TY - JOUR

T1 - Water resources management in southern Europe

T2 - Clues for a research and innovation based regional hypercluster

AU - Martins, G.

AU - Brito, A. G.

AU - Nogueira, R.

AU - Ureña, M.

AU - Fernández, D.

AU - Luque, F. J.

AU - Alcácer, C.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful to all stakeholders that contributed, either by completing the online survey, either by personal interview, as well as to the external evaluators, who contributed to the methodological validation. The authors are also indebted to Alexandrina Rodrigues, Daniel Ribeiro and Teresa Tavares for the manuscript revision. The authors acknowledge NOVIWAM project partners for their valuable comments and contributions, as well as the funding provided by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (Grant Agreement n° 245460 ). This study was carried out as part of the project Novel Integrated Water Management Systems for Southern Europe (NOVIWAM), launched under the EU's 7th Framework Program of Research and Technological Development (FP7) within the Regions of Knowledge (RoK) Initiative. The NOVIWAN project involves entities from five territories from southern Europe: the North of Portugal, Andalusia in Spain, Poitou-Charentes in France, Albania and Cyprus, and includes representations from public administration, research and business. The main goals of the project are to facilitate cooperation between authorities, research, and business of each regional cluster, to become a wide international research driven network of clusters focused on water and to develop a research agenda proposing solutions to the needs identified in the participating regions. To achieve this, the project carried out an intensive characterization of the participating regions, concluding in a SWOT analysis, that served as drafting basis for the development of the NOVIWAM Joint Action Plan (JAP), which includes a series of actions to be undertaken and promoted jointly by the participants aimed at addressing the issues identified in the SWOT, using the internal strengths and external opportunities to correct the detected weaknesses and be ready to face potential threats.

PY - 2013/4/15

Y1 - 2013/4/15

N2 - European countries are facing increasing pressures on their water resources despite stringent regulations and systematic efforts on environmental protection. In this context, research and innovation play a strategic role reinforcing the efficiency of water policies. The present study provides a multilevel assessment of research and innovation practices in the field of water resource management in southern European countries and regions (more specifically; Cyprus, Albania, Poitou-Charentes in France, Andalusia in Spain and the North of Portugal). The analysis was based on a strategic framework aimed at gaining an insight of the current constraints, as well as of the existing and future technological solutions for a better water resource management. The triple helix model proved to be a useful analytical framework for assessing the efforts of different groups towards a common goal. The analysis proved the existence of a significant evolution in the use of technological tools to assist decision-making processes in integrated river basin management in all regions. Nevertheless, the absence of formal channels for knowledge and data exchange between researchers and water resource managers complicates the formers involvement in the decision-making process regarding water allocation. Both researchers and consultants emphasize the low availability of data, together with the need to advance on water resource economics as relevant constraints in the field. The SWOT analysis showed similar concerns among the participating regions and provided a battery of effective projects that resulted in the preparation of a Joint Action Plan.

AB - European countries are facing increasing pressures on their water resources despite stringent regulations and systematic efforts on environmental protection. In this context, research and innovation play a strategic role reinforcing the efficiency of water policies. The present study provides a multilevel assessment of research and innovation practices in the field of water resource management in southern European countries and regions (more specifically; Cyprus, Albania, Poitou-Charentes in France, Andalusia in Spain and the North of Portugal). The analysis was based on a strategic framework aimed at gaining an insight of the current constraints, as well as of the existing and future technological solutions for a better water resource management. The triple helix model proved to be a useful analytical framework for assessing the efforts of different groups towards a common goal. The analysis proved the existence of a significant evolution in the use of technological tools to assist decision-making processes in integrated river basin management in all regions. Nevertheless, the absence of formal channels for knowledge and data exchange between researchers and water resource managers complicates the formers involvement in the decision-making process regarding water allocation. Both researchers and consultants emphasize the low availability of data, together with the need to advance on water resource economics as relevant constraints in the field. The SWOT analysis showed similar concerns among the participating regions and provided a battery of effective projects that resulted in the preparation of a Joint Action Plan.

KW - Governance

KW - Innovation

KW - NOVIWAM

KW - Research

KW - Water resources

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874541968&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.01.027

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.01.027

M3 - Article

C2 - 23454416

AN - SCOPUS:84874541968

VL - 119

SP - 76

EP - 84

JO - Journal of Environmental Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Management

SN - 0301-4797

ER -