#ESR10

Solutions for existing and future challenges in water governance.

Host institution

Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Germany.

Project description

Our surface waters are suffering from anthropogenic pressures leading to a multitude of degradation symptoms like eutrophication, anoxia and pollution. Water governance should aim at counteracting these adverse effects and at the same time securing anthropogenic water demand. This has to be paralleled by tailored modelling instruments that support tuning of governance instruments to a level that fits to the managed systems.

The objective of this study is to develop tools and strategies to reshape and extend the current management practices and related governance guidance to harmonize water uses and ecosystem protection.

In this project we aim to tackle this by 1) surveying existing regulatory framework conditions for catchments and developing a criteria catalogue for water quality modelling in the water governance context from the science and management perspectives for current and future states; 2) creating management scenarios with regard to socio-economic and climatic development and simulating coupled reservoir and downstream river reaches systems for the current and future conditions; and 3) identifying and analysing current and future conflicts in water use management and demonstrating model-based strategies for action in emergency situations.

Secondments

Fundacio Institut Catala de Recerca de l’Aigua (ICRA), Girona, Spain, 3 months
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium, 3 months.

ESR

Faluku Nakulopa