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  • © 2004

The Evolution of National Water Regimes in Europe

Transitions in Water Rights and Water Policies

  • Water policy, environmental governance and resource management are getting increasing attention at universities in student classes, courses for graduates, post-graduates and PhD-students
  • Broad perspective on the long-term evolution on water rights and water policy, covering many Western European countries and including both humid areas and arid areas across Europe
  • New theoretical approach to resource management, combining the property rights perspective with the public policy or governance perspective
  • Appealing to both European and American academics: The empirical work is European based, and the theoretical approach is strongly inspired by American scholars

Part of the book series: Environment & Policy (ENPO, volume 40)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Introduction to Institutional Resource Regimes

    • Ingrid Kissling-Näf, Stefan Kuks
    Pages 1-23
  3. The Evolution of European Water Policy

    • David Aubin, Frédéric Varone
    Pages 49-86
  4. The Evolution of the Water Regimes in Belgium

    • David Aubin, Frédéric Varone
    Pages 143-185
  5. The Evolution of the Water Regime in France

    • I. Sangaré, C. Larrue
    Pages 187-234
  6. The Evolution of the Water Regime in Spain

    • Meritxell Costejà, Nuria Font, Anna Rigol, Joan Subirats
    Pages 235-263
  7. The Evolution of the Water Regime in Italy

    • Alessandra Goria, Nicola Lugaresi
    Pages 265-291
  8. The Evolution of the Water Regime in Switzerland

    • Corine Mauch, Emmanuel Reynard
    Pages 293-328
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 369-371

About this book

All over the world countries struggle with water stress. Problems vary from water scarcity and a degrading water quality, to floods and a rising sea level due to climate change. The European Union adopted a Water Framework Directive to improve the sustainability of water management in its member states. Water management should be coordinated at the level of river basins as a whole. Interests of various user groups should be better represented. River basin visions should take into account the impact of all human activities on the status of the resource. Water legislation needs streamlining and more focus on its implementation. The European Union advocates regulating water prices by charging the costs of water services on the basis of full cost recovery and the polluter pays principle.

This book examines the development of water management in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. It is based on the European research project EUWARENESS. The authors apply a theoretical framework for the analysis of institutional regimes, water governance and property rights. The evolution of national water resource regimes is described over a period of almost 200 years (1800-2000). The long-term perspective enables the reader to see the conditions under which regime transformation and paradigm change are made possible. The book also includes a critical analysis of policy making by the European Union, and a comparative review and analysis of regime development in the six countries involved.

This book is followed by another volume published with Kluwer Academic Publishers on "Integrated Governance and Water Basin Management", edited by Hans Bressers and Stefan Kuks.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Swiss Academy of Sciences, Bern, Switzerland

    Ingrid Kissling-Näf

  • University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Stefan Kuks

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access