Stakeholder involvement in water-resources planning

This paper discusses experiences of consultation and participation in water-resource planning studies in the Thames catchment. Two different case studies are presented and the challenges which were encountered are discussed. The authors conclude that, whilst the inclusion of stakeholders in the decision-making process has clear benefits, the answers to questions such as (a) who to involve, (b) when to involve them, and (c) how to present information to them, are not always clear.