Legal framework and criteria for effectively coordinating public participation under the Floods Directive and Water Framework Directive: European requirements and German transposition

Albrecht, Juliane

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.07.019

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The implementation of the WFD has been studied from various disciplinary angles and perspectives [9,10]; for example, its legal [11], ecological [12] and economical [13] implications have been addressed. However, we know little about the social benefits (ecosystem services) generated by the WFD and its outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Quality Is a Poor Predictor of Recreational Hotspots in England

et al. 2016

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Maintaining and improving water quality is key to the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, which provide important benefits to society. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) defines water quality based on a set of biological, hydro-morphological and chemical targets, and aims to reach good quality conditions in all river bodies by the year 2027. While recently it has been argued that achieving these goals will deliver and enhance ecosystem services, in particular recreational services, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating so. Here we test the hypothesis that good water quality is associated with increased utilization of recreational services, combining four surveys covering walking, boating, fishing and swimming visits, together with water quality data for all water bodies in eight River Basin Districts (RBDs) in England. We compared the percentage of visits in areas of good water quality to a set of null models accounting for population density, income, age distribution, travel distance, public access, and substitutability. We expect such association to be positive, at least for fishing (which relies on fish stocks) and swimming (with direct contact to water). We also test if these services have stronger association with water quality relative to boating and walking alongside rivers, canals or lakeshores. In only two of eight RBDs (Northumbria and Anglian) were both criteria met (positive association, strongest for fishing and swimming) when comparing to at least one of the null models. This conclusion is robust to variations in dataset size. Our study suggests that achieving the WFD water quality goals may not enhance recreational ecosystem services, and calls for further empirical research on the connection between water quality and ecosystem services.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Quality Is a Poor Predictor of Recreational Hotspots in England

et al. 2016

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“…Above all, restrictions on implementing structural protection measures as well as adverse effects of floods on socio-economical systems require an amendment in policy making. Its relatively recent implementation makes the FD a fairly new policy instrument which is receiving increasing attention in the international flood risk debate [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obligation or Innovation: Can the EU Floods Directive Be Seen as a Tipping Point Towards More Resilient Flood Risk Management? A Case Study from Vorarlberg, Austria

et al. 2019

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Environmental change is subject to discussion among scientists, practitioners, and policymakers. As increasing threats to both environment and society are on the agenda, alternative management approaches are gaining importance. This paper focuses on the influence of policy changes on flood risk management. There is evidence that shifts in settlement patterns and population growth might influence the dynamics of flood damage and loss. There is increased pressure to intensify land use, but also to keep free spaces for hazard mitigation and adaptation. In this paper, we focus on new regulative and management approaches associated with the implementation of the European (EU) Floods Directive in Austria. The concept of tipping points, which are defined as turning points for system change, has been applied. Based on semi-structured interviews we evaluate whether or not the implementation of the EU Floods Directive has triggered a system change in flood risk management. Our results show that triggers for change are past flood events and a general need for action rather than the implementation of the directive itself. Changes related to the EU Floods Directive are likely to happen in the long-term; however, these cannot yet be determined. The main challenges are associated with transparency and communication between policymakers and the affected society. So far, the requirements of the first policy cycle of the directive have been fulfilled. The second policy cycle will show further outcomes and potential needs.

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“…As flood risk management measures can potentially both complement and counteract water quality measures, the FD envisages integration and coordination of participatory planning within the broader ambit of the WFD to avoid conflict and harness synergies in this sense. Therefore, the FD (Articles 9, 10) makes explicit reference to the procedural requirements of the WFD, and also envisages the active involvement of interested parties in the production, review and updating of flood risk management plans (for a detailed account see Albrecht, 2016). While a Working Group on Floods, established under the WFD CIS process, has provided some advice on stakeholder participation (e.g.…”

Section: Participatory Eu Water Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Governance change and governance learning in Europe: stakeholder participation in environmental policy implementation

et al. 2017

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Current European Union (EU) policies require policy-makers on different levels of government to engage with new forms of governance such as participatory planning, aiming to improve environmental policy delivery. We address the central issue of how policy-makers learn about the appropriateness of different modes of governance. By way of example, we examine recent innovations in EU water governance -primarily through the enactment of the Water Framework Directive (2000) and the Floods Directive (2007), and their requirements for stakeholder participation in the planning process. We discuss scope for policy-induced 'governance learning' , wherein policy-makers draw on evidence and experience to learn about how to design and execute effective participatory planning and decision-making. In doing so, we aim to extend work on policy learning by focusing on the procedural dimensions of governance, and make a case for more coordinated and systematic approaches to gathering evidence and learning from ongoing EU environmental policy implementation.

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Legal framework and criteria for effectively coordinating public participation under the Floods Directive and Water Framework Directive: European requirements and German transposition

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Water Quality Is a Poor Predictor of Recreational Hotspots in England

Water Quality Is a Poor Predictor of Recreational Hotspots in England

Obligation or Innovation: Can the EU Floods Directive Be Seen as a Tipping Point Towards More Resilient Flood Risk Management? A Case Study from Vorarlberg, Austria

Governance change and governance learning in Europe: stakeholder participation in environmental policy implementation

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