WG 2.9 Best Practices in River Basin Planning WP2 – Guidance on Planning Process Water Directors Meeting 21th-22th November 2002

Guidance Main Contents Principles relevant for the water planning Specific requirements of the WFD regarding the planning process Flowcharts General recommendations for a successful planning process

Principles relevant for the water planning What does water planning mean in the Directive? Relation to other planning concepts Three subsections: Planning process functions, geographical scope and actors

Specific requirements of the WFD Five subsections dealing with the five main steps in the planning process approach: Assessment of current status Definition of environmental objectives Gap Analysis Decision on programme of measure and, Development of a river basin plan

Flowcharts Objectives Identify different tasks, duration. Identify key products Identify actions required to meet the requirements for the obligatory deadlines Identify critical path and bottlenecks Assess the organisational level at which they should be carried out

Flowcharts

Level 1

Recommendations for a successful planning process Description of prerequisites for a sound planning process: Long term vision for the RBD Knowledge and information management Capacity The right timing Public Participation Appropriate toolbox Evaluation of the process

Extension of the deadline to finish the guidance around the end of February 2003

Expected outputs according CIS Strategy document (2 May 2001) Guidance in relation to the identification of RBDs (end 2003) Guidance in relation to River Basin Planning and programs of measures (end 2003) Guidance in relation to participatory approach (end 2003) Technical document (tool box) on River Basin Management (end 2004) Expected outputs according progress report presented by the Commission in Water Directors Meeting (Ghent, 8/9 Nov 2001) Guidance document on the identification of RBDs (May 2002) Guidance document on the planning process (end 2002) Guidance document on Public Participation (end 2002) Manual on Integrated River basin Management with group 4.1 (end 2004)

Expected outputs according progress report presented by the Commission in Water Directors Meeting (Ghent, 8/9 Nov 2001) Guidance document on the identification of RBDs (May 2002) Manual on Integrated River basin Management with group 4.1 (end 2004) Guidance document on the planning process (end 2002) Guidance document on Public Participation (end 2002) Status Nov 2002 2nd version in CIRCA Proposal to be finished in March 2003 Considered in “Carrying forward the CIS” and in 4.1 TOR and Work programme

Proposed Work Programme

Why?: Rigt timing, streamlining Need of validation of flow charts by other WGs that at this moment have open issues still in discussion Time availability for new inputs/improvements of the current text (the same people working in three guidance documents this year) Possibility of organizing a workshop with other working groups and planners (together with WG 4.1?) to check the contents of the document This is not an “open issue”. There is unanimity in the group in the decision to extend the deadline