Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water

Treatment/RIZA

and

UN ECE International Water Assessment Centre IWAC

Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management

Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water

Management

Monitoring to tailormade information

Wim Cofino

Sustainable development ‘a policy mission statement’

Sustainable development is the achievement of

continued economic and social development

without detriment to the environment and

natural resources.

The quality of future human activity and

development is increasingly seen as being

dependent on maintaining this balance.

The interdependence of policies

Economic policiessocially and

environmentally feasible

Environmental policiessocially and

economically feasible

Social policieseconomically and

environmentally feasible

Which role can/should monitoring play in the respective policies?

Natural Capital

Social CapitalHuman Capital

Human made (‘Economic’) Capital

Sustainability Mission

Objectives

Critical Success factors

Information

Indicators

Evaluation

Integrated Assessments

Human capital

Social capital

Economic capital

Environmental functions may serve as vehicle to define capitals

Natural capitalIndicator 1

Indicator 3

Indicator 2

BiodiversityAssimilation of wastesFisheriesRecreationEmissionsShipping traffic…….

RIZA

Timing and focussing of information to needs

Physiological needs

Safety & security needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

RIZA

Timing and focussing information to needs

Physiological needs

Safety & security needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

• Meeting basic needs• Securing the food supply • Managing risks

information needs:• Quantitative and qualitative status of resources• Exploitation of resources• Allocation issues•Degree to which needs are met

RIZA

Timing and focussing of information to needs

Physiological needs

Safety & security needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Economic and social development

information needs coupled to the economic services and goods provided by water bodies:• (Environmental) functions

• Quantitative and qualitative aspects of water uses

• Impacts on water systems

• Conflicts between functions

RIZA

Timing and focussing of information to needs

Physiological needs

Safety & security needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Sustainable development• Protecting ecosystems• Sharing water

Attention to cultural values of water,..

information needs:• Quantitative and qualitative status ecosystems• valuing water• how do people perceive water and water issues?

Govern

ing

wate

r wis

ely

Implications (I)• Policies for sustainable development require a multidisciplinary

approach

• Integral approaches , covering the entire process from

objectives, implementation, information gathering to

assessments need to be designed

• Environmental monitoring provides one of the classes of

information required

Integrated assessment requires integrated information

• Technical and institutional frameworks for these integrated

approaches need to be established

Implications(II)• Sustainable solutions call for intensive co-operation

between policy-makers and scientists in a

multidisciplinary and where relevant transboundary

setting

– solving one pollution problem may cause another

– joint effort instead of blaming

– co-operation leads to a better utilization of knowledge and information

– co-operation enhances support and understanding of solutions

RIZA

Implications (III)• Information management for Integral Water Resources

Management requires institutional arrangements:

– Data frequently scattered over multitude of institutes

– Central co-ordination of information management is necessary, e.g.

• Cost effective monitoring programs

• Co-operation and arrangements with other institutes regarding provision and exchange of data and information on e.g. water uses

The multidisciplinary approach• There is a need for translation across

disciplines

– example: ‘compliance monitoring’!

• Naive expectations between different

disciplines

• Scale mismatches

• There is no substitute for regular contact

– The multidisciplinary approach requires us to change our present-day organisations.Source: Monitoring Tailormade III

RIZA

Implications (IV)• The world is not perfect

– Institutional arrangements for integrated assessments frequently not in

place

– The degree of interaction between scientists involved in monitoring and

policy makers less than desireable

– Trade offs are made, but in complex settings

• Scientists involved in monitoring need to

– Have a feeling for timing which information is needed

– Put an extra effort into the relationships with policy makers

– Ensure that all stakeholders are informed

– Be pro-active!

RIZA

Monitoring and the public• Informing the public is important:

– Sustainable management of water requires choices to be made

– Public needs to be aware of the necessity of the choices

• Provision of information required to

– increase acceptance of water polices and management

– Give account of achievements

Example: aquatic plants in Lake Veluwe

The D,P,S,I,R indicators - an effective tool for management?• Driving forces

• Pressures

• State

• Impacts

• Response

The realm of monitoring

may improve the communication across disciplines &

countries; may assist in informing the public; may improve the communication between scientists

and policy makers and thus enhance the utilization of

monitoring data need to be drawn up in an intensive interaction

between scientists and policymakers

Transboundary monitoring/information

• Transnational co-operation require a shared, integrated

view on the water system, e.g. on ecological gradients

(is more than agreements over classification systems!)

• Transnational agreement on indicators and connections

between causes and effects

• Common definitions and measurement methodologies

for all types of indicators

• How to communicate with the public & to incorporate

their views in indicators, e.g. perception

Transboundary monitoring/information (II)

• Diversity is the key word

– nature, economy, social system, cultures, individuals

• We have to cope with diversity

• Can we use diversity as a driving force,

improving our ability and creativity to

achieve our goals regarding sustainable

development?

Transboundary monitoring/information (III)

• We have to respect differences and try to

understand their roots

• We cannot blindly copy indicators,

management strategies, standards, …

between regions in Europe

• We have to exchange information, practices

and experiences as part of a joint learning

process

RIZA

Conclusions• Modern watermanagement requires a large knowledge base,

data/information on the chemical, physical and ecological state of our

aquatic being just one component

• Monitoring needs to be embedded in a strategic ‘holistic’ approach

• In addition to monitoring, institutional arrangements regarding data

provision and exchange is necessary (e.g. water uses)

• More interaction between policy-makers and scientists and

(multidisciplinary) co-operation among scientists is needed

• More effort towards general public is needed

• Creativity owing to diversity instead of coping strategies

The UN-ECE International Water Assessment Centre IWAC• IWAC is a network, the office at RIZA facilitates this

network

• ‘Promote co-operation’, efforts to bring together

– scientists from different countries (river basins)

– scientists of different disciplines

– scientists and policy makers

• Contribute to exchange of experiences, practices,

views,..

• Assist by e.g. training courses, expert visits,..