Geert R. Teisman Scientific Director Innovation Program Living with Water Professor in Public Management Erasmus University Governance systems for flood management

WorldWaterForum, Istanbul, March Innovation Program Living with Water Aims to integrate the need to deal with climate change and flooding protection with land use developments and investment programs A variety of projects Example: urban flood management – Rethinking urban investment programs on housing and economy in terms of the need to adapt to expected rise of water levels – Classic response: flood protection by way of higher and stronger dikes and barriers – New response considered: urban redevelopment in areas that are vulnerable for flooding (floating houses, flood resistance) seen as advantage and added value

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Problems with innovations on the edge of water and spatial development Main problem that prevents societies from dealing with water in a sophisticated way has to do with joint decision-making – There is not one single government in charge – Responsibilities are divided between different levels of government and between divisions within one level of government

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March ‘Problem’ versus ‘approach’

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March The tension in words Persistent problem of flooding – Integrated water system overarching several layers of government – Interrelated with climate systems – Human action on one place influences possibilities elsewhere Governments ‘normal’ response – Divide problem into parts – Make one organization responsible for a part – Assume that dealing with parts will solve the problem

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Crucial topic Flooding problem we are dealing with is heavily interconnected Governments are only responsible for a part of the problem Solutions require multilevel and multi-sector governance approach

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Question What is the best way to organize this multilevel and multi-sector system? – Is there a best way to organize a governance system? – Should it be decentralized or centralized? – Should it be controlled by government or should it be privatized?

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March International comparison Centralized government system Decentralized government system Central role of government France (Loire basin) Switzerland (Canton Zurich) Important role of citizens and private sector UKUSA (Louisiana)

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March International comparison Centralized government system Decentralized government system Central role of government FranceSwitzerland Important role of citizens and private sector UKUSA Netherlands

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Who will win this comparison?

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Main observation There are institutional differences – Some based on idea that centralization helps to deal with integrated problem – Others based on idea that problems should be dealt with on regional level – Some based on idea that governments know best – Others based on idea that self-organizing capacity of people en market should be used

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Main conclusion Still all countries are facing fragmentation and the need to develop sufficient governance capacity within and between organizations – If regional water board does exist it has to develop effective relationships with a more general regional government – If water is integrated general government the knowledge of and attention for water issues has to be safeguarded within that government – If central government is in charge it has to develop effective relations with local and regional governments – If regional and local governments have a high degree of independency they have to safeguard effective relations with each other – And so on

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March In short There is no institutional arrangement that can solve the balancing problem between overinvestment and underinvestment in flood protection measures The institutional structure is not decisive!

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March What then is decisive? Crucial factor seems to be ability of people within the governance system to develop: – Personal effective relationships – Sufficient degree of mutual trust – Sufficient degree of mutual understanding of problems and (even more important) opportunities to satisfy mutual interests Informal governance capacity is critical – Conditional is ability of formal system to incorporate joint plans in concrete action

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Multilevel governance in the Netherlands Case of Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta – Complex water system on the edge of fresh and salt water – Important flooding problems in the past – Substantial investments made (famous Delta works) – Result: well protected but not satisfied – Decrease ecological quality of fresh water systems – Stand still in social and economic terms

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March Governance situation Multilevel: – multiple municipalities, several water boards, three provinces, four departments of national government and Multiple sectors: – Flooding protection, fresh water management, river management in terms of quantity and quality, spatial developments, housing, agriculture, fishing recreation and transport Public-private relations

World Water Forum 5 Istanbul, March New approach Joint-up governance: – Steering group – Program management approach – Expanding the problem – Dealing with content and process simultaneously Crucial denominators for success: – Personal involvement of officials – Ability to build-up relations of trust and mutual interest – Assemblage of knowledge and skills beyond the boundaries of levels, departments, universities and private sector

Final messages Water governance is of great importance due to sea level rise and climate change – High quality water authorities are needed However, solutions for protection also need to be solutions for many other ambitions (ecology, recreation, agriculture, economic vitality). – Most important governance challenge is effective integration and synchronization beyond boundaries of levels, domains and public and private sector