COMPREHENSIVE APPROACHES TO WATER MANAGEMENT

For us to have sufficient amounts of good quality fresh water availabl e in the 21st century, it is necessary that we find a different way of dealing with water. Awareness of this fact represents a first step in the right direction. Interactive planning can substantially contribut e to this awareness and therewith to the solution of both physical and cultural bottlenecks. Interactive plan processes are complex. The cha llenge lies in being actively involved in this complexity. The IPEA me thodology has been developed to support adequate completion of interac tive plan processes. This methodology has already been applied in a nu mber of plan processes, 25 of which were recently evaluated. From this evaluation it appears that applying IPEA helps to increase the clarit y and the suitability of both processes and plans. The methodology als o makes a positive contribution to levels of communication and interac tion between the people and organizations involved in a plan process. Furthermore, IPEA leads to an increased acceptance of the contents of plans. (C) 1998 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.