Water Framework Directive implementation in the Black sea Basin: lessons learnt in public participation

Abstract

In many European Union (EU) countries consultancy companies have taken a leading role in developing the framework and institutions needed for implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and related legislation through ‘Technical Assistance’ Projects. The focus of this paper is an ex-post evaluation of the public participation activities in three such technical assistance projects all located within the Black Sea Basin. Two projects focused on the implementation of the WFD in an EU pre-accession country, namely Romania. The other project was located in non-EU accession countries of the former Soviet Union where the approximation of EU directives or the drafting of new water laws along WFD principles was used as an instrument to help protect the Black Sea from pollution. The paper concludes that from project experience the use of local level pilot projects is very valuable at engaging stakeholders and that the use of highly prescribed public consultation schemes were not practical in the Black Sea basin but more flexible and ad hoc approaches had a very positive effect on the social learning process.