Towards Risk-Based Management of European River Basins
Key-findings and recommendations of the RISKBASE project


Contents

Executive summary 3

1 Introduction 7

Managing rivers at the basin scale 7

River basins at risk 8

RISKBASE 8

Risk 10

Risk management 11

Risk-based management of river basins 12

2 The first key principle to risk-based management: be well informed 13

Conceptual model as basis to understand 13

Understanding the risks to river basin ecosystems 14

Available tools for assessment of status, risk and causes 16

Examples of available system understanding of importance to river basin management 17

Framing of an uncertain future 20

3 The second key principle to risk-based management: manage adaptively 21

Changing management paradigm in water management 21

Adaptive water management 22

4 The third key principle to risk-based management: take a participatory approach 25

Learning together to manage together 25

Who to involve in relation to the risks to be managed 26

Ecosystem services as facilitating, common language 27

5 Towards well-informed, adaptive and participatory river basin management 31

Integrated application of the three key principles 31

Inspiring examples from practice 33

Governance framework 33

Suggested way forward for people concerned about river basins 36

References 39

Outline of the RISKBASE-Springer book 42

Contractors in the RISKBASE project 43

RISKBASE advisory panel 45

Appendices on CD-ROM 47

Full-length canbe donwloaded in the RISKBASE webpages at: booklet .

To be cited as Brils J and Harris B (Eds.). 2009. Towards Risk-Based Management or European River Basins: Key-findings and recommendations of the RISKBASE project, EC FP6 reference GOCE 036938, December 2009, Utrecht, The Netherlands.