Water governance regimes

Dimensions and dynamics

Abstract

The concept of water governance is distinctive through its focus on not only public intervention,
but also on self-organisation as a way to deal with water issues. This article first
elaborates a framework with five dimensions to describe governance regimes. Thereafter it
illustrates and uses this analytical framework with a cross country comparison of the evolution
towards more integrated water governance regimes. Furthermore four qualities of such
regimes are introduced and used to assess the degree to which a governance regime is supportive
for integral and adaptive water management. Lastly the article explores how governance
regimes evolve over time and what forces shape this combination of stability and dynamics.