Need, goal & purpose
What can be done in policy and practice to ensure that stakeholders from agriculture, water management, and environmental protection work together to promote the sustainable use of water and land? The aim of the project was to support sustainability transformations through findings, approaches, and recommendations on this issue. As part of NEXUS FLUSSGEBIETE, we aim to understand and tackle challenges in dealing with water, nature, and land within their local contexts. The focus is on action knowledge and social learning for sustainability in water and land governance in Luxembourg.
The project was co-financed by the University of Luxembourg and the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development.
Research and project activities
In our research, we analyse how sustainable development challenges manifest locally, in which systemic contexts they are embedded, and how they are assessed and addressed by stakeholders. To this end, we have conducted a series of interviews and workshops with a wide range of stakeholders from different organisations: River Partnerships, municipalities and special purpose associations ("syndicates"), agriculture and business, national administrations and politics, advisory services, and environmental organisations.
Participatively developed fields of action and recommendations for policy and practice encourage stakeholders to actively shape transformation processes.
Methods
The project was carried out in close cooperation with stakeholders such as the Syr and Obersauer River partnerships and other members of the NEXUS group. The qualitative research was based on interviews, observations, documents, and workshops in the river basins, in which the participants systematically explored local challenges and fields of action.
Case studies were used to analyse governance processes aimed at improving water quality in the Syr and Upper Sûre river basins in line with the EU Water Framework Directive (2000).
Collaboration with local river partnerships:
We work closely with two of the five river partnerships in Luxembourg: in the east, with the Syr River Partnership, and in the north, with the Obersauer Water Contract. These partnerships coordinate water protection measures within their municipalities and are tasked with raising awareness and networking all public and private stakeholders active in water and nature conservation, as well as engaging local citizens.
The two river basins are quite different. The Syr region, close to Luxembourg City, has relatively large populations and high traffic volumes, while the Upper Sûre region, which extends into Belgium, is sparsely populated. The Upper Sûre reservoir is Luxembourg's most important national drinking water source, essential for the country’s growing population. At the same time, the region hosts numerous farms, produces hydropower, and is home to the Upper Sûre Nature Park, a popular leisure area. The municipalities in the Syr basin are largely supplied with drinking water from the reservoir, though many are working to harness their own local water sources.
What the river partnerships and their members share is that they face challenges across various areas: from protecting water bodies, springs, and nature, to managing drinking water and wastewater treatment, settlement construction, and addressing water consumption and pollution in agriculture, the economy, and households.
Contents & results
The case studies show how social learning and knowledge for action can emerge between different actors when they organise themselves, experiment together, and create knowledge tailored to their objectives and contexts. However, there are numerous barriers to action in Luxembourg's water and land system.
Policy and practice can, however, support collaborative action in many ways, including through coordinated and flexible administrative procedures for projects (such as through one-stop shops) and by strengthening intermediary organisations and spaces for experimentation between different organisations and professional groups.
