Collaborative Water Planning Handbook: HarmoniCop

One of the most significant international resources for collaborative water resource planning is the handbook on participatory planning produced under Harmonising Collaborative Planning project, or HarmoniCop. The aim of the HarmoniCOP project (2002 -2005) was to increase the understanding of participatory river basin management planning (RBMP) across Europe.

RBMP is the integrated cross-sectoral planning and management of river basins if necessary across political and administrative borders. The project’s objective was to generate practical information about participation processes in river basin management and to support the implementation of the public participation provisions of the European Water Framework Directive.

It developed a collaborative planning handbook and a series of project reports to assist in the implementation of collaborative water planning and management. Part of the value of the HarmoniCop Project is due to use of nine case studies carried out in nine European countries.

This means that the wide variety of different cultural and policy contexts experienced in the field research function as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of participatory processes for water planning.

Download "Learning Together to Manage Together: Improving Participation in Water Management"