Delivering a decision support system tool to a river contract: a way to implement the participatory approach principle at the catchment scale?

The MULINO project (MULti-sectoral, Integrated and Operational decision support system (DSS) for sustainable use of water resources at the catchment scale), funded by the Environment and Climate Programme of the European Union (EU), aims to support the scientific basis for integrated water management. The purpose of the project is to provide a tool to improve the integrated management of water resources at the catchment scale, based on the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). This paper presents the methodology aspects of the project. The design of the MULINO_DSS is based on the European Environment Agency DPSIR framework of environmental cause-effect relationships. D represents the driving forces, P, the pressures on the environment caused by human activities, S, the state of the environment, I, the impact on the environment and R, the human activities and desirable societal responses. This DPSIR chain provides the end-user of the DSS with an integrated view of complex, interacting issues. The first step in the MULINO project has been the analysis of local decision networks and the identification of an end-user to whom the DSS will be delivered. The importance of this step is illustrated by the results of the analysis for the Belgian case study: the Walloon part of the Dyle river catchment. The design of the DSS is made more complicated in this catchment by the fragmented nature of water management decision making. However, to overcome this problem, the design of the DSS was targeted at the river contract (RC) of the catchment. The coordinator of the RC is a focal point for a range of end-users and stakeholders with responsibility for water management in this catchment. This organisational structure was originally put in place to find a consensus when solving conflicting water management issues. Thus, the concept for the DSS development and delivery fits with the participatory approach principle of the WFD and builds on existing local networks of integrated water management. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.