title: Water matters: An assessment of opinion on water management and community engagement in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
abstract: Internationally, water management is moving from the traditional top-down approach to more integrated initiatives focussing on community-led action. With inadequacies in previous engagement initiatives undertaken through the first cycle of River Basin Management Planning for the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Republic of Ireland has only recently embraced this bottom-up approach. The attempted introduction of national charging for domestic water use in 2015 has resulted in significant public disquiet and protest movements against the national government. In April 2015 we undertook a survey of current opinion on water management and community engagement initiatives in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. A total of 520 survey responses identified that although freshwater bodies are important in peoples' lives, respondents were typically unaware of global initiatives such as Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated Catchment Management. Overall, 81% of respondents did not feel included in decisions about their water environment despite an overwhelming 95% believing that local communities should have a say in how the water environment is managed. However, only 35.1% of respondents stated that they would be willing to attend local water management engagement initiatives. Rather than supporting individual gain, respondents identified social gains for the local community as avenues for increasing local involvement in water initiatives. In the Republic of Ireland, a water engagement initiative that implements the national framework local delivery model should be developed and implemented. This would 1) contribute to the second round of WFD River Basin Management Planning; 2) facilitate stronger connections between local communities and their water environment; and 3) foster bottom-up initiatives that empower communities regarding local water management issues.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Alec
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7363-1928
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rolston
authors.affiliation: Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linnane
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D003657:Decision Making; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000191:economics*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis*; D007494:Ireland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water