July 2022
Special Issue on Improving Connectivity in Water Governance: The Implementation of Water Cooperation Mechanisms in Disparate Political and Social Contexts
Introduction »
Improving connectivity in water governance: the implementation of water cooperation mechanisms in disparate political and social contexts
Raymond Yu Wang, Marleen van Rijswick & Liping Dai
Research Article
Governance conditions to overcome the challenges of realizing safe urban bathing water sites
Susanne Wuijtsa,b, Lieke Friederichsa, Judith A. Hina, Franciska M. Schetsa, Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswickc and Peter P. J. Driessenb
aNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands; bCopernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Netherlands; cUtrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Contact: Susanne Wuijts | Email: susanne.wuijts@rivm.nl
Abstract
This study aims to identify governance conditions to realize urban bathing water sites using case study material from two cities in the Netherlands. Urban waters in Europe are increasingly considered an attractive feature for bathing, but research on the realization of urban bathing water sites has been limited. We find that it is important to account for the connectivity between water systems characteristics and governance conditions to increase effectiveness in the realization of urban bathing water sites. Ambitions regarding urban bathing water sites should be addressed in a wider policy context to create co-benefits, like other ambitions related to water quality, resilience and health. An analytical framework has been developed that could be used to support development and evaluation of future urban bathing water initiatives.
Pages: 554–578
Research Article
The politics of practical implementation: reloading of information by competing coalitions in EU water governance
Marjolein Carolina Johanna van Eerd and Mark A. Wiering
Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Contact: Marjolein Carolina Johanna van Eerd | Email: Marjolein.van.eerd@rws.nl
Abstract
More open European Union policies, such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD), are often shaped on the go. ‘Bottom-up’ feedback from the implementing agencies plays an important role. How this feedback influences ongoing policies is here conceptualized as ‘reloading’. The case for the reuse of water is presented. International coalition-building proved to be important in agencies’ strategic behaviour: a clear dichotomy between Northern and Southern member states is distinguished. The receptiveness of the European Commission, the openness of the European Union policies, and societal and political attention to the issue of reuse all explain the changes in water reuse policy.
Pages: 579–595
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1999218
Research Article
On dynamic naturalness, static regulation and human influence in the Ems-Dollard estuary
Karianne van der Werfa, Herman Kasper Gilissenb, Maarten Kleinhansa and Marleen van Rijswickb
aDepartment of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Netherlands; bUtrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Department of Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Contact: Herman Kasper Gilissen | Email: H.K.Gilissen@uu.nl
Abstract
Many river systems in Europe have altered morphology and deteriorated ecosystems due to human interference. We demonstrate how conflicting interests of nature, society and economics in the Dutch–German Ems-Dollard system complicate achieving the nature restoration targeted by the EU Water Framework Directive. This article provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the natural characteristics of a water system and the practical implementation of regulation and policy in a transboundary setting. Important shortcomings of EU and national laws and directives are the static constraints for protection of demarcated habitats under EU directives, which do not do justice to natural hydro-morphodynamic processes.
Pages: 596–615
Research Article
Political participation and small-scale fishery management in the Tonlé Sap, Cambodia
Serey Soka, Fenglong Wangb and Nyda Chhinhc
aResearch Office, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; bSchool of Geography & Center of Administrative Division and Spatial Governance, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; cFaculty of Development Studies, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact: Fenglong Wang | Email: wfldragon@163.com
Abstract
This paper investigates fishery governance in Tonlé Sap, Cambodia, with a specific focus on fishery management since 1963 and recent determinants of political participation. The research suggests that the policy reforms leading to the implementation of open-access fisheries have not produced satisfactory outcomes due to inequitable access to fishery resources. The results of statistical analyses reveal: the dependency of small-scale fisherfolk on fishery resources; the level of institutional support available to small-scale fisherfolk; the capacity of the local community; and the important roles fishery management initiatives play in determining the level of political participation in fishery governance.
Pages: 616–633
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1987201
Research Article
The selective centralization in decentralization: China’s environmental vertical management reform with a case study in Hebei province
Tong Xu
Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Contact: Tong Xu | Email: t.xu@uu.nl
Abstract
This article examines why and how China’s environmental vertical management reform has been carried out and how well it helps to improve the implementation of local policies. By applying the theoretical framework of ‘dynamics, strategy, and capacities’ in Hebei province as a case, the changes in the policy process have been fully revealed. The article concludes that the reform shows the character of selective centralization in decentralization, which facilitates the establishment of a degree of standardization in policy implementation. However, a new phenomenon of ‘selective implementation’ has been spotted which severely distorts the actual results of this reform.
