How Spatial Planning Can Connect to River Basin Management

Spatial planning essentially involves the development and implementation of strategies and procedures to regulate land use and development in an attempt to manage and balance the numerous pressures placed upon land. Spatial planning can (or should) play an important role in addressing water issues. It is an established mechanism through which some of the river basin management challenges can be addressed. Such challenges are, for instance, flooding and aquatic pollution which are strongly influenced by the nature and location of land use and the changes in that use. However, spatial planning traditions and spatial planning systems within the European Union are diverse. There is no such thing as the common spatial planning system for Europe. In this chapter an analysis is made of how different spatial planning styles in Europe connect to river basin management. From this analysis it appears that especially the style of spatial planning and flexibility in administrative procedures determine whether and how spatial planning can contribute to river basin management. However, there is not one clear preferable spatial planning tradition or type of planning system that has an optimal fit with river basin management. The way the social-ecological systems approach is facilitated by the spatial planning style seems to be an important factor for the match with river basin management. The systems approach matches spatial planning with river basin management as it connects social and ecological systems, and the ecosystem services approach can further enable that connection. Stakeholder involvement, which is linked to area-related interests, addresses the needs and possibilities that will influence river basin management and implementation. The diversity of the spatial planning styles in Europe asks for adaptive and iterative planning in order to be able to implement the connection to river basin management. Adaptive and iterative planning fits well in traditions that rely on flexible organisational planning systems. The connection between spatial planning and river basin management can only be made in tailored processes. As the description of spatial planning traditions shows, countries often work along a ‘mix of traditions’; this gives the opportunity to take up the advantages of the different traditions in connecting spatial planning to river basin management.