Presentation on the DROP project prepared for the mini-symposium Water-Land-Environment Nexus at the University of Twente on the 20th of September 2013

1. Dr. Ir. Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf
Water Authority Regge & Dinkel
Governance in drought adaptation: Science
meeting practice in Northwest Europe
Mini-symposium Water-Land-Environment Nexus
20th of September 2013

2. Drought adaptation in Europe
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3. Why a Northwest European
project on drought, adaptation
and governance?
Mitigation efforts are insufficient: we have no choice, but to
adapt now
• Drought and water scarcity already affects 17% of the EU
population and 11% of the EU territory
• Impacts of climate change are projected to increase periods of
drought and water scarcity
• Early adaptation provides opportunities, not adapting involves high
costs
• Governance settings need to become more supportive: policy
implementation is a key problem
(EC, 2007, EEA report No 12/2012, EEA report No 3/2013, EU Blueprint)
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4. Project objective and actions
To enhance the preparedness and resilience of Northwest
European regions to periods of drought and water scarcity
• Test and implement pilot meaures for drought adaptation in
agriculture, nature and freshwater
• Develop and apply a governance assessment tool in the regions of
the pilot measures
• Draw transnational lessons and actively share them with others in
meetings and through a handbook and guide
Implemented between January 2013 and June 2015 with support of
the Interreg IVB programme for Nortwest Europe
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5. 11 partners: 6 water authorities
and 5 knowledge institutes
Nature pilot
Lead partner
Agriculture pilot
Freshwater pilot
Governance team
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6. Practice of drought adaptation:
Twente (the Netherlands)
Yes, drought is a major
problem on the high sandy
soils of Northeast Twente
causing damage to
agriculture and nature!
• Pilot measure (one of many): level dependent drainage
to create buffer zones around nature conservation areas
• Implications for division of roles and responsibilities?
How to serve diverse interests of nature and
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agriculture?

7. Practice of drought adaptation:
Brittany (France)
Freshwater reservoir built (30
years ago) for flood
prevention, agriculture and
navigation.
Currently serving flood
prevention and drinking water
supply alongside recreation
(sailing), nature (Natura
2000). Conflicts about use.
• Pilot measure: design and construct a new lock to
prevent salt intrusion while diverse interests
• How to create productive interactions between many
diverse stakeholders in a transition setting?
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8. Governance: the structural context
that enables/restricts adaptation
actions and interactions
Wider context: political, economical, sociocultural, technological, problem
Structural (governance) context:
- Levels and scales
- Actors and networks
- Problem perceptions and goal
ambitions
- Strategies and instruments
- Responsibilities and resources for
implementation
Interaction process
Actor
A
Actor
B
Specific context: previous decision,
specific circumstances
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9. Governance assessment: where
science meets practice
To what degree are the governance contexts of the pilot
regions supportive of drought adaptation?
• Extent: Is the governance structure complete enough? Is
there something lacking?
• Coherence: Are there contradictions between the various
tasks or the ways they should be fulfilled? Is there enough
synergy between these?
• Flexibility: Is there a reasonable degree of independence to
be able to fulfil the tasks in the most efficient way?
• Intensity: Is there enough support to make it possible to
achieve the tasks and ambitions?
(see report of Bressers et al, 2013)
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10. Science meeting practice: the
knowledge transfer challenge
Bridging differences through interactions
Sharing and acquisition of knowledge
Background
- Socio-cultural
- Profession
- Organization
Enablers, such as intense and
direct interaction, team work,
previous projects, trust, …
Actor (source/receiver)
Knowledge levels
Knowledge types
Background
- Socio-cultural
- Profession
- Organization
Actor (source/receiver)
Knowledge levels
Knowledge types
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(see PhD thesis Vinke-de Kruijf, 2013)

11. Thank you!
Website: www.dropproject.eu
Email: info@dropproject.eu
Twitter: @the_DROPproject
Slideshare: user/TheDROPproject
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