GOVAQUA · Governance innovations for a transition to sustainable and equitable water use in Europe

GOVAQUA identifies, assesses, develops and validates innovative governance instruments and approaches to support and accelerate a transition towards sustainable and equitable water use in Europe. Such a transition is urgently required to reconcile water uses and environmental needs and to reach the aims of the EU WFD, the Green Deal and the UN SDGs. By adopting an inter- and transdisciplinary methodology that combines case studies with living labs, the highly skilled GOVAQUA team will systematically analyse and compare existing water governance systems across Europe, focusing on water use and its impacts in agriculture, industries, energy production, water utilities and the role of citizens. GOVAQUA conceptualises for the first time sustainability transition in water governance, and creates associated criteria and indicators for its assessment. In order to respond to systemic development needs for the transition, the project covers niche governance innovations in 1) legislation and regulation, 2) multi-stakeholder participation and collaboration, 3) economics and finance, and 4) digital solutions for information sharing. Good practices related to them are systematically reviewed, analysed and compared, and further co-developed, assessed and validated with key stakeholders in real-world action situations of six living labs in river basins, sub-basins or catchments in France, Finland, Spain, the UK and Romania, and transnationally between Finland and Sweden. GOVAQUA delivers new knowledge, participatory tools and good practice guidelines laying out pathways towards sustainable and equitable water future. The project results will be disseminated in a strategic and targeted manner to EU and Member State policy makers and officials, European river basin management community, water and water using sectors, NGOs and water governance expert organisations, and communicated to empower citizens in the consortium partner countries and beyond.