MSc thesis Anaïs Lensen: Translating the EU Water Framework Directive into action

You are hereby invited to the MSc thesis presentation by Anaïs Lensen on 'Translating the EU Water Framework Directive into action: towards scale-sensitive governance in the Scheldt River Basin’.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr Art Dewulf
Examinor: Dr Nicolas Jager
Date: 6 March 2025
Time: 13-14.00 hours
Hybrid meeting: room 3029, Leeuwenborch building; MS Teams link

Abstract
The European Union ‘Water Framework Directive’ (WFD) provides a framework for transboundary water governance related to improvement on water quality within various European river basins, amongst which the Scheldt River Basin. Although this directive obliges Member States to act upon water quality issues, concerns regarding the attainment of set goals are expressed by the broader public. This research thus focuses on identifying challenges in governance of water quality in the Scheldt River Basin, using the concept of scale-sensitive governance as a theoretical framework.

Utilizing a qualitative case study design, the research combines an analysis of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) with insights drawn from semi-structured interviews with key actors in transboundary water management. Findings reveal ‘classic’ spatial and temporal mismatches, like the river basin boundaries not matching the administrative boundaries, and the mismatch between short-term political versus long-term environmental objectives. A newfound challenge is the mismatch between short-term legal procedures and long-term collaborative effects, which led to proposing a distinction in ‘sub-scales’ within the governance scale. Existing governance arrangements and strategies facilitate cross-border coordination yet can be constrained by institutional fragmentation and divergent stakeholder interests. It is concluded that awareness of scale challenges provides opportunities to act on bridging the gaps and finding more scale-sensitive governance arrangements and strategies. This research approach offers a novel perspective on the dynamic interplay between governance structure and ecological processes.

Keywords: EU Water Framework Directive, Scheldt River Basin, scale-sensitive governance, transboundary water governance