Governance & Building with Nature
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Governance & Building with Nature A MIPA- and governance study about the Marker Wadden project Folkert Volbeda MSC thesis Wur Governance & Building with Nature A MIPA- and governance study about the Marker Wadden project F. (Folkert) Volbeda MSc Climate Studies MSc Forest and Nature Conservation Registration code: 911013901070 Under the supervision of Prof.dr.ir. J.P.M. (Jan) van Tatenhove Environment Policy Group Wageningen University The Netherlands Summary Over the years a new approach for developing water-related infrastructure projects emerged in the Netherland called the Building with Nature (BwN) programme. Both economic factors as well as ecological and societal factors are stressed within this approach through the adoption and integration of insights from civil engineering, natural and social sciences. However, this new and innovative approach is associated with several uncertainties, one of which is the governance context. Although the concept of governance is often promoted as deliberative tool, due to its ambiguous character can also be referred to as an hierarchical and technocratic approach. A project in which this governance context is important to consider is the Marker Wadden. Here, a plurality of public and private actors engaged in the development of an archipelago of islands in the Dutch lake the Markermeer. By adopting a theoretical framework based on a MIPA approach and governance theory, this thesis set out to investigate how the governance perspective of the BwN approach enabled or constrained deliberative project development in the Marker Wadden. The thesis adopted a single case study design in which data was collected and analysed through document analysis, semi-structured expert based interviews and a visit to the project site. The findings of the case study not only show a variety of BwNfeatures (e.g. including ecosystem dynamics in designs, innovative contracting, etc.) which underline the BwN philosophy, but most importantly it shows how these features empowered a wide variety of actors to engage decision-making through a transparent and flexible approach in which governance emerged as deliberative and inclusive concept. i Table of contents Summary .................................................................................................................................................. i 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. A shift from building in to building with nature ...................................................................... 2 1.2. The BwN approach .................................................................................................................. 3 1.3. Governance ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.4. Building new land .................................................................................................................... 4 1.5. Research objective and research questions ............................................................................ 5 1.6. Outline of the thesis ..................................................................................................................... 6 2. Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1. From PAA to MIPA ................................................................................................................... 8 2.2. The four MIPA dimensions ...................................................................................................... 9 2.3. The four MIPA phases ........................................................................................................... 10 2.4. Governance setting ............................................................................................................... 11 2.4.1 From government to governance......................................................................................... 11 2.4.2 Process- versus structure-related governance ..................................................................... 13 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 15 3.1. A qualitative research approach ........................................................................................... 16 3.2. A intrinsic single-case study design ....................................................................................... 16 3.3. Data collection and analysis .................................................................................................. 17 4. Casus hoofdstuk ............................................................................................................................ 19 4.1. Building with Nature .............................................................................................................. 20 4.1.1. An introduction to the BwN philosophy ........................................................................ 21 4.1.2. From sandy shores to governance aspects ................................................................... 22 4.1.3. Knowledge base............................................................................................................. 23 4.2. The Markermeer .................................................................................................................... 25 4.2.1. Background .................................................................................................................... 25 4.2.2. Building islands from sediment ..................................................................................... 27 4.3. The Marker Wadden as MIPA ............................................................................................... 30 4.3.1. Project initiation ............................................................................................................ 30 4.3.2. Project decision ............................................................................................................. 42 4.3.3. Project design ................................................................................................................ 53 4.3.4. Project implementation................................................................................................. 59 4.4. Overall results ........................................................................................................................ 68 ii 4.4.1. Actors ............................................................................................................................. 68 4.4.2. Knowledge and money .................................................................................................. 69 4.4.3. Rules of the game .......................................................................................................... 69 4.4.4. Making new land together ............................................................................................ 71 5. Conclusion and discussion ............................................................................................................. 72 5.1. Governance while making new land ..................................................................................... 73 5.2. Research questions................................................................................................................ 74 5.2.1. Building with Nature in the Marker Wadden ................................................................ 74 5.2.2. Public Private Partnerships ............................................................................................ 75 5.2.3. Deliberation? ................................................................................................................. 77 5.3. Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 78 5.3.1. Knowledge clustering .................................................................................................... 78 5.3.2. Being flexible in a structured approach.................... Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd. 5.4. Recommandations ............................................................ Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd. 6. References ..................................................................................................................................... 81 Annex 1) List of excursion & interviews ................................................................................................ 89 Annex 2) Interview script ...................................................................................................................... 89 Annex 3) Maps ....................................................................................................................................... 90 List of abbreviations ANT study Studie Autonome Neerwaartse Trend ANT-IJG Wetenschappelijk Eindadvies Autonome Neerwaartse Trendstudie IJsselmeergebied BwN Building with Nature ECJ European Court of Justice EMVI Economisch Meest Voordelige Inschrijving GWP Global Water Partnership Ministry of EL&I Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie Ministry of EZ Ministerie van Economische Zaken Ministry of I&M Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu