EUWARENESS is a research project on European Water Regimes and the Notion of a Sustainable Status. It aims to contribute to the implementation of the EU Water 
Framework Directive. The EUWARENESS project systematically studies the generation and results    
of diverse and innovative institutional resource regimes at a (tributary) water    
basin scale. It investigated the dynamic relationships between various uses of water resources, the regimes under which these uses of water resources are 
managed, and factors in the political context generating regime shifts. 
            

In the project a theoretical framework on institutional regime analysis is used. The EUWARENESS project has examined the integration of water management 
in six European countries at the national level and at the level of selected water basins. In particular, the project has examined transitions towards integrated 
resource management. The project results demonstrate what kind of regime conditions are crucial to reach such a sustainable status. The distribution of rights 
among water users, the accountability for externalities, and the participation of water users in the resource management of their river basin area, have been 
focal areas of the research project.    
Studying the evolution of resource regimes, the Euwareness project has focused on the ‘extent’ of a regime (i.e. the uses and users that are regulated by a 
regime and therefore belong to the regime’s domain) and on the ‘coherence’ of a regime (i.e. the match between the regime’s elements, especially the match between 
property rights elements and public policy elements). One of the conclusions is that there is only weak support for the expectation that an increased extent 
contributes as such to a more sustainable resource use. The support for the expectation that increased coherence contributes to a more sustainable resource 
use is much stronger. 
            

The EUWARENESS-project has focused on sustainable use of water resources by means of integrated water management. It aims to contribute to the implementation 
of the EU Water Framework Directive. A better understanding is needed of the dynamic relationships between various conflicting uses of water resources, the 
regimes under which these uses of water resources are managed, and conditions generating regime shifts towards sustainability. The EUWARENESS-project 
studied the long term evolution of 6 national regimes, and also - more in depth - the    
specific regime transitions of 12 water basins across Europe during the last decades. Important issues are the participation of users, redistribution 
of property rights among users, the coherence between water rights and water policies.    
    
The following products are available:    
    
The project has generated four types of deliverables:    
1. A project methodology (analytical framework, theoretical background). On the webpage ‘methodology’ you may find more information on the analytical 
framework and theoretical background of the project.    
2. Six national regime studies on the long-term evolution of the national water regime in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. 
   
3. Twelve in-depth case studies on water basins with specific regime transitions in the recent past: two cases per country.    
4. A comparative analysis of the case studies.    
The country screenings and comparatative case studies