Comprehensive planning for sustainable river basin transformation

29 March 2023

Rivers, their basins, and coastal zones face unparalleled pressures, jeopardising the provision of vital ecosystem services for people and the planet. This is why sustainable river basin management is crucial, now more then ever. At the UN Waterweek, the session Managing river basins as a system, hosted at the Water House, discussed challenges ànd solutions of river basement management in the 21st century and beyond.

One of the solutions may be an increased application of strategic environmental assessment (SEA), as dr. Hans Mommaas, Chair of the NCEA, outlined in his presentation on comprehensive planning. Especially the fact that in many countries environmental assessment is already (legally) embedded in national planning systems, that it provides a holistic environmental and social perspective, and that it facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration, makes it a very relevant approach to tackle the current challenges we face.

See for more information the short or full report.