Pages: 634–657
Research Article
Scalar configuration, power strategies and water governance: insights from the politics of the Yangtze-to-Huai Water Transfer Project
Qidong Huanga,b,c, Hairong Zhanga,b,c, Jiajun Xud and Fang Yangd
aSchool of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Hohai University, Nanjing, China; bJiangsu Research Base of Yangtze Institute for Conservation and High-Quality Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, China; cResearch Center for Economic Community of West African States, Hohai University, Nanjing, China; dThe Department of Sociology, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Contact: Qidong Huang | Email: huangqidong@hhu.edu.cn
Abstract
The paper studies the decision-making process of the Yangtze-to-Huai Water Transfer Project (YHWTP) in China to explore how governments at various levels and the public respond to spatial and jurisdictional ambiguities inherent in the incomplete decentralization of water governance. Through participatory observations, semi-structured interviews and investigation of historical records of the project, we examine scalar strategies adopted by various groups at different stages. We find that within China’s regionally decentralized authoritarian regime under centralized regulation, the scalar configurations as a result of the scalar strategies produce material consequence in the planning, designing and construction of inter-basin transfer projects. The use of such strategies transforms the existing scalar configuration, which provides a basis for further changes in the power structure.
Pages: 658–679
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1929087
Research Article
Explaining the sustained public participation of ENGOs in China’s water governance: A case study of the ‘civilian river chiefs’ under the theoretical framework of ‘double embeddedness’
Raymond Yu Wanga,b, Ying Pengc and Yi Liub,d
aCenter for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China; bInstitute of Strategy Research for the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou, China; cSchool of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; dInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Contact: Yi Liu | Email: liuy@igsnrr.ac.cn
Abstract
Although essential to successful environmental governance, public participation has been sporadic and fragmented in China. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted in the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, this paper explores how environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) have carried out ‘civilian river chiefs’ projects as novel approaches to water governance. We propose a framework of ‘double embeddedness’, within which ENGOs have built political and social legitimacy, reciprocity, and networks that enable their sustained participation in water governance. Our findings suggest that new patterns of state–community–non-governmental organization relationships are key to understanding public participation in China’s future environmental governance.
Pages: 680–698
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2022.2034601
Research Article
Making a water market intermediary: the China Water Exchange
Min Jianga, Michael Webbera, Jon Barnetta, Wenjing Zhanga and Gang Liub
aSchool of Geography, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia; bCollege of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
Contact: Min Jiang | Email: min.jiang2017@gmail.com
Abstract
Market intermediaries play a crucial role in stitching together necessary actors for effective systems of exchange. However, there is limited understanding of how intermediaries emerge, and contribute to, water market development. This article explains how the China Water Exchange, the country’s first and only national-level water trading platform, was catalysed by a top-down imperative consistent with China’s water governance reform path. It shows how its genesis, objectives and functions reflect the congruence of goals between its key actors, and their struggles and efforts to build trust. Our focus on interorganizational dynamics adds a new perspective to understanding water market intermediaries.
Pages: 699–716
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1889478
Research Article
How does the Chinese government improve connectivity in water governance? A qualitative systematic review
Tao Liua,b, Wenya Zhangc and Raymond Yu Wangd
aCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China; bCentre for Urban Future Research, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China; cSchool of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China; dCentre for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P.R. China
Contact: Raymond Yu Wang | Email: wangy63@sustech.edu.cn
Abstract
This article presents a qualitative systematic review of English-language academic articles on approaches adopted by the Chinese government to overcome fragmentation and disconnection in water governance. We find that the Chinese government has deployed technical, institutional and discursive instruments, ranging from ‘hard’ to ‘soft’ ways, to improve connectivity between different administrative levels, functional agencies and territorially based units. Although these approaches are conducive to reconciling conflicts, boosting collaboration and bridging gaps in interjurisdictional, crosslevel and cross-sectoral interactions, they also have unexpected implications for cost-effectiveness, practicality and sustainability.
Pages: 717–735
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2020.1755955