1. WG 2.9 Best Practices in River Basin Planning
WP2 – Guidance on Planning Process
Strategic and Coordination Group Meeting
7th-8th November 2002

2. Guidance Main Contents
Principles relevant for the water planning
Specific requirements of the WFD regarding the planning process
Flowcharts
General recommendations for a sucessful planning process

3. Principles relevant for the water planning
Three subsections: Planning process functions, geographical scope and actors
What does water planning mean in the Directive?
Relation to other planning concepts

4. Specific requirements of the WFD
Five subsections dealing with the five main steps in the planning process aproach:
Assessment of current status
Definition of environmental objectives
Gap Analysis
Decision on programme of measure and,
Development of a river basin plan

5. Specific requirements of the WFD
Description of main activities and when they have to be developed in the planning process.
Where in the Directive are these activities made explicit?
Description of links between main activities

6. Flowcharts Objectives Identify different tasks, duration.
Identify key products
Identify actions required to meet the requirements for the obligatory deadlines
Identify critical path and bottlenecks
Assess the organisational level at which they should be carried out

7. Flowcharts

8. Level 1

9. Recommendations for a sucessfull planning process
Description of prerequisites for a sound planning process:
Long term vision for the RBD
Knowledge and information management
Capacity
The right timing
Public Participation
Appropriate toolbox
Evaluation of the process

10. Extension of the deadline to finish the guidance to end of March 2003

11. Expected outputs according CIS Strategy document (2 May 2001)
Guidance in relation to the identification of RBDs (end 2003)
Guidance in relation to River Basin Planning and programs of measures (end 2003)
Guidance in relation to participatory aproach (end 2003)
Technical document (tool box) on River Basin Management (end 2004)
Expected outputs according progress report presented by the Commission in Water Directors Meeting (Ghent, 8/9 Nov 2001)
Guidance document on the identification of RBDs (May 2002)
Guidance document on the planning process (end 2002)
Guidance document on Public Participation (end 2002)
Manual on Integrated River basin Management with group 4.1 (end 2004)

12. Expected outputs according progress report presented by the Commission in Water Directors Meeting (Ghent, 8/9 Nov 2001)
Guidance document on the identification of RBDs (May 2002)
Manual on Integrated River basin Management with group 4.1 (end 2004)
Guidance document on the planning process (end 2002)
Guidance document on Public Participation (end 2002)
Status Nov 2002
2nd version in CIRCA Proposal to be finished in March 2003
Considered in “Carrying forward the CIS” and in 4.1 TOR and Work programme

13. Proposed Work Programme

14. Why?: Rigt timing, streamlining
Need of validation of flow charts by other WGs that at this moment have open issues still in discussion
Time availability for new inputs/improvements of the current text (the same people working in three guidance documents this year)
Possibility of organizing a workshop with other working groups and planners (together with WG 4.1?) to check the contents of the document
This is not an “open issue”. There is unanimity in the group in the decision to extend the deadline