Selected Issues of Adaptive Water Management on the Example of the Białka River Basin

Monika Bryła,Tomasz Walczykiewicz,Mateusz Żelazny,Magdalena Skonieczna

doi:10.3390/w13243540

Monika Bryła, Tomasz Walczykiewicz + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243540

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Journal: Water	Publication Date: Dec 10, 2021
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

Abstract

Water is a fundamental resource needed for human life and functioning and the environment. Water management requires a comprehensive, adaptive approach that also considers the dynamics of changes in the water management system. This is particularly important in areas where different groups of stakeholders intertwine, whose needs often contradict, which hampers effective water management, particularly in places of high natural value. This research aimed to analyze selected issues in water management in the Białka River Basin in Southern Poland. The analysis was based on a review of scientific publications, internet sources, and a survey on water management in the basin. Our research shows that the dominant issues in the study area are the flood risk and water pollution related to, among other factors, the intensive development of tourism. Moreover, the effective management of water resources is hampered by poor communication between the administration and stakeholders, which results in a low level of knowledge, negative attitudes towards nature protection, and the emergence of conflicts. The main conclusion of this paper indicates that, despite the existing social potential for implementing comprehensive water management methods, the lack of an appropriate legal framework prevents the implementation of concepts such as Adaptive Water Management.

Highlights

Water, as a fundamental resource needed for human life and the activities of daily living and the environment, requires the particular attention of all parties involved in the process of managing its resources
Enlarging urbanization could be the cause of the increasing flood risk—impermeable surfaces such as roofs, roads, and parking lots are the cause of increasing runoff [73]
The most significant are river basin issues such as flood risk and water pollution, and, to a lesser extent, the risk of water scarcity. The causes of these problems are complex. They result from natural conditions and anthropogenic conditions

Summary

Introduction

As a fundamental resource needed for human life and the activities of daily living and the environment, requires the particular attention of all parties involved in the process of managing its resources. The negative phenomena include an increase in temperature, a decrease in snowfall in winter, and an increase in evaporation These changes may have a negative impact on the availability of fresh water in countries such as Poland. The reason for water scarcity is not necessarily natural; for example, in certain areas of India, poor management practices and government policies exacerbate the water issues [16] Another reason for water scarcity is cross-border conflicts regarding access to water resources [17] or a lack of appropriate measures to protect the water quality [18,19,20]. Extreme climatic phenomena associated with water resources can interact with many environmental and socio-economic sectors, including health, public safety, biodiversity, industry, shipping, and tourism [24]

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