HARMONICOP: Harmonising collaborative planning

• Forschungsstelle: EU FRP
• Projektnummer: 02.0202
• Projekttitel Englisch: HARMONICOP: Harmonising collaborative planning

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Economic Aspects; Environmental Protection; Social Aspects

Alternative Projektnummern (Englisch)

EU project number: EVK1-CT-2002-00120

Forschungsprogramme (Englisch)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.4a.1 Sustainable management and quality of water

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

See abstract

Abstract (Englisch)

Short summary:

The main objective of the HarmoniCOP project is to increase our understanding of participatory river basin management in Europe and support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive on this point. The research will focus on three aspects that are both essential for river basin management and scientfically challenging: - scale issues (at which level and in which phase to organise which kind of PP?) - the role of information and information tools - the influence of the cultural-/ political-/ geographical context. Nine countries will be studied and in-depth case studies will be conducted. The research will result in a Handbook on public participation methodologies to be used in implementing the Water Framework Directive. Throughout the project, end-users will be involved through workshops, the case studies, the Internet, etc.

Scientific objectives and approach:

The main objective of the HarmoniCOP project is to increase the understanding of participatory river basin management in Europe. To do so the following more specific objectives have been formulated:
. Preparation of a 'Handbook on public participation (PP) methodologies'.
. Provide insight into social learning in a multi-phase multi-level context.
. Increase our understanding of the role of information and information tools.
. Compare and assess national PP experiences and their background.
. Involvement of national and subnational governments and major stakeholder groups.
The project will make an important contribution to interdisciplinary research by closing knowledge gaps that currently exist in the scientific understanding of stakeholder participation, the importance of social learning for river basin management and the role of ICT tools. The innovative aspect of the research can be summarised as follows:
. It will be the first to give a comprehensive overview and analysis of the state of the art in participatory RBMP in Europe, using a social-learning perspective.
. It will be the first to address the scale issue in PP and RBMP in a systematic way.
. It will be the first to approach information and information tools as a means for social learning in participatory RBMP.
. It will be the first to do all this while considering the different national contexts - cultural, geographical, institutional and legal.
The methodologial approach is based on case studies and action research in a number of selected basins encompassing a wide range of environmental and institutional settings.

Problems to be solved:

Stakeholder and public participation (in the following referred to as PP) in river basin management planning is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of the European water framework directive. A successful implementation implies that environmental objectives are achieved in an economically efficient and socially beneficial fashion. However, the scientific knowledge base regarding understanding and design of multi-scale stakeholder and public participation processes of social learning is quite fragmented. One has recognised as well for years the presence of a huge gap between outcomes of integrated models and river basin management practice, but there has been little success in bridging the gap. Too often information is seen as objective input into decision-making, ignoring issues such as uncertainty and implicit policy choices. Rarely is information and are information tools seen as a means to promote and inform discussions between stakeholders and thus foster social learning. An improved understanding of processes of social learning is a prerequisite to implement novel management strategies and to bridge the science policy gap.

Expected Impacts:

The handbook on PP will provide a base for the development of improved integrated models and decision support tools. Users will be developers of integrated management models and decision support tools in both academia and business, river basin management authorities and consortia who will find guidance on how to design a stakeholder process for developing a river basin management plan. This will support the implementation of the public participation provisions of the Water Framework Directive. The project will lead to the accumulation of human (build up of individual expertise) and social capital inherent in the network of researchers and stakeholder groups.

Datenbankreferenzen (Englisch)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 02.0202