Local Management of Water Local Management of Water Catchments: Drawing on Catchments: Drawing on International Experience International Experience Laurence Smith, Imperial College London Kevin Hiscock, University of East Anglia Research on Rural Resource Management and the Rural Economy: Addressing the Local Dimension Royal Society of Edinburgh, Wednesday 16 th May 2007.
25
Embed
Local Management of Water Catchments: Drawing on International Experience
Local Management of Water Catchments: Drawing on International Experience. Laurence Smith, Imperial College London Kevin Hiscock, University of East Anglia Research on Rural Resource Management and the Rural Economy: Addressing the Local Dimension - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Local Management of Water Local Management of Water Catchments: Drawing on Catchments: Drawing on International ExperienceInternational Experience
Laurence Smith, Imperial College LondonKevin Hiscock, University of East Anglia
Research on Rural Resource Management and the Rural Economy: Addressing the Local Dimension
Royal Society of Edinburgh, Wednesday 16th May 2007.
Work to dateWork to date“Building Alliances for a RELU Capacity Building Programme: Exploiting Options from the Eastern US and Nearby European Continent”
• capacity building award, July 2004 to August 2005
• development of a ‘network” of water professionals in the UK, US and nearby Europe
• built capacity for evaluation of transferable catchment management measures to protect water quality, from Eastern US and nearby Europe
• integrated understanding of technical, economic, social and institutional and governance aspects (including participation of catchment communities)
• identification of a research agenda for evaluation under a RELU research project.
Catchment management: a Catchment management: a ‘wicked problem’?‘wicked problem’?
In natural resource management a ‘wicked problem’ is characterised by:
• contradictory, complex problems
• clusters of interrelated problems
• high levels of uncertainty
• diverse competing values and interests
• many production and consumption externalities
• requirement for trade-offs and multiple decision criteria
• a solution for one group generates problems for another
• intractable for any single organisation.
The challenges of diffuse water The challenges of diffuse water pollution pollution
• farming is the main source, but also produces food, sustains rural communities and creates landscape attributes
• pollution sources are numerous, dispersed and sometimes uncertain, thus the costs of regulation are high
• the ‘polluter pays’, the ‘consumer pays’, or costs are shared?
• solutions require a ‘tailored’ mix of regulation, policies, voluntary action and direct interventions.
Alternative models for water Alternative models for water governance governance
The aim is to protect and manage water resources in a catchment in which people can live, work and play.
1. Centralised and monocentric
2. Local autonomy
3. Decentralised, polycentric and multi-stakeholder
An example: The New York City An example: The New York City Watershed and the Delaware County Watershed and the Delaware County
Action Plan (DCAP)Action Plan (DCAP) (watershed = catchment)(watershed = catchment)
Key features:
• multi-level, multi-stakeholder, adaptive approach, with local leadership and strong legitimacy and accountability
• initiated locally in response to threat of regulation and loss of local autonomy
• a strong scientific base, effective use of monitoring and modelling, and initial focus on best farm management practices
• wider catchment measures beyond farms.
New YorkNew YorkCity City
Water Water Supply Supply SystemSystem
Delaware County Action PlanDelaware County Action Plan
#S USGS Gauging Stations$T DEC Continuous WQ Stations
10 0 10 20 Kilometers
N
EW
S
R Farm
Shaw Road
DCAP PartnersDCAP PartnersDCAP integrates all levels of government authority, DCAP integrates all levels of government authority,
coordinates actions at County level by agencies coordinates actions at County level by agencies and other bodies, and preserves local planning and other bodies, and preserves local planning prerogatives.prerogatives.
Watershed planning and Watershed planning and implementation is an iterative implementation is an iterative
and adaptive processand adaptive process
US EPA , 2005
Other examples can be drawn Other examples can be drawn from nearby Europe (particularly from nearby Europe (particularly from the Water4all Project), and from the Water4all Project), and
from wider international from wider international experience.experience.
Key lessons drawn to dateKey lessons drawn to date
1) Each catchment and all sources of pollution must be analysed in an integrated and holistic way. Environmental criteria must be integrated with the economic, social and cultural goals of those affected by change.
2) Land management and diffuse sources of pollution have a local basis and protection of water at source needs local instruments, participation of stakeholders and an enabling regulatory environment.
Future work:Future work:
Developing a Catchment Management Developing a Catchment Management Template for the Protection of Water Template for the Protection of Water Resources: Exploiting Experience Resources: Exploiting Experience from the UK, Eastern USA and Nearby from the UK, Eastern USA and Nearby EuropeEurope
A research project financed by the RELU programme: June 2007- May 2010
Project Principals and Project Principals and Partners:Partners:
• Laurence Smith, ICL, Wye campus• Kevin Hiscock, Andrew Jordan UEA• Alastair Bailey, Kent Business School, UKC• Independent: Hadrian Cook, Alex Inman, Jon Hillman • Westcountry Rivers Trust• Tamar Lakes Catchment Project, EA, IGER• Upper Thurne Working Group and Broads Authority• New York State Water Resources Institute, Cornell
University, NYS Depart. of Env. Conservation, Upper Susquehanna Coalition,
• ‘Water4all’ partners including water protection programmes in Aalborg, Denmark and Oldenburg, Germany.
Project ObjectivesProject Objectives
• A comparative analysis of international catchment management experience: technical procedures, policies and governance arrangements
• Investigation of how best to extend the scientific and policy achievements of water protection programmes in the US, other European countries and elsewhere to the UK
• Detailed assessment of two case study catchments: upper Tamar, SW England and Upper Thurne, Broads
• Development of a catchment management template for integration of scientific investigation with decision-making and implementation to achieve environmental, economic and social objectives.
Project structureProject structureStrand A: case study catchments, Upper Tamar, Upper Thurne
Strand B: comparative analysis of international catchment management programmes