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If your planning process gives priority to a single policy objective (e.g. the
achievement of goodwater status for all waters as specified by the EUWFD, or
the reduction inflood risk in linewith theobjectives of the FD),youmight choose
betweenone of the following options:
Option 2
- If you intend to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis for
selecting the ‘best’ measures or scenarios, you need to ensure that the
costs accounted for in your cost-effectiveness analysis are economic
costs, i.e.: financial (investment, operation and maintenance) costs of the
measures plus indirect costs (e.g. linked to foregone farm incomes) minus
costs avoided as a result of the contribution toother policy objectives (e.g.
reduced electricity costs due to better temperature control of green roofs,
or avoided fertilizers costs due to better soil management);
Option 3
- If you intend to compare different combinations of measures
within aCBA framework, youwill look at all (positive andnegative) impacts
and ecosystem services delivered by each scenario (similarly toOption 1,
except focusing on a single policy objective rather than multiple).You can
then also carryout aMCA, to account for the contributions ofmeasures to
other (non-priority) policy objectives andwider societal objectives.
Investigating themultiplebenefitsofcombinationsofmeasures
The extent of ‘multiple benefits’ can bewide-ranging: try not to forget any! Youwill need to
includebenefits that areancillary to ‘waterpolicy’ (e.g. carbon sequestrationor contribution to
biodiversity) but cannevertheless be essential in selectingNWRM. You should consider both
private (benefits arising to individual(s), including costs avoided as a result of implementation)
and social benefits. The tablebelow gives you an indicationof somepotential benefits (the list
is not comprehensive, and you should always consider what elsemight be relevant to your
situation ).
Whenassessingbenefits, docheck theirdistribution, as theymightbespecific toasocial group.
Andyoumayneed toconsidera scalewider thanyourowncatchmentor territory.
Assessingbenefitshelps to identify thebestmeasuresand improve theirdesignbasedon trade-
offsandsynergiesamongthebenefitspursued.Itisalsoagoodbasisforidentifyingopportunities
for cooperation (synergies betweenpolicydomains) and for the establishment of incentives to
engage people into
the implementation
ofNWRM.
Box4
Social (external) benefits
from :
Private (financial/internal) benefits
from:
Improvements to air quality
Increase lifespan of the roof covering
Improvements to water quality
Reduced energy costs
Greenhouse gas abatement
Fire protection
Biodiversity conservation
Enhanced noise muffling
Urban temperature control
Improved aesthetic quality
Stormwater retention
Enhancingpolicycoordination tomake themostoutofNWRM inyourplanningprocess
