Berörda intressenters deltagande i vattenförvaltning – förändring, förnyelse och arv / Stakeholder participation in water management – change, renewal and legacy
The EU Water Framework Directive was adopted 2000 and aims at achieving good water quality in inland and coastal water. Two significant changes are that water should be managed according to natural boundaries and the emphasis on involving public and concerned stakeholders. These challenges call for a broadened knowledge on how to incorporate the new requirements. This paper is based on the licentiate thesis “Creating pathways for stakeholder participation in water managemen” (Franzén, 2012) which aim was to explore the development towards local participation of stakeholders in water management in Swedish catchment areas. It focuses on how the opportunities for participation are created, and how institutional arrangements can generate participation. The study employs a case study methodology and involves three catchment areas, for which data was gathered in different periods of water management development. The result illustrates the importance of leadership and trust in initial stages of change, in order to invest in common goals. Bridging organizations and participation of municipalities was important for institutional arrangements. The study illustrate how existing institutional arrangement affect the new arrangements’ possibilities of dealing which change. This implies a challenge för water management in order to avoid clashes, and instead facilitate renewal.