Spatial Water Management: Supporting Participatory Planning and Decision Making

This thesis introduces the reader to the new Dutch policy of water management, which combines conventional water engineering with a new policy which incorporates planning for flood areas. As this new policy has larger 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. The thesis 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 spatial evaluation 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