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How can social learning be supported during the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive"

This thesis provides an analysis how social learning can be supported during the implementation of the WFD. Four research questions address the different characteristics of river basin management: 1) How do spatial misfits between participatory and decision-making institutions impede social learning"2) Does the formalized context of river basin management in Europe allow for social learning" 3) What are conducive environments for social learning in river basin management" 4) How does research contribute to social learning in river basin management" What challenges arise in applied research"The concept of social learning (SL), especially as developed in the European project HarmoniCOP (www.harmonicop.uos.de), formed the theoretical backbone of the analysis. This allowed to consider the challenge of SL to be supported by process design or the institutional settings. At the same time, it allowed to understand to which extent the efficiency of this support depends on the question whether or not the participants in the process recognize the options for improving their knowledge base and make use of them. The analyses have been mainly based on a German case study on the international Elbe river basin district, which was embedded in the European project HarmoniCOP. Here, the specific challenges (spatial misfit; the need for collaboration in formalized contexts) have been addressed exploring participatory and other collaboration processes as well as the actors approach to SL. In order to understand collaboration processes between research and water management, the role of research in delivering tools to support the new challenges of the WFD has been studied during activities of the European Concerted Action Harmoni-CA (www.harmoni-ca.info). The thesis closes with recommendations to improve social learning in practical river basin management.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uni-osnabrueck.de/oai:repositorium.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de:urn:nbn:de:gbv:700-2009020412
Date03 February 2009
CreatorsBorowski, Ilke
ContributorsProf. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Dr. Bert Enserink
Source SetsUniversität Osnabrück
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typedoc-type:doctoralThesis
Formatapplication/zip, application/pdf
Rightshttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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