Germany's Light Version of Integrated Water Resources Management

ABSTRACT The design and implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Germany has clearly been inspired by the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept. The paper shows, however, that Germany's current river basin management follows a light version of IWRM, by only coordinating groundwater and surface water responsibilities rather than integrating various water related sectors. When assessing the current implementation of the WFD, Article 14 on participation is crucial. This is because the establishment of participatory forums involving stakeholders and the general public is directly related to the question of fit between the administrative and political boundaries of water management and the hydrogeological territory of a river basin. We argue that management concepts that simultaneously aim at integration and participation, such as IWRM, seem to pull in opposite directions. Based on document analysis, an extensive literature review and interviews with key informants, two cases of river basin management in Germany – Ems and Warnow–Peene – empirically substantiate the argument that participation needs to be linked up effectively with the existing, democratically legitimized decision‐making structures, which becomes more complicated the more decision‐making power and responsibilities are integrated. Moreover, we found that most national, federal and regional state activities are still limited to simply informing and consulting people. The paper ends with recommendations on how to improve governance structures for water management while embracing Germany's approach of light IWRM. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.