Can England Learn Lessons from Bangladesh in Introducing Participatory Floodplain Management?

Public or stakeholder participation in planning and management of natural resources is now widely practiced, but means different things in different contexts. Examples of recent participation in floodplain management in Bangladesh and England are reviewed in the national policy context. Participation in floodplain planning in England is influenced by a centralised state and European Union directives. The Ribble process tried to involve a wide range of stakeholders, but is limited to the development of plans through consultations structured and managed by the Environment Agency. By comparison in Bangladesh local participatory planning with different stakeholders has articulated their separate needs and suggestions, and brought them together to search for consensus. Decision making and responsibilities over flood management infrastructure and floodplain resources have been devolved to community organisations and co-management committees formed through the participation process. The Bangladesh examples show how participation can be made more accessible to people through events that have real local meaning since representatives gain power to raise funds and implement decisions for the benefit of their stakeholder constituencies. In Bangladesh rural populations dependent on floodplain resources have an incentive to participate in implementation and oversight of management decisions and actions that is lacking for most urban people in England. However, the merits of building up from local participation to catchment planning and of linking floodplain specific participatory institutions with existing local government are lessons that could be adapted from Bangladesh to England.     

Participatory water governance between theories and practices: learning from a community-based initiative in India

Abstract

Despite increasing convergence on the social learning concept as a theoretical foundation of collaborative practices for water governance, this article shows the pitfalls of its uncritical application as a normative ideal. The discussion is based on the analysis of a community-based initiative for water supply and slum upgrading in India, which is considered a best practice of good governance due to its collaborative approach. A different interpretation of the project is proposed through the analysis of its successes and failures from a community perspective. Finally, a recommendation for context-specific selection of theoretical bases for participatory practices is made.     

Delineating the Model-Stakeholder Gap: Framing Perceptions to Analyse the Information Requirement in River Management

Computer models can support policy development in environmental management, but often suffer from a lack of practical application. This is part due to a ‘gap’ between the ways in which various participants in the policy process deal with information. The framework described in this paper provides a structured approach to information analysis in policy processes. The awareness of differences in the nature of information helps in dealing with different perceptions and actor backgrounds during this policy process because it allows a better match between the information needs and the tools or procedures that are applied. Construal level theory, originating from consumer psychology, can account for some differences that remained unaddressed so far and forms a key component of this framework. Application of the framework to the Dutch Maas case shows that a gap between the model and its users is unavoidable; model applications are dominated by the fairly technical conceptions which modelers have of the system, and fail to address high level construals brought up by the stakeholders. Application of the framework can support the match between mutual expectations of modelers and users.     

Interactions between citizen responsibilization,flood experience and household resilience: insights from the 2013 flood in Germany

As increasing emphasis is placed on the importance of citizens’ taking responsibility for their own preparedness and protection against flooding, it is important to understand the relationship between responsibility and action and how current practices of responsibilization influence household resilience. Based on a survey of 889 households affected by flooding in 2013 in the states of Saxony and Bavaria, Germany, this study investigates the relationship between action and flood experience and how this experience influences whether citizens feel responsible, and therefore the likelihood that they will take action in the future. These findings have implications for household resilience as well as future research.     

应对突发性水源污染的城市应急供水的进展与展望

城市应急供水工作是近年来供水行业面临的新任务、新挑战。对近年来环境污染事故频发的情况和原因进行了梳理,简要介绍了国内在应急供水方面开展的主要研究课题,重点总结了国家水体污染控制与治理科技重大专项(以下简称水专项)自来水厂应急处理课题的研究进展和主要研究成果。最后,提出了加强应急供水的总体战略和下一步研究方向。     

计量小区(DMA)夜间最小流量解析方法探讨与案例研究

通过对给水管网实测计量小区(DMA)的夜间流量数据进行解析,可以及时获得近似的真实漏损数值。利用大频率、高精度的夜间实测流量数据进行分析,发现夜间不同时段DMA流量近似满足正态分布,其最小值近似接近真实漏损。根据某案例凌晨2∶00-4∶00夜间最小流量数据,采用置信水平95.5%、置信区间(μ-2δ,μ+2δ)进行了分析。结果表明,利用μ-2δ表征剔除异常值后的DMA最小流量,可以消除实测数据的误差和干扰影响,来得出小区的真实漏损水量。这种方法可减少对用户夜间用水估计产生的误差,也可便利地通过流量设备进行现场计量,从而快速评估DMA的夜间漏失水平     

Policy factors explaining the failure of delegated management in water supply: evidence from Ghana

In the 1990s, delegated management emerged as a promising public policy approach for improving the performance of the water supply sector in many developing countries. In many cases, however, the obligations of delegated management contracts reportedly have not been met, often leading to early termination or non-renewal. Drawing on theories in policy analysis and knowledge management, this article analyzes the management contract signed between Ghana Water Company and Aqua Vitens Rand to identify the policy-related factors underlying the failure of delegated management in water supply. Practical implications are discussed for more successful implementation of delegated management.     

Games to Create Awareness and Design Policies for Transboundary Cooperation in River Basins: Lessons from the Shariva Game of the Mekong River Commission

International river basins cover a vast majority of the land surface, international cooperation is therefore important for the proper management, and to assure equitable and effective use in the basins. Key elements to improve international cooperation are common understanding of the issues in the basin, understanding upstream-downstream impacts and sharing a common vision for the future. This article focuses on the role of games in international basin cooperation to create awareness and to support policy development. The paper analysed the effects of the game in creating awareness and upgrading knowledge amongst water and related professionals and in designing procedures for cooperation in transboundary river basins. This was analysed during the implementation of the game with 28 participants from the four Lower Mekong countries. The impact on creating awareness and upgrading knowledge was evaluated through the use of questionnaires and pre- and post evaluation questions and for the design of policies, a SWOT analysis was used to evaluate the usefulness of the policies and frameworks as well as to identify possible improvements to the framework. The game implementation proved to be an appropriate tool to provide a practical way for stakeholders to become acquainted with the administrative and technical tools available in the Lower Mekong Basin. Pre- and post test shows that participants gained substantial knowledge on transboundary cooperation and use of tools. The game was part of a longer training programme addressing all the issues, however, the participants gained additional knowledge and insight by playing the game, well above what they had learned during the earlier training workshops. Playing the game proved an important aspect in training and education of such complex systems. The study also shows the role games can play in policy analysis, in particular the way the game provided insight in the design of the policy and the development of procedures, and their function to review and update policies and procedures. A number of recommendations have been made to strengthen the role in both training and education as well as in design of procedures.     

Trends and issues in delivery of integrated catchment scale river restoration: Lessons learned from a national river restoration survey within Scotland

This paper provides data on the changing character of river restoration within one country within a single policy and legislative framework. The information gathered was based on web searches, meetings and questionnaire responses with organizations and individuals working as environmental policy developers, stakeholders and practitioners of catchment management and river restoration. The paper utilizes this information to explore generic issues promoting and constraining a move to integrated catchment scale river restoration. Catchment scale river restoration was defined as ‘any river restoration activity that singly, or in combination, restores natural catchment processes and a naturally functioning ecosystem and brings benefit or environmental services to the whole catchment and not just to the site of restoration’. The river restoration project data compiled showed that the number of projects in Scotland is on a strong upward trajectory, but the number of catchment scale projects is still limited. The data also showed a trend towards a range of underpinning reasons for river restoration. Traditionally the reasons for river restoration in Scotland have been strongly fisheries focussed, with another key driver being biodiversity conservation. Sustainable flood management and climate change adaptation are seen as emerging drivers of river restoration. In terms of the individuals interviewed, most appreciated that river restoration can bring about multiple benefits and should be underpinned by a good understanding of catchment processes. Our overall assertion based on our study is that unless there is a fundamental paradigm shift, a change in the nature and level of funding for river restoration and a single organization is given overall authority to direct river restoration. ‘business as usual’ will continue and the benefits of catchment scale river restoration will be limited. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy for freshwater supply,use and disposal in the Netherlands: a case study of Dutch households

Abstract

This study presents energy requirements for Dutch household water: 10.2 GJ per capita per year, which includes 9.3 GJ (92%) for heating water, 0.6 GJ (6%) for water supply, and 0.2 GJ for wastewater treatment (2%). The top three energy consumers include shower water (58%), dishwasher water (9%) and washing machine water (8%). The Netherlands, a water-abundant country, expends far more energy to heat water for households than to supply municipal water, or to treat and dispose of wastewater. Policies to make water chains more sustainable should focus on use, rather than supply and disposal.