Assessing the role of actors in river restoration: A network perspective

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the actors involved in river restoration in Romania by untangling the complex networks that they are part of. Actors were considered nodes in a social network, tied by a common action or project. The nodes were characterized through the centrality metrics of a network. The network of actors in river restoration in Romania has a low density and high average path length and diameter for such a spare network, which suggests that knowledge transfer and collaboration are difficult. In the context of a highly centralized water governance system in Romania, the National Authority for Water exerts power and influence in river restoration as well. It has numerous partners, both disconnected and well connected in the network, therefore, it tends to be connected to everybody, as well as gets and diffuses knowledge. Yet, other actors are willing to get involved in river restoration in Romania. NGOs and research organizations have a central position in the network and play various roles (e.g., unconcerned influencers, gate-keepers, pulse-takers). As a recommendation for governing river restoration in Romania, we urge the creation of a national programme focused on river restoration, where the call for projects would be coordinated by the National Authority for Water and open to its territorial subordinates in agreement with stakeholders from various sectors and domains.

Demonstrating the effectiveness of open‐water wetlandscape restoration: lessons learned from South‐Eastern Europe

“…(3) So far, countries such as Romania and Bulgaria reported limited or far away from expectations effects of riparian wetland restoration due to inadequate restoration planning or measures (Kalchev et al 2010;Dorondel et al 2021). ( 4) Most of the restoration actions are project-based, with low involvement in practice of the authorities and national-scale funding (Ioana-Toroimac et al 2024); thus, they do not benefit from post-restoration monitoring. Therefore, the region of South-Eastern Europe requires efforts in the study of wetlands and their restoration.…”