The Politics of (Multi-)Scalar Strategies and Practices in River Basin Management: The Case of the EU Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive of the European Union (WFD) has become a showcase for new modes of environmental governance, following core principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). One of the most pertinent issues attracting increasing interest in policy and research circles is how the WFD has set in motion a process of reconfiguring the scalar organisation of water management. On the one hand, the WFD requires water management planning to be conducted around river basin scales, in addition to political-administrative jurisdictions. On the other, it is reordering scalar decision-making processes by both strengthening the role of the European Commission and creating opportunities for local and regional stakeholders to influence water management outcomes. Whilst it is widely assumed that the WFD is thereby rescaling water governance in Europe, few empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain how far this is the case, what scalar strategies and practices seem to be relevant, who is benefiting (and who losing out) from this process and what impact it is having. This paper draws on the human geography debate on the politics of scale to conceptually frame an empirical study of the scalar strategies and practices adopted by water authorities, water management organisations and interest groups like farmers and water user associations involved in implementing the WFD, from the EU to the local level and back. On the basis of a case study in Germany it seeks answers to the following questions: – To what extent can (multi-)scalar strategies and practices be detected and around what key issues? – How far and in what ways are certain actors increasing their power by acting across scales? – What impacts are (multi-)scalar strategies and practices having – or are likely to have – on IWRM in the EU and ecologically oriented water governance in general?