European water regimes and the notion of a sustainable status

Background and objectives

By studying 12 cases in six European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland), this project aims to better understand the dynamic relationships between rival uses of water resources, the resource regimes under which these uses are managed, and the political-institutional factors that generate regime shifts. The final purpose is to assess the effectiveness of different water resource regimes, and to identify ways in which they can become more sustainable. The project will contribute to the new European Water Policy Framework, focusing on the stated goal of “good water status” as a sustainable use for water. Researchers used property and use rights to identify users, the ways these users consume water, the amount they pay for this usage, and the extent to which they participate in managing water in their river basin area. The framework developed for this project considers these elements as important for the sustainable status of water resources. The researchers use a theoretical framework on institutional regime analysis, which combines property rights theory, institutional rational choice, and political science (policy analysis, policy design theory), to innovate the theory of institutional regime. This project is funded by the 5th European Program (key action ‘Sustainable Management and Quality of Water’).