Suchergebnisse

IN ADDITION TO THE WELL-KNOWN PROGRAMME FOR FLOOD PROTECTION, DUTCH WATER POLICY CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN SUBSECTORS; WATER SUPPLY AND GROUND WATER PROTECTION, AND SURFACE WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT. IN THIS CONTRIBUTION SPECIAL ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE CHARACTERISATION OF THESE SUBSECTORS USING TWO NETWORK VARIABLES; MUTUAL COMMITMENT AND INTERRELATEDNESS. THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGE OF THESE FEATURES AND THEIR RELATION WITH POLICY OPPORTUNITIES ARE EXAMINED, THE WATER SUPPLY SECTOR WAS AMALGATED INTO LARGER COMPANIES AND DEVELOPED MORE COOPERATION AS A RESULT OF THE PRESSURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE, WHICH MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTINUE PUMPING AND BILLING. THOUGH THE SECTOR IN A SENSE BECAME MORE INTEGRATED, THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASED NEED TO DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER INTERESTS, SUCH AS AGRICULTURE. THE SURFACE WATER QUALITY SUBSECTOR ALSO MOVED FROM A VERY INTEGRATED COMMUNITY INTO A MORE OPEN STRUCTURE. THIS OPENNESS IS, HOWEVER, TO A LARGE EXTENT ORGANIZED BY THE SECTOR ITSELF, BY INCORPORATING OTHER INTERESTS IN THEIR COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES. BOTH SUBSECTORS INCREASINGLY ADOPT A CONSENSUAL APPROACH IN DEALING WITH THESE OTHER INTERESTS.

River basin management and decentralisation reforms are promoted worldwide for solving water pollution problems. In Mexico, governmental efforts have been made to operate wastewater treatment plants countrywide, but federal administrations have not achieved their intended outcomes. Acknowledging the role of governance in the implementation of wastewater treatment policy, this paper analyses three cases in central Mexico and addresses the question: How does the governance context affect the implementation of the wastewater treatment policy in central Mexico? A governance assessment tool is applied to answer the question. The assessment allows an understanding of the governance context and is paired with a comparative case study design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and documents reviews. The results indicate that the governance context mainly restricts the implementation of the wastewater treatment policy. In all subnational three cases, the river basin management and decentralisation reforms have not reached their objectives. By comparing the three cases, we found that the state level can play a relevant role to decrease fragmentation and to increase the coherence of the wastewater treatment policy. Therefore, strengthening the involvement of the state government and the improvement of mechanisms that limit political machinations can increase the supportiveness of the governance context.