stellt eine von sechs Analysen sektorenübergreifender Herausforderungen für Wasser-Governance dar, die als Teil des STEER-Forschungsprojekts durchgeführt wurden und deren Resultate in separaten Analysen und Stellungnahmen vorliegen. Das Ziel der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (WRRL) der Europäischen Union (EU) ist es einen 'guten Zustand' aller Gewässer bis 2027 zu erreichen. Spanien steht in diesem Zusammenhang vor erheblichen Wasserquantitätsproblemen, weshalb die Einhaltung des ökologischen Mindestwasserbedarfs von Oberflächengewässer sowie die Reduzierung übermäßiger Grundwasserentnahmen eine der größten Herausforderungen ist. Die Behörden müssen daher zwischen konkurrierenden Wassernutzungen, wie Bewässerung, städtische Wasserversorgung, Tourismus oder Umwelt vermitteln. Trotz wiederholter Forderungen von Wissenschaftler*innen und Zusagen politischer Entscheidungsträger*innen, die sektor- und ebenenübergreifende Koordination zur Lösung dieser Zielkonflikte zu verstärken, bestehen weiterhin Koordinationsdefizite. Diese Veröffentlichung untersucht Koordinations- und Implementierungsherausforderungen zwischen dem Wasser- und dem Landwirtschaftssektor in Bezug auf Wasserquantität bei der WWRL-Umsetzung im Guadalquivir in Südspanien. Diese sind (i) ausbleibende Überprüfung der Wasserrechte nach der Einführung der Tröpfchenbewässerung, (ii) Schwächen beim Monitoring der Wassernutzung und bei der Schließung illegaler Brunnen und (iii) begrenzter sektorübergreifender Austausch im Rahmen partizipativer Prozesse. Diese Herausforderungen sind mit der Schwierigkeit verbunden, unpopuläre Entscheidungen gegen den Willen mächtiger landwirtschaftlicher Akteur*innen durchzusetzen. Um den Herausforderungen zu begegnen, schlagen wir verschiedene Koordinationsinstrumente vor, die auf Anreizen, freiwilliger Zusammenarbeit, Überzeugungsarbeit und Informationsaustausch beruhen. Insbesondere empfehlen wir Folgendes: Erhöhung der finanziellen und personellen Ressourcen für die Neuregelung der Wasserrechte, für das Monitoring der Wassernutzung und die Schließung illegaler Brunnen. Förderung kooperativer Prozesse, um einen multisektoralen Konsens zu erreichen, wie und wo Wasserrechte eingeschränkt werden sollen. * Schaffung von Anreizen für ewässerungsgemeinschaften, um die Selbstkontrolle der Grundwassernutzung unter den Mitgliedern weiter zu stärken. Stärkung des sektorübergreifenden Austauschs unter den Stakeholdern durch partizipative Prozesse, insbesondere zwischen Umwelt- und landwirtschaftlichen Interessengruppen, und Verbesserung der Kommunikation mit den Bürger*innen. Nutzung integrativerer Möglichkeiten der Informationsvermittlung bei Planungsprozessen. Da die identifizierten Herausforderungen jedoch systemischer Natur sind und grundlegende Verteilungsfragen berühren, sind den Koordinierungsinstrumenten Grenzen gesetzt. Daher ist auch ein klareres Bekenntnis des politischen Willens erforderlich.

International audience ; This chapter explores the links between drought governance and the vulnerability of freshwater for drinking water supply, with a focus on drought adaptation. The public awareness of drought and water scarcity risks in such a flood-prone region is still low. However, the fact that fresh water availability for drinking water supply is threatened not only by a decrease in water availability, related to climate variability and climate change, but also due to the increase in water demand, related to population and economic growth, this issue can potentially motivate the introduction of drought and water scarcity risks into the public and political agenda. Even if the northwestern European countries in this study have similar climatic settings, other aspects of their contexts can be quite contrasting in each pilot case. Depending on where the freshwater reservoir is placed, upstream or downstream within the catchment, different levels and scales are mobilized to tackle water management challenges. The priority hierarchy of water uses in case of drought can also be surprisingly different in neighboring countries. Even if some actions, as the expansion of spatial water networks connectivity, have started to improve the robustness of drinking water systems, the solutions that require a paradigm shift to a most systemic strategy including water demand control remain out of the agenda and could greatly improve the resilience of the region to drought and water scarcity risk.

International audience ; This chapter explores the links between drought governance and the vulnerability of freshwater for drinking water supply, with a focus on drought adaptation. The public awareness of drought and water scarcity risks in such a flood-prone region is still low. However, the fact that fresh water availability for drinking water supply is threatened not only by a decrease in water availability, related to climate variability and climate change, but also due to the increase in water demand, related to population and economic growth, this issue can potentially motivate the introduction of drought and water scarcity risks into the public and political agenda. Even if the northwestern European countries in this study have similar climatic settings, other aspects of their contexts can be quite contrasting in each pilot case. Depending on where the freshwater reservoir is placed, upstream or downstream within the catchment, different levels and scales are mobilized to tackle water management challenges. The priority hierarchy of water uses in case of drought can also be surprisingly different in neighboring countries. Even if some actions, as the expansion of spatial water networks connectivity, have started to improve the robustness of drinking water systems, the solutions that require a paradigm shift to a most systemic strategy including water demand control remain out of the agenda and could greatly improve the resilience of the region to drought and water scarcity risk.

Over the last decade, Europe's drought management and policy has been characterized by a predominantly crisis-oriented approach. However, the widening gap between the impacts of drought episodes and the ability to prepare, manage and mitigate such droughts has motivated the European Union (EU) to make significant improvements that address drought management using a preventative approach.

Innovative ways to manage the urban water cycle are required to deal with an ageing drinking and waste water infrastructure and new societal imperatives. This paper examines the influence of water governance in enabling transformations and technological innovation uptake in urban water management. A governance assessment framework is developed and applied in three case-studies, examining different scales and types of innovations used to tackle challenges in European urban water management. The methodology combines documentary analysis and interviews to reconstruct historical storylines of the shift in the water governance of urban water management for each site. The research provides detailed empirical observations on the factors conducive to innovation uptake at the local level. Critical governance factors such as commitment to compromise, the necessity to build political support, and the role of "entrepreneurs" and coalitions are highlighted. The paper also explores the role of discursive strategies and partnership design, as well as that of regulative, economic and communicative instruments, in creating barriers and opportunities to initiate and secure change. A number of recommendations targeted at innovators and water managers are presented in the conclusion

Innovative ways to manage the urban water cycle are required to deal with an ageing drinking and waste water infrastructure and new societal imperatives. This paper examines the influence of water governance in enabling transformations and technological innovation uptake in urban water management. A governance assessment framework is developed and applied in three case-studies, examining different scales and types of innovations used to tackle challenges in European urban water management. The methodology combines documentary analysis and interviews to reconstruct historical storylines of the shift in the water governance of urban water management for each site. The research provides detailed empirical observations on the factors conducive to innovation uptake at the local level. Critical governance factors such as commitment to compromise, the necessity to build political support, and the role of "entrepreneurs" and coalitions are highlighted. The paper also explores the role of discursive strategies and partnership design, as well as that of regulative, economic and communicative instruments, in creating barriers and opportunities to initiate and secure change. A number of recommendations targeted at innovators and water managers are presented in the conclusion. ; Postprint (author's final draft)

Innovative ways to manage the urban water cycle are required to deal with an ageing drinking and waste water infrastructure and new societal imperatives. This paper examines the influence of water governance in enabling transformations and technological innovation uptake in urban water management. A governance assessment framework is developed and applied in three case-studies, examining different scales and types of innovations used to tackle challenges in European urban water management. The methodology combines documentary analysis and interviews to reconstruct historical storylines of the shift in the water governance of urban water management for each site. The research provides detailed empirical observations on the factors conducive to innovation uptake at the local level. Critical governance factors such as commitment to compromise, the necessity to build political support, and the role of "entrepreneurs" and coalitions are highlighted. The paper also explores the role of discursive strategies and partnership design, as well as that of regulative, economic and communicative instruments, in creating barriers and opportunities to initiate and secure change. A number of recommendations targeted at innovators and water managers are presented in the conclusion. ; Postprint (author's final draft)