Involving stakeholders in integrated river basin planning in England and Wales

The European Water Framework Directive provides a new impetus to manage river catchments in more integrated, joined-up ways. This article looks at the role of stakeholders in integrated catchment management. Taking the work of the Environment Agency as a case study, the article begins by looking at recent successes at managing water related issues and the role of stakeholders in this. It then looks at ways in which water environments continue to be vulnerable, particularly to diffuse pollution, some development practices and climatic changes. It argues for the need for more integrated management responses, characterised by collaborative and inter-disciplinary learning to manage the interdependencies, complexities and uncertainties of catchments as integrated systems. This will require both the strengthening and streamlining of current approaches to stakeholder engagement, as well as the development of new approaches. The article concludes by outlining recent work by the Environment Agency to shape these new arrangements for stakeholder engagement, and by reflecting on the lessons learned from this. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007