Mersey basin Campaign

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Publication dateSeptember 2007 MBC163 Spatial planning, water and Water Framework Directive: insights from theory and practice This paper explores the potential and actual role of spatial planning in addressing challenges associated with water environment. This enables an assessment to be made of the extent to which spatial planning can help to meet the goals of the Water Framework Directive. Publication dateSeptember 2006 MBC008 Breathing new life into the Mersey: Water quality and fisheries in the Mersey Estuary - a historical perspective Taking a long-term perspective, this scientific paper provides detailed information about the effects of improvements in water quality on the fish population of the Mersey. Publication dateSeptember 2003 MBC040 Sensors of the Sea Edwin Colyer visits the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool to find out how they use all manner of technological wizardry to collect real-time data from our seas, and use that information to find out how the Northwest's waters are affected by, and affect our weather, climate and human activity. Publication dateSeptember 2001 MBC213 Integrated Catchment Management and Planning for Sustainability: The Case of the Mersey Basin Campaign This research examines the emerging role of 'planning for sustainability' in the context of river catchment management, with the Mersey Basin Campaign as the principal case study. Good water quality and a healthy water cycle are essential for sustaining ecosystems and the human and industrial activities within them. For this reason, Integrated Catchment Management is a vital component of the emerging sustainability agenda. The last two decades have seen a call for increased integration in water management, driven by recognition of the limits of a fragmented organizational approach and an increased understanding of the interconnected nature of many of the problems that affect water quality. Symptoms of water-related problems are often detected far from their sources. Efforts to improve the water environment require action at multiple geographic scales, and involve many different sectors and actors. The newly enacted European Union Water Framework Directive requires each Member State to produce an integrated management plan for every river basin. These plans must be formulated with a high degree of community and stakeholder involvement. The Mersey Basin Campaign offers a valuable case study in how to achieve this ambitious objective. This research has examined two of the Campaign’s delivery mechanisms, partnership networking and strategic planning, linking across spatial scales. Interviews with 25 key players, participant observation and programme literature provided a wealth of data. In-depth analysis combined an inductive approach, based on grounded theory, with an exploration of key themes in the light of systems thinking. This qualitative methodology allowed an extensive exploration of key characteristics of communication and strategic planning in the Campaign. Discussion of the nature of stakeholder partnerships clarified factors for their successful development. These include: shared vision and aims; broad engagement of sectors and stakeholders; equitable representation of interests; high level of participation in planning processes; synthesis of bottom-up and top-down planning; continuous, dynamic development; many opportunities for organizational learning; starting small with projects that lead to success stories; opportunities for informal interaction; and openness and transparency. The research findings offer lessons from the 15 years of experience of the Campaign, which can be applied to similar initiatives, as well as pointers for improving the effectiveness of the Campaign itself. Publication dateDecember 2001 MBC059 A collaborative partnership approach to integrated waterside revitilisation: the Mersey Basin Campaign, Northwest England This paper draws on the results of a research project investigating how a concrete example of collaborative partnerships, the Mersey Basin Campaign in the North West of England, can operate for integrated waterside revitalisation. The Mersey Estuary has suffered a legacy of abuse and neglect since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The discharge of effluents from manufacturing processes, together with wastewater from the burgeoning centres of population, resulted in the estuary gaining the unenviable reputation of bring one of the most polluted rivers in Europe. As a result of the long awaited remedial action, which has been implemented over the past fifteen years, there is now unequivocal evidence that the water quality of the river and the biology of the system have improved significantly and will continue to do so as further planned alleviation schemes are completed. This paper reviews the achievements, which have been made at the halfway stage in the 25- year multi-billion pound clean up campaign. Publication dateDecember 2001 MBC058 A collaborative partnership approach to integrated waterside revitilisation: the experience of the Mersey Basin Campaign in the Northwest of England (PhD thesis) The emergence of a new model of governance, bringing together governmental and non-governmental forces to achieve the policy goal, calls for a novel form of partnership driven by interdependence and networking between a range of actors. Although this approach is often described as ‘collaborative planning’, there is widespread acknowledgement that the ‘new’ practice has operational difficulties. This paper draws on the results of a research project investigating how a concrete example of collaborative partnerships, the Mersey Basin Campaign in North West of England, can operate for integrated waterside revitalisation. The Mersey Basin Campaign is a government-sponsored 25-year initiative that aims to improve water quality and the waterside environments of the Mersey Basin, a heavily urbanised area containing the two conurbations of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. In Australia, 1999, the Campaign won the Inaugural River Prize as the World’s best river-management initiative by far of environmental co-operation between all partners. From the experience of the Campaign, our research identified three key aspects of integrated waterside revitalisation; consensus building, facilitation and open participation. In carrying out the study, six detailed case studies within the Campaign’s activities have been investigated in the context of three key aspects. About 40 semi-structured interviews have been undertaken, and over 25 meetings and field works have been observed. Our research shows having shared ownership of the partnership, which can be motivated from feelings of achievements among member representatives are fundamental for effective partnership service delivery. It has been seen that once the representatives have ownership of the partnership, they act as a catalyst to stimulate and motivate action from their parent organisations. Publication dateApril 2000 MBC056 The Mersey Estuary - back from the dead? Solving a 150 year old problem The Mersey Estuary has suffered a legacy of abuse and neglect since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The discharge of effluents from manufacturing processes, together with wastewater from the burgeoning centres of population, resulted in the estuary gaining the unenviable reputation of