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S
tep
1 - S
et
the
sceneand
identifykeymanagement
challenges
If you are going to be serious aboutNWRM, setting the scene requires that:
ņ
ņ
The
multiple ‘policy objectives’
relevant to the territory considered in
the planning process are clearly spelled out.While the objectives of many
planning processes are often ‘one-dimensional’ (e.g. improvingwater status
as required under theWFD or addressing flood risk as required under
the FD), the challenge is to make all policy objectives explicit, including
those beyond water policy. Relevant information includes: the operational
objectives of eachpolicy; the areas and/or sectors towhich these apply; the
time horizon of policy objectives; possible exemptions in policy objectives,
and how these can apply/be justified. In some cases, priorities between
objectivesmight exist and need to be spelledout.
ņ
ņ
An
integrated diagnosis of the current and forthcoming pressures and
challenges
for the relevant territory is developed. It requires that
key
biophysical,social and economic features of the territory relevant to the
different policies
are identified. It also requires that problems relevant to
different policies, along with sectors that are the origin of those problems
and the trends in sector developments, are clearly spelled out
14
. This
helps to identify different interconnected challenges that will need to be
addressed by future actions/measures. It also helps to identify the possible
incoherencebetween actions implementedunder different policydomains.
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It requires, for example, the following questions to be addressed:what is the current and futurewater status,
flood risk, biodiversity state, vulnerability to climate change, landscape state, living conditions of inhabitants?Which
are themain sectors exerting pressures that mean that the current and predicted future situations are different to
what the different policies and strategies are aiming to achieve?
Themultiplepolicyobjectivesofwater retentionmanagement in thebroaderarea
ofAncientOlympia, Elia,Greece
Themeasures implemented in the water retentionmanagement project of the broader area
ofAncient Olympia include the temporary installation of structures utilising locally available
timber, together with targeted planting to reduce post-fire erosion, increase water retention
and stabilise the hill slopes. Themeasures are based on changing themorphology of the area
aswell as the soil composition, for exampleby (shortening the lengthof the slopes, increasing
surface roughness and soil infiltration, reducing peak flow, attenuating surface runoff and
sediment. Theprimary targetswhendesigning thisapplicationwere soil erosionmanagement,
floodcontrolandfloodriskmitigation in thecontextofrestoringafire-affectedareaofextreme
Illustration1
Enhancingpolicycoordination tomake themostoutofNWRM inyourplanningprocess
