Water framework directive implementation in Greece: Introducing participation in water governance – the Case of the Evrotas River Basin management plan

Abstract Accepting the positive results that public participation can bring in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), this paper seeks to contribute to ongoing discussions on the rather problematic WFD implementation in southern Europe. Within this framework, we first focus on the national level and the analysis of ‘water governance’ and ‘public participation’ within the context of WFD implementation in Greece, and secondly on the examination of the participatory methods introduced locally for the preparation of the Evrotas River Basin management plan. The first section focuses on public participation as an indispensable ingredient of good water governance. The next focuses on the introduction of the WFD as an instance of governance that promotes participatory arrangements. We then present the centralized structure of the Greek state as an impediment to the introduction of public participation in water governance. The fourth section focuses on the Evrotas River Basin and describes the participatory arrangements for the preparation of the management plan. The paper concludes with the verification of the need for participatory processes to respect the context within which they are pursued and with specific alterations to the way public participation has been planned and implemented in Greece. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.