Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance

- Water is a basic source of life and its availability at adequate quantities and qualities is necessary for humans, economic production and ecosystems. The process of evaluating and authorising "water-related" interventions/projects is critical in the context of sustainable river basin governance. Evaluations to date, have in many cases failed to account for sustainability concerns. A number of projects have been approved and financed whose economic, social and especially, environmental costs and benefits were highly contested. This may be explained by the fact that the evaluation process continues to be economy-oriented and the environmental and social dimensions are only accounted for after the most cost competitive option has been selected. Moreover, in many cases the evaluation process continues to be "closed" to multiple interests, "screening off" certain alternatives and criteria for assessment. The new Water Framework Directive establishes the river basin as the sensible geographical unit upon which resource governance may achieve its sustainability objectives, and asks for the prior evaluation and authorisation of all new river basin interventions. However, the directive does not provide extensive guidance to the river basin authorities on how to carry such evaluations. Unless the evaluation procedure of new projects evolves into a new, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder participatory approach, river basin objectives as expressed in the new Water Framework Directive will be at stake.