Bridging the Gap between Science and Policy: A Prerequisite for Effective Water Governance

Abstract

Water governance in the EU is enshrined in the Water Framework Directive (WFD), with the engagement of stakeholders being one of the governance cornerstones. The inclusion of the interests of scientific and non-scientific groups in decision-making is crucial. Our objective is to examine the contribution of the participatory approach to the effectiveness of local water resource management. Within the Eye4water project, a participatory assessment was applied for the Lissos river basin, through joint identification and evaluation of the main water-related issues. Firstly, we identified the social system engaged to the basin through stakeholders’ mapping. Secondly, based on criteria selection, three stakeholders’ groups were invited to a workshop. Our preliminary results show that mutual learning should be encouraged at multiple levels. Well-recognized threats such as water pollution, flood risk, and groundwater lowering are present, while biodiversity issues are quite underrepresented.

Keywords

• stakeholder analysis
• participatory management
• local knowledge
• Lissos
• interactive workshop
• basin management