GUIDELINE ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN RELATION TO THE EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

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GUIDELINE ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN RELATION TO
THE EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

• Active involvement
• Consultation
• Public access to information
• Maret Merisaar, EGM

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Appearance of the Guideline

• May 2001 - Common Implementation Strategy for EU
  Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC
• Informal WG on PP Guideline set up in October
  2001(Netherlands, Spain and EU Commission)
• 21/22 November 2002 endorsing the guideline by EU
  Water Directors in Copenhagen
• 2003 testing and improving
• February 2004 Presentation of the Final
  Guideline
• Target groups Central and regional authorities,
  public and interest groups

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What can you find in this guideline?

• Steps of River Basin Management Planning (RBMP)
• Forms of PP in different steps of RBMP
• Role of the public and stakeholders in
  implementing WFD
• PP helping to achieve environmental objectives
• How can PP help to build programme of measures?
• How should the results of PP be reported?
• Which results should be reported by 2004?
• What will you NOT find in this guideline a
  blueprint on performing PP as it does not exist.

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WFD purpose and key objective

• The WFD establishes a framework for the
  protection of all waters (including inland
  surface waters, transitional waters, coastal
  waters and groundwater) which
• Prevents further deterioration of the status of
  water resources
• Promotes sustainable water use
• Aims at enhancing protection and improvement of
  the aquatic environment through specific measures
  
• Ensures the reduction of pollution of groundwater
  and
• Contributes to mitigating the effects of floods
  and droughts.
• and what is the key objective?
•  Overall, the Directive aims at achieving good
  water status for all waters by 2015.

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Art 14 Public information and consultation

• 1. Member States shall encourage the active
  involvement of all interested parties in the
  implementation of this Directive. For each river
  basin district, they publish and make available
  for comments to the public
•  (a) a timetable and work programme for the
  production of the plan, at least three years
  before the beginning of the period
•  (b) an interim overview of the significant water
  management issues, at least two years before the
  beginning of the period
•  (c) draft copies of the river basin management
  plan, at least one year before the beginning of
  the period.
• On request, access shall be given to background
  documents and information used for the
  development of the draft river basin management
  plan.
•  2. Member States shall allow at least six months
  to comment in writing on those documents in order
  to allow active involvement and consultation.

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Spectrum of public participation

• INFORMATION SUPPLY People participate by being
  informed what has been decided or has already
  happened. Co-knowing.
• CONSULTATION Administrative bodies consult
  stakeholders to learn from their knowledge,
  perceptions, experiences and ideas.. Co-thinking.
• PARTICIPATION in planning and implementation
  Stakeholders are invited in the process to give
  their perception of the problem or visions and
  possible solutions. Co-operating.
• SHARED DECISION MAKING Joint analysis of
  situations and development of plans. The
  administrative bodies share responsibility with
  the stakeholders
• SELF DETERMINATION People take initiatives, they
  develop contacts with external institutions for
  resources and technical advice they need for
  producing plans of measures. Administrative
  bodies may provide support, advise and indicate
  pre-conditions

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A typology of stakeholders

• Professionals public and private sector
  organisations, professional voluntary groups and
  professional NGOs (social, economic and
  environmental). Local authorities and government
  departments, statutory agencies, conservation
  groups, business, industry, insurance groups and
  academia.
• Local Groups - non-professional organised
  entities operating at a local level. It usefully
  breaks down into
• Communities centred on place e.g. residents
  associations and local councils.
• Communities centred on interest e.g. farmers
  groups, fishermen, football clubs, hunting
  groups.
• Communities centred on identity (age, gender,
  religion, politics) e.g. womens groups, school
  groups, church groups.
• Individual citizens, farmers and companies
  representing themselves. E.g. key individual land
  owners or local individual residents.

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PP in different planning steps

• See table in the guideline, page 24
• Active involvement in all steps pp 26-34
• Consultation p 35-41
• Access to info pp 42-44
• Evaluation of PP in Reports (annex Vii, No 11)

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Steps in River Basin Management Planning
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Access to info and documents

• Unorganised public Internet, broshures, TV
• Organised stakeholders Steering groups,
  committees
• Forms depend on objectives Awareness rising or
  promoting changes
• Limiting factors time, budget
• One or several information centres per water
  basin
• The Direcive does not specify it, but it would be
  resonable to reply to info requests in two weeks.
• Inventories of pressures impacts of the planned
  measures to the water environment - environmental
  information, that should be public acording to
  the Arhus Convention.

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ConsultationsCode of procedure for written
consultation

• Timetable of consultations to be set as early as
  possible
• About what, in what timescale, for what purpose
• Documents published should be as simple as
  possible, incl. 2 pages summary
• Use electronic ways for publishing and draw
  attention to web sites
• 6 months for responding
• Analyse of responses should state, why the
  comments are accepted or not
• Appoint coordinator for consultations, who
  evaluates the process and disseminates the
  lessons for the future.

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Diagram of the planning process
 

  .
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ConsultationsDiagram of a planning process

• 1. STARTING Meeting/workshop for discussing
  objective of consultations working process
  precondiditions for involvement Availability of
  data , communication plan.-gt DECISION 1
• 2. EXPLORING Inventory of knowledge and
  perceptions on problems to be consulted, is the
  timing for informing suitable, who is to be
  consulted, how are responses dealt with, tools of
  communication available and affordable, feedback
  mechanisms.-gt DECISION 2
• 3. RANKING Analysis and structuring -gt
  DECISION 3
• 4. IMPLEMENTING Information supply to
  stakeholders

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Consultations in Step 3Timetable and work
program

• TASKS Public must be consulted about the RBMP
  process by the end on 2006
• HOW Consultations depend on the geographic
  extent of management plan. Documents published on
  international and national level should have a
  similar wording throughout the same river basin.
• Timetable, competent authorities, what will be
  done, by whom and when
• The public that is consulted does not need to
  live in the concerned River Basin.
• Extensive use of Internet is advised.

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Consultations in Step 4Important water
management issues

• TASK By October 2007, imortant water management
  issues should be made public for consultation.
  Derive issues from 1) Analyses of water quality
  inventory 2) discussions regarding environmental
  quality objectives 3) necessary masures, 4)
  perceptions, knowledge and experience of
  stakeholders.
• HOW Examples
• A International River Basin level. International
  Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
  (ICPDR)
• B. River Basin Level Water management plan for
  Örebro municipality in Sweden

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Consultations in Step 5Draft River Basin
Management Plans

• TASK If not earlier, then by Oct 2008
  extensive document with maps should be published
  for consultation
• HOW Example of Nemunas River Locally basaed
  advisory groups were established PP included
  awareness rising on the importance and role of
  wetlands and on internationally important
  biodiversity areas
• Forms Roundtables group discussions,
• Tools Media, newsboards, leaflets, public
  meetings
• 6 months, but there was also time needed for the
  analyses of the comments in the end.
• The key issue with international river
  commissions are too long consultations of the
  structure of the international RBMP

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Results of PP in RBMP reports

• Annex VII of the WFD requires, that in the final
  reports the following info on PP process is
  included
• Objectives of public participation
• Forms (use of techniques of PP) in different
  steps
• Changes in the preliminary plan due to PP
• Reasons for rejecting the proposals
• Evaluation of the PP process and lessons learned.
  

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Success factors

• Change of attitude of public authorities
• Changes in procedures
• Political commitment and resources
• Capacity building and representation of
  stakeholders
• Reaching beyond stakeholders to individual
  citizens and enterprises
• Demonstration objects.