 | | | A summary
The central tenet of the NeWater project is a transition from currently
prevailing regimes of river basin water management into more adaptive
regimes in the future. This transition calls for a highly integrated
water resources management concept. NeWater identifies key typical
elements of the current water management system and focuses its
research on processes of transition of these elements to adaptive IWRM.
Each key element is studied by novel approaches. Key IWRM areas where
NeWater is expected to deliver breakthrough results include
- governance in water management (methods to arrive at polycentric, horizontal broad stakeholder participation in IWRM)
- sectoral integration (integration of IWRM and spatial planning;
integration with climate change adaptation strategies, cross-sectoral
optimisation and cost-benefit analysis)
- scales of analysis in IWRM (methods to resolve resource use conflicts; transboundary issues)
- information management (multi stakeholder dialogue, multi-agent
systems modelling; role of games in decision making; novel monitoring
systems for decision systems in water management)
- infrastructure (innovative methods for river basin buffering
capacity; role of storage in adaptation to climate variability and
climate extremes)
- finances and risk mitigation strategies in water management (new
instruments, role of public-private arrangements in risk-sharing)
- stakeholder participation; promoting new ways of bridging between science, policy and implementation
The development of concepts and tools that guide an integrated analysis
and support a stepwise process of change in water management is the
corner-stone of research activities in the NeWater project. To achieve
its objectives the project is structured into six work blocks, and it
adopts a management structure that allows effective exchange between
innovative and cutting edge research on integrative water management
concepts, with practical applications and testing through participatory
stakeholder processes in selected river basins.
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