| Pedieos Workshop (Zypern) Juli 1, 2015 © Ecologic Institut

Engaging Citizens in Adaptive River Basin Management in the Mediterranean

Event: Workshop
Date: 27 May - 1 July 2015

'BeWater' is a three and a half-year EU-funded project, which investigates the opportunities of preparing adaptive management plans for river basins in four case studies based in the Mediterranean region: Pedieos (Cyprus), Rmel (Tunisia), Tordera (Spain) and Vipava (Slovenia). The aim of the project is to promote dialogue and collaboration between science and society for sustainable water management in order to facilitate adaptation to the impacts of global change in the Mediterranean. From May until July 2015, four participatory workshops were held in the aforementioned cities. Some of the outcomes of the workshops are summarized in the table at the end of the text.

BeWater involves society by actively engaging local communities in discussions on current water use and related problems. Through these discussions, the project raises public awareness on the importance of sustainable water management, with a particular focus on the expected climate change impacts at River Basin scale.

Over the course of two rounds of participatory workshops, Water Management Options (WMOs) have been compiled for four cardinal points of the Mediterranean. In May and June 2015, each of the four river basins used newly developed methodologies to evaluate these options given the preferences and river basin specific challenges and issues identified by stakeholders from each basin. Some outcomes of the workshops are summarized in the graphic.

As a next step in the project, Ecologic Institute will lead the development of the River Basin Adaptation Plans (RBAPs), building on the outcomes of the previous workshops. The objective is to identify practical options to implement the identified WMOs in each basin by exploring such aspects as: their policy and stakeholder basis, synergies and co-benefits between the options, potential adaptation pathways, and the plans’ draft objectives for implementing an adaptive management approach.

The description of the RBAP development and where and how stakeholders have provided input will be mapped with these steps in mind. The next series of workshops is scheduled for Spring 2016 in collaboration with institutions from the four CSRBs (CyI, INRGREF, CREAF and IzVRS).

"Participatory planning as a success factor for adaptive river basin management"

Recommendations for Water Management Authorities within Europe and Beyond

Year 2017

Publication:Policy Brief

Policy brief 2 outlines the participatory approach developed within BeWater and presents recommendations targeting actors within European bodies and institutions dealing with adaptation planning and adaptation in water management. Aspects of EU policies that could pose a barrier to implementation of adaptation action are highlighted, and complemented with necessary actions to overcome such barriers. Policy brief 2 is available for download.

Supporting Participation in Adaptive River Basin Management

Policy Recommendations for the EU Level

Year 2017

Event:Conference

<p>Engaging stakeholders in adaptation planning is widely considered to enhance the degree of acceptance and political relevance of environmental policy measures; yet significant room exists for improvement in the design and implementation of stakeholder participation in decision-making processes. A European Policy Event entitled "Implementing COP22 agreements: River basin adaptation planning through stakeholder engagement" was organized by Ecologic Institute within the EU-funded BeWater project to address this topic. The event's key messages and European policy recommendations are available for download.</p>

River Basin Adaptation Planning through Stakeholder Engagement

9 February 2017
Brussels, Belgium

Publication:Article

Participation in the adaptation processes of river basin planning is necessary for sustainable water management. The article supports this statement by providing an overview of the work carried out within the framework of the BeWater project. We illustrate the methodology applied in the project, which resulted in four river basin adaptation plans for catchments in Cyprus, Tunisia, Spain and Slovenia. Furthermore, the project's case studies are presented as well as the challenges that stakeholders identified within their respective river basins. We show how the project was initiated in the case study basins and how it influenced their river basin management processes. An overview of the prioritized measures is given as well as a summary of BeWater's contributions to future river basin management undertakings. We end the overview with an outlook on how stakeholder participation can improve river basin adaptation.

Supporting Stakeholder Participation in Adaptive River Basin Management

Year 2017

Publication:Book

This handbook by Ecologic Institute is intended to provide the reader with the necessary information how to guide the participatory development of a River Basin Adaptation Plan. The handbook begins with more general contextual information about the BeWater project before highlighting the importance of adaptation, the state of the art in river basin planning, society's role in the process and finally the need for resilient social-ecological systems. The handbook is available for download.

Developing Participatory Adaptation Plans for River Basins

A Handbook

Year 2016

Publication:Document

Citizens from around the Mediterranean participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basins. Based on a novel approach developed over the course of the EU-funded BeWater project, stakeholders from four case study river basins were engaged in a collaborative process with experts and policy makers to draft River Basin Adaptation Plans. Ecologic Institute was also part of this collaboration.

Four River Basin Adaptation Plans

Year 2016

Event:Workshop

Climate change and other pressures are impacting the environment and water resources in the Mediterranean, requiring plans for how to adapt the management of affected river basins and their water resources to changing future conditions. To address this challenge, a series of workshops organized by Ecologic Institute and local case study partners (CREAF, CyI, INRGREF and IzVRS) were held in March and April 2016 across the Mediterranean as part of the EU-funded BeWater project to gain stakeholder input for further developing tailored river basin adaptation plans.

Engaging Citizens in Adaptive River Basin Management in the Mediterranean

8 April 2016
Rmel (Tunisia), Tordera (Spain), Pedieos (Cyprus) and Vipava (Slovenia) river basins

Publication:Policy Brief

Hans Verkerk et. al. 2016: Planning for Climate Change: Society as a Key Player in River Basin Adaptation. [BeWater policy brief no.1]. The publication is available in English, Catalan, French, Arabic, and Slovenian.

Society as a Key Player in River Basin Adaptation

Planning for Climate Change

Year 2016

Publication:Report

Davis, M; Rouillard, J; Lukat, E; Stein, U; Tröltzsch, J; Vidaurre, R. (2014). Compilation of best practice examples and experiences of adaptation plans. Deliverable D4.1, BeWater, FP7 project no. 612385 -SIS.2013.1.2-1 European Commission, 67 pp.

Compilation of Best Practice Examples and Experiences of Adaptation Plans

Year 2014

Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Organizer: Prospex Headquarters, Belgium

European Forest Institute (EFI), International

The Cyprus Institute (CYI), Cyprus

National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests (INRGREF), Tunisia

Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Spain

Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia (IzVRS), Slovenia
Team: McKenna Davis

Dr. Ulf Stein

Dr. Josselin Rouillard

Evelyn Lukat

Jenny Tröltzsch

Rodrigo Vidaurre
Date: 27 May - 1 July 2015
Language: English
Project: Making Society an Active Participant in Water Adaptation to Global Change (BeWater)
Project ID: 2733
Keywords: Adaptation

Climate

Water

sustainable water management, river basin water management planning, river basin adaptation plans, participatory approach, case study, river basin adaptation plans, options for water management, handbook, Euro-Mediterranean region,

Tordera, Spain, Vipava, Slovenia, Pedieos, Cyprus, Rmel, Tunisia

Further Links

ProjectFP 7Making Society an Active Participant in Water Adaptation to Global Change (BeWater)

Sustainable water management under climate change is an urgent challenge for the Euro-Mediterranean region. The BeWater FP7 project supports a transition to stakeholder-driven river basin water management planning in this region by working together with local partners... Read more

Making Society an Active Participant in Water Adaptation to Global Change (BeWater)

Duration: Oct 2013 - Mar 2017
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International