Abstract
Water management is currently in a sustainable development phase, where pressures like changes in water quantity, erosion and contamination are being seen to interact in a complex pattern. In this phase it is necessary to take a holistic, integrated approach to environmental issues in order to meet sustainable development aspirations. Risk-related management decisions are challenged by complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity. Depending on the challenge, risk management must adapt to the specific circumstances and context. While simple risk problems can usually be addressed through routine-based procedures and measures (e.g. waste water treatment), complex risk situations (e.g. environmental quality of river basins) require new governance processes. These processes should be well informed, robust and participatory. Inspiring to this end is the risk governance framework developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC). The use of the best available understanding on how river ecosystems function will resolve some of the complexity, reduce uncertainty and thus will improve river basin management. However, significant uncertainty will remain. This is intrinsic to the complexity of social/ecological systems. We need to accept and may learn to cope with this uncertainty by applying the concept of Adaptive Integrated Water Management (AWM). That AWM works in real-world practice is, for instance, demonstrated by how the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park (a floodplain area of the Sava River in Croatia) is managed to date. Risk-informed management incorporates all these elements as it involves the integrated application of the three key principles: be well informed, manage adaptively and take a participatory approach. The most appropriate scale for implementation of these key principles may be the catchment or landscape scale.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See also: http://www.newater.uni-osnabrueck.de/
References
Argyris C (1982) The executive mind and double-loop learning. Organ Dyn 11(2):5–23
Borowski I (2008) How can social learning be supported during the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive? Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften im Fachbereich Mathematik/ Informatik der Universität Osnabrück, 9 Juli 2008
Brils J, Quevauviller P, Slob A, Blind M, Davy T, Carere M, Amorsi N, Brack W, Borchers U, Thomspon C, Villessot D (2010) The European Water Framework Directive beyond 2010: let actions speak louder than words. J Environ Monit 12:2204–2206
Brugnach M, van der Keur P, Henriksen HJ, Myšiak J (Eds) (2009) Uncertainty and adaptive water management. Concepts and guidelines. NeWater Synthesis Product No 2, January 2009. Prepared under contract from the European Commission Contract no 511179 (GOCE). http://www.newater.uos.de
COM 231 (2006) Thematic strategy for soil protection; Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and social Committee and the Committee of Regions, COM (2006) 231 final, Brussels, 22.9.2006
COM 673 (2012) A blueprint to safeguard Europe’s Water Resources. European Water Resources. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2012) 673 final, Brussels, 14.11.2012
COM 710 (2012) Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 “Living well, within the limits of our planet”, COM (2012) 710 final, Brussels, 29.11.2012
COM 795 (2012) Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan—Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe; Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and social Committee and the Committee of Regions; Brussels, January 2013
European Commission (2000) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy. Directive 2000/60/EC, European Commission, Brussels (Water Framework Directive)
European Commission (2006) Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration. Directive 2006/118/EC, European Commission, Brussels (Groundwater Directive)
European Commission (2007) Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks. Directive 2007/60/EC, European Commission, Brussels (Floods Directive)
Global Water Partnership (2000) Integrated Water Resources Management—TAC Background paper No. 4. Published 2000 by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), ISBN: 91-630-9229-8, Printed in Denmark, first printing, March 2000
Gugić G (2009) Managing sustainability in conditions of change and unpredictability—the living landscape and floodplain ecosystem of the Central Sava River Basin. Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service, Krapje, Croatia. ISBN 978-953-97950-9-5
Gunningham N, Rutherford P, Gordon S, Earnes R (2003) Regulatory design for water quality management: Institutional and Governance Issues, Australian National University.
HarmoniCOP (2005) Learning together to manage together. Improving Participation in Water Management. Osnabrück
IRGC (2005) White Paper on Risk Governance—Towards an integrative Approach. International Risk Governance Council (IRGC), Geneva, September 2005, reprinted: January 2006
IRGC (2008) An introduction to the IRGC Risk Governance Framework. International Risk Governance Council (IRGC), Geneva
Isendahl N (2010) (Re-)framing Uncertainties in Water Management Practice. Dissertation, Institute of Environmental Systems Research, Faculty of Mathematics/Informatics, University of Osnabrück, Germany, January 2010
Jønch-Clausen T (2004) Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Water Efficiency Plans by 2005… Why, what and how? TEC Background Paper No 10. Global Water Partnership, Stockholm
King C, Jiggins J (2002) A systemic model and theory for facilitating social learning. In: Leeuwis C, Pyborn R (eds) Wheelbarrows full of frogs. Koninklijke Van Gorcum, Assen, The Netherlands, pp 85–104
Loeber AB, van Mierlo BC, Grin J, Leeuwis C (2007) The practical value of theory: conceptualising learning in the pursuit of a sustainable development. In: Wals AEJ (ed) Social learning towards a sustainable world. Principles, perspectives, and praxis. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, pp 83–97
Loorbach D, van Raak R (2006) Transition management: toward a prescriptive model for multi-level governance systems. In Netherlands Institute for Governance: Annual Work conference. Netherlands Institute for Governance, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/35019/
Medema WBS, McIntosh B, Jeffrey PJ (2008) From premise to practice: a critical assessment of integrated water resources management and adaptive management approaches in the water sector. Ecol Soc 13(2):29, http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art29/
Mostert E, Pahl-Wostl C, Rees Y, Searle B, Tàbara D, Tippett J (2007) Social learning in European river-basin management: barriers and fostering mechanisms from 10 river basins. Ecol Soc 12(1):19, http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art19/
OECD (2003) Emerging systemic risks. Final Report to the OECD Futures Project, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Paris, March, 2003
Pahl-Wostl C (2002) Transitions towards adaptive management of water facing climate and global change. Water Res Manage 21:49–62. doi:10.1007/s11269-006-9040-4
Pahl-Wostl C (2006) The importance of social learning in restoring the multifunctionality of rivers and floodplains. Ecol Soc 11(1):10, http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art10/
Pahl-Wostl C, Sendzimir J, Jeffrey P, Aerts J, Berkamp G, Cross K (2007) Managing change toward adaptive water management through social learning. Ecol Soc 12(2):30, http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art30/
Quevauviller Ph, Müller D (2005) EU groundwater legislative framework—State of play and regulatory aspects of soil-groundwater interactions. CONSOIL 2005, In: Proceedings of the 9th International FZK/TNO Conference on Soil-Water Systems, 3–7 October 2005, Bordeaux; Special Session 23 Assessment of materials, soils and groundwater. pp 2984–2986
Surridge B, Holt AR, Harris R (2009) Developing the evidence base for integrated catchment management: challenges and opportunities. In: Quevauviller P (ed) Water system science and policy interfacing. RSC Publishing, Cambridge, pp 63–100
Van der Brugge R, van Raak R (2007) Facing the adaptive management challenge: insights from transition management. Ecol Soc 12(2):33
Brils J, Barceló D, Blum W, Brack W, Harris B, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Ragnarsdottir V, Salomons W, Slob A, Track T, Vegter J, Vermaat JE (2014) Introduction: the need for risk-informed river basin management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
Négrel P, Merly C, Gourcy L, Cerdan O, Petelet-Giraud E, Kralik M, Klaver G, van Wirdum G, Vegter J (2014) Soil–sediment–river connections: catchment processes delivering pressures to river catchments. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
von der Ohe PC, Apitz SE, Arbačiauskas K, Beketov MA, Borchardt D, de Zwart D, Goedkoop W, Hein M, Hellsten S, Hering D, Kefford BJ, Panov VE, Schäfer RB, Segner H, van Gils J, Vegter JJ, Wetzel MA, Brack W (2014) Status and causal pathway assessments supporting river basin management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
Brauman KA, van der Meulen S, Brils J (2014) Ecosystem services and river basin management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
van Maasakkers M, Duijn M, Kastens B (2014) Participatory approaches and the role of facilitative leadership. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
Slob A, Duijn M (2014) Improving the Connection Between Science and Policy for River Basin Management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
Bouma G, Slob A (2014) How spatial planning can connect to river basin management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller-Grabherr D, Négrel P, Vermaat JE (eds) Risk-informed management of European River Basins. Springer, Heidelberg
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Müller-Grabherr, D. et al. (2014). Integrated River Basin Management and Risk Governance. In: Brils, J., Brack, W., Müller-Grabherr, D., Négrel, P., Vermaat, J. (eds) Risk-Informed Management of European River Basins. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 29. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38598-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38598-8_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38597-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38598-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)