NOT HIGH BUT DRY : CHANGING ROLES OF STATE ACTORS IN DUTCH WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES

摘要

Today, other developments threaten the water boards. Unusual floods have occurred and are likely to occur more frequently in the near future. Citizens are unwilling to accept the accompanying risk of damage of their occupied properties. On the other, they find it hard to spend more money on safety measures or move away from the river banks thus, putting more pressure on the state actors to take care. State actors like provinces and municipalities are faced with all kinds of tasks and interests for which they find themselves right opposite the water boards at times in defending the interests of flood control and drainage. The balancing of interests among the growing variety of tasks concerning water management is a continuous struggle. Spatial planning is especially, a topical issue that constitutes both an illustration and a test case for whether state actors and water boards will successfully avoid bad practices and find good practices for settling right the disputes and conflicts. State actors and water boards in the Netherlands have recently developed legal instruments to harmonise each other’s interests at an early stage. The rules define rights and competence time tables and mutual say in matters.