The Allocation of Tasks and Competencies in Dutch Water Management: Discussions, developments and present state

The Allocation of Tasks and Competencies in Dutch Water Management: Discussions, developments and present state

Mostert, E.

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water management

1997-04-01

This report discusses subsidiarity in Dutch water management and forms the Dutch contribution to the Water 21 Phase II report on subsidiarity. Rather than discussing the Dutch interpretations of the concept (the concept is used almost exclusively in relation to the European Union), this report discusses the substantive issue to which “subsidiarity” refers: the allocation of tasks and competencies. The present allocation is the result of discussions on six topics: - The role of the waterboards as a form of “functional” (specialised) government; - Centralisation versus decentralisation; - The role of “intermediary organisations” (NGOs); - Public participation; - Public versus private water management, especially with respect to waste water treatment and public water supply; and - The relation between the Netherlands on the one hand and the EU and international river basin commissions on the other. (Section 2) Presently, nearly all water management is done by government, but this may change. Central government sets the framework, which is subsequently filled in by the lower level governments, both “general” (provinces and municipalities) and “functional” (waterboards). Water management is institutionally separated from environmental management, land-use planning and agricultural policy, but much co-ordination takes place. Non-governmental organisations participate extensively in water management, but they do not fulfil public functions on their own. Individual water users are less influential, but they too can participate. Privately owned companies play no significant role. Finally, the European Union, river basin treaties and river basin commissions are gaining importance. The Netherlands is not passive in this respect and contributes actively to the development of international water management. (Section 3) In the future the allocation of tasks and competencies will change. Waterboards managing water quality and waterboards managing water quantity will continue to merge. Furthermore, the waterboards will probably get more competencies in groundwater management. The future of the water supply companies, presently owned by government, is still unclear, but there is a drive towards more competition in water supply. Similarly, more competition may be introduced in wastewater treatment. (Section 4) The different discussions and developments give much food for thought and suggest several conclusions on the relation between the concept of subsidiarity and the concept of sustainability. It is clear that in practice the allocation of tasks and competencies is not determined solely by the notion of sustainability. Still we can postulate three criteria that the allocation of tasks and competencies should meet in order to promote sustainability: - The allocation should be such that all aspects of sustainability get due attention; - The allocation should reflect the scale of the different tasks and facilitate the necessary co-ordination; this implies that the allocation should be simple and transparent; and - The bodies to which tasks and competencies are allocated should posses the necessary capacity. (Section 5.1) Dutch water management meets these criteria reasonably well. (Section 5.2) Several lessons can be drawn from the Dutch experiences. First, the Dutch waterboards show that specialised water authorities can effectively ensure sustainability, provided the relation between water management and other policy sectors is handled well. Furthermore, the Dutch experiences show that decentralised management requires effective co-ordination between the smaller management units and may require concentration if the units are too small. Finally, the Dutch experiences show that the division of powers in practice may differ quite a lot from the formal division of powers. This should be born in mind when studying subsidiarity and sustainability. (Section 5.3)

water management
Netherlands
policy
subsidiarity

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:68627b12-c031-4829-b64c-1840fdbc2acc

RBA Centre on River Basin Administration, Analysis and Management, Delft University of Technology

0929-3531

RBA Series on River Basin Administration: Research Report 7

Institutional Repository

report

(c) 1997 Mostert, E.