Governance for Sustainability of Estuarine Areas—Assessing Alternative Models Using the Case of Ria de Aveiro, Portugal

Abstract

Estuaries are one of the most productive and complex types of ecosystems supporting a wide range of economic activities. Departing from a set of governance problems and emergent goals, such as sustainability or climate change adaptation faced by an estuarine case study area, Ria de Aveiro, in Portugal, this article assesses the adequacy of alternative governance models under the existing water resources legal framework and traditional political culture. It shows that apart from the centrally-based compliance model, all other alternatives require high degrees of institutional reforms. Moreover, although the model based on a dedicated new agency, long preferred by many users of Ria de Aveiro, is the most understandable and focused, it does not assure the pursuance of adaptability or collaboration, which are considered essential for estuary governance. As it relies on collective action and multi-level and multi-agent contexts, estuarine governance may require a new institutional design. Where one begins a process of institutional change, however, is not a simple issue to address and demands a deeper analysis, particularly on the types of required institutional changes, as well as on their impacts on policy and decision-making outcomes over estuarine environments and associated socio-ecological networks.

Flooding Conditions at Aveiro Port (Portugal) within the Framework of Projected Climate Change

“…The changes occurring in meteocean drivers contribute to the increase in the lagoon's flood risk, which has been assessed for the historical period [27,29,38,39] to understand and predict future developments [28,30,35] of the flooded area and the implications on the surroundings. The Aveiro Lagoon has been historically shaped by human activities, harboring urban structures of small to medium-sized cities and related activities and increasing industrialization prompted by the Aveiro Port [40], which is particularly prone to floods due to the proximity of the lagoon mouth. These regions have been well documented in terms of floods, however, the potential impact of floods in future scenarios of climate change has not yet been assessed in detail for the Aveiro Port area, and particularly regarding the area of jurisdiction and the port infrastructures.…”

Mitigating Negative Unintended Impacts on Biodiversity in the Natura 2000 Vouga Estuary (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)

“…Vouga estuary Natura 2000 site governance involves a multiplicity of institutions, organisations and stakeholders, and involves articulation of programs and plans of local, regional and national levels (Teles et al 2014;Fidélis and Carvalho 2015;Lillebø et al (eds) 2015;Sousa et al 2016;Sousa 2017;Fidélis et al 2019). The Portuguese Environment Agency, through its Regional Hydrographic Administration for Portugal Centro Region (APA/ARH Centro) was engaged at a very early stage of the project, helping identify key management questions.…”

“…As for other socio-ecological systems the Vouga estuary governance is complex, involving several institutions with multi-level and multi-spatial scales of governance (Lillebø et al (eds) 2015; Sousa 2017; Fidélis et al 2019), with different governance models applied for integrated water resource management (Teles et al 2014;Fidélis et al 2019). Fidélis et al (2019) assessed alternative governance models for Ria de Aveiro considering "the organizational settings established to accommodate the different policy priorities existing in an estuary, their decision-making tools and processes, responsibility boundaries, stakeholder involvement schemes, and the means to face the challenges of a dynamic and vulnerable system". This analysis, built upon Teles et al (2014), presents an in-depth discussion highlighting the need for a paradigm change that implies high levels of institutional reforms.…”

Mutual Learning and Policy Transfer in Integrated Water Resources Management: A Research Agenda

“…Six contributions to this Special Issue-by Demirbilek and Benson [52], Fritsch [53], Glavan et al [54], Pellegrini et al [55], Schröder [56], and Waylen et al [57]-study the implementation of EU water policies; another one by Fidelis et al [58] examines a setting directly and indirectly shaped by Brussels although no direct reference to the EU is being made. All six EU-centred contributions focus on the WFD whereby Glavan et al [54] and Waylen et al [57] analyse the Directive in conjunction with other EU water policies.…”

“…Fidelis et al [58] analyse the case of Ria de Aveiro in Portugal to discuss the potential of four more or less IWRM-compatible governance models, using the requirement of institutional reforms, the requirement of new practices, comprehensiveness, adaptability, focus and degree of collaboration as benchmarks.…”