IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i2p681-d479139.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Achieving European Water Quality Ambitions: Governance Conditions for More Effective Approaches at the Local-Regional Scale

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne Wuijts

    (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
    Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Utrecht University, Newtonlaan 231, 3584 BH Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick

    (Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Utrecht University, Newtonlaan 231, 3584 BH Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Peter P. J. Driessen

    (Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Worldwide countries face challenges to restore and preserve water resources. This paper analyses how governance approaches support the attainment of water quality ambitions set out in the European Water Framework Directive and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, the connection between the physical water system and the governing legal and societal systems is explored, using scientific literature and empirical material on governance approaches in the subdomains of drinking water resources, freshwater ecosystems and bathing water in The Netherlands. The results show the effects of the intricate relationship between water system characteristics and the drivers of water quality versus the various elements of a governance approach. For instance, hydrological, morphological and chemical objectives set different demands on governance conditions, related to the scale, roles and responsibilities of actors who need to be involved and coherence of the legal and policy frameworks in place. These demands can also be different during the different stages of a policy process. Choices made in a governance approach (who to involve, availability and use of legal instruments, measures and monitoring) may therefore influence the level of water quality improvement that can be achieved. A joint approach from the social-economic, legal and ecological knowledge domain during all stages of a policy process is necessary to overcome such unintended results.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Wuijts & Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick & Peter P. J. Driessen, 2021. "Achieving European Water Quality Ambitions: Governance Conditions for More Effective Approaches at the Local-Regional Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:681-:d:479139
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/681/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/681/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven Koop & Cornelis Leeuwen, 2015. "Assessment of the Sustainability of Water Resources Management: A Critical Review of the City Blueprint Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(15), pages 5649-5670, December.
    2. Saskia Van Broekhoven & Anne Lorène Vernay, 2018. "Integrating Functions for a Sustainable Urban System: A Review of Multifunctional Land Use and Circular Urban Metabolism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-24, June.
    3. Florence Metz & Karin Ingold, 2014. "Sustainable Wastewater Management: Is it Possible to Regulate Micropollution in the Future by Learning from the Past? A Policy Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-21, April.
    4. Susanne Wuijts & Jappe Beekman & Bas van der Wal & Cathy Suykens & Peter P. J. Driessen & Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick, 2019. "An ecological perspective on a river’s rights: a recipe for more effective water quality governance?," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(6-7), pages 647-666, October.
    5. C. J. Vörösmarty & P. B. McIntyre & M. O. Gessner & D. Dudgeon & A. Prusevich & P. Green & S. Glidden & S. E. Bunn & C. A. Sullivan & C. Reidy Liermann & P. M. Davies, 2010. "Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7315), pages 555-561, September.
    6. Jitske van Popering-Verkerk & Arwin van Buuren, 2016. "Decision-Making Patterns in Multilevel Governance: The contribution of informal and procedural interactions to significant multilevel decisions," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(7), pages 951-971, August.
    7. Woodhouse, P. & Muller, M., 2017. "Water Governance—An Historical Perspective on Current Debates," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 225-241.
    8. Gani, Azmat & Scrimgeour, Frank, 2014. "Modeling governance and water pollution using the institutional ecological economic framework," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 363-372.
    9. Vincenzo Rusciano & Gennaro Civero & Debora Scarpato, 2020. "Social and Ecological High Influential Factors in Community Gardens Innovation: An Empirical Survey in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Julia Leventon, 2015. "Explaining implementation deficits through multi-level governance in the EU's new member states: EU limits for arsenic in drinking water in Hungary," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1137-1153, July.
    11. Blackstock, K.L. & Waylen, K.A. & Dunglinson, J. & Marshall, K.M., 2012. "Linking process to outcomes — Internal and external criteria for a stakeholder involvement in River Basin Management Planning," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 113-122.
    12. Marleen van Rijswick & Jurian Edelenbos & Petra Hellegers & Matthijs Kok & Stefan Kuks, 2014. "Ten building blocks for sustainable water governance: an integrated method to assess the governance of water," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 725-742, September.
    13. Maria Pettersson & Marleen van Rijswick & Cathy Suykens & Meghan Alexander & Kristina Ek & Sally Priest, 2017. "Assessing the legitimacy of flood risk governance arrangements in Europe: insights from intra-country evaluations," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(8), pages 929-944, November.
    14. Susanne Wuijts & Peter P. J. Driessen & Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick, 2018. "Towards More Effective Water Quality Governance: A Review of Social-Economic, Legal and Ecological Perspectives and Their Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, March.
    15. Xiaomei Tan, 2006. "Environment, governance and GDP: discovering their connections," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 311-335.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zlati, Monica Laura & Antohi, Valentin-Marian & Ionescu, Romeo-Victor & Iticescu, Catalina & Georgescu, Lucian Puiu, 2024. "Quantyfing the impact of the water security index on socio-economic development in EU27," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Rudy Vannevel & Peter L. M. Goethals, 2021. "Structural and Contentual Complexity in Water Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-46, August.
    3. Kelly Andrea Aguirre & Diego Paredes Cuervo, 2023. "Water Safety and Water Governance: A Scientometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susanne Wuijts & Peter P. J. Driessen & Helena F. M. W. Rijswick, 2018. "Governance Conditions for Improving Quality Drinking Water Resources: the Need for Enhancing Connectivity," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(4), pages 1245-1260, March.
    2. Susanne Wuijts & Peter P. J. Driessen & Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick, 2018. "Towards More Effective Water Quality Governance: A Review of Social-Economic, Legal and Ecological Perspectives and Their Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Lu, Shibao & Zhang, Xiaoling & Bao, Haijun & Skitmore, Martin, 2016. "Review of social water cycle research in a changing environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 132-140.
    4. Grilli, Gianluca & Curtis, John, 2021. "Knowledge and awareness of water quality protection issues within Local Authorities," Papers WP712, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    5. Aude Zingraff-Hamed & Frank Hüesker & Gerd Lupp & Chloe Begg & Josh Huang & Amy Oen & Zoran Vojinovic & Christian Kuhlicke & Stephan Pauleit, 2020. "Stakeholder Mapping to Co-Create Nature-Based Solutions: Who Is on Board?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-23, October.
    6. Debora Scarpato & Gennaro Civero & Vincenzo Rusciano & Marcello Risitano, 2020. "Sustainable strategies and corporate social responsibility in the Italian fisheries companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2983-2990, November.
    7. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Maruf Yakubu Ahmed & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2022. "Global adaptation readiness and income mitigate sectoral climate change vulnerabilities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Nina Hangebruch & Frank Othengrafen, 2022. "Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    9. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    10. Cai, Benan & Long, Chengjun & Du, Qiaochen & Zhang, Wenchao & Hou, Yandong & Wang, Haijun & Cai, Weihua, 2023. "Analysis of a spray flash desalination system driven by low-grade waste heat with different intermittencies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    11. Yang, Lin & Pang, Shujiang & Wang, Xiaoyan & Du, Yi & Huang, Jieyu & Melching, Charles S., 2021. "Optimal allocation of best management practices based on receiving water capacity constraints," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    12. Liang Liu & Cong Feng & Hongwei Zhang & Xuehua Zhang, 2015. "Game Analysis and Simulation of the River Basin Sustainable Development Strategy Integrating Water Emission Trading," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-21, April.
    13. Antonio J. Castro & Cristina Quintas-Soriano & Jodi Brandt & Carla L. Atkinson & Colden V. Baxter & Morey Burnham & Benis N. Egoh & Marina García-Llorente & Jason P. Julian & Berta Martín-López & Feli, 2018. "Applying Place-Based Social-Ecological Research to Address Water Scarcity: Insights for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, May.
    14. Qiting Zuo & Yixuan Diao & Lingang Hao & Chunhui Han, 2020. "Comprehensive Evaluation of the Human-Water Harmony Relationship in Countries Along the “Belt and Road”," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(13), pages 4019-4035, October.
    15. Paul L. G. Vlek & Asia Khamzina & Hossein Azadi & Anik Bhaduri & Luna Bharati & Ademola Braimoh & Christopher Martius & Terry Sunderland & Fatemeh Taheri, 2017. "Trade-Offs in Multi-Purpose Land Use under Land Degradation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    16. Xinxin Liu & Xiaosheng Wang & Haiying Guo & Xiaojie An, 2021. "Benefit Allocation in Shared Water-Saving Management Contract Projects Based on Modified Expected Shapley Value," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 35(1), pages 39-62, January.
    17. Mingjing Guo & Ziyu Jiang & Yan Bu & Jinhua Cheng, 2019. "Supporting Sustainable Development of Water Resources: A Social Welfare Maximization Game Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-15, August.
    18. Cesar Casiano Flores & Joep Crompvoets & Maria Eugenia Ibarraran Viniegra & Megan Farrelly, 2019. "Governance Assessment of the Flood’s Infrastructure Policy in San Pedro Cholula, Mexico: Potential for a Leapfrog to Water Sensitive," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-28, December.
    19. Geoff Goodwin, 2018. "Water, Infrastructure and Power: Contention and Resistance in Post‐colonial Cities of the South," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(6), pages 1616-1630, November.
    20. Christian Franco-Crespo & Jose Maria Sumpsi Viñas, 2017. "The Impact of Pricing Policies on Irrigation Water for Agro-Food Farms in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:681-:d:479139. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.