Transcript GUIDELINE ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN RELATION TO THE …

GUIDELINE ON PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION IN RELATION TO THE
EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
Active involvement
Consultation
Public access to information
Maret Merisaar, EGM
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
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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
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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. women’s 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
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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
STEP 1 2003
River basins borders, WFD transposed into national legislation
STEP 2 2004
RB characterised, econ analyses of water use, env quality
objectives; water prot. areas, human act impacts
STEP 3 2006
Planning program of measures, outline of RBMP, start of
monitoring programme
STEP 3 2006
Publishing TIMETABLE AND WORKPLAN for RBMP,
6 months for comments
STEP 4 2007
Publishing IMPORTANT WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES,
6 months for coments
STEP 5 2008
Publishing DRAFT RBMP, 6 months for comments
STEP 6 2009
Publishing final version of RBMP, progr of measures
STEP 7 2012
Implementation of programme of measures
STEP 8 2015
Evaluation and updating in every 6th year
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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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Consultations:
Code 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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stage 1
.
stage 2
decision
decision
decision
Diagram of the planning process
stage 3
start
stage 4
end
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Consultations:
Diagram of a planning process
• 1. STARTING: Meeting/workshop for discussing objective
of consultations; working process; precondiditions for
involvement; Availability of data , communication plan.->
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.-> DECISION 2
• 3. RANKING: Analysis and structuring -> DECISION 3
• 4. IMPLEMENTING: Information supply to stakeholders
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Consultations in Step 3:
Timetable 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 4:
Important 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 5:
Draft 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
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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.
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