Spatial Water Management

Spatial Water Management introduces the reader to the new Dutch water management policy, which combines conventional water engineering with planned flood areas. Such a policy has large socio-economic implications and involves more stakes and stakeholders, implementing it leads to complex decision processes and requires a balance between local interests and regional or national stakes. Spatial Water Management addresses the constraints in water policy implementation and proposes a platform approach that strikes a balance between top-down regulation and bottom-up solutions. The book contributes to the understanding of how decision support tools can be used in the context of such a platform approach and presents a number of implementation management tools that can be used to weigh the various stakes, leading to an interactive, flexible and user-friendly mediation through which commitment and active participation of all involved parties can be reached. Such an approach can create a balance between local interests, regional stakes, and long-term national objectives. This book will be of interest to policy makers and researchers in water management. It will also be relevant for those studying and implementing spatial planning policy in complex environments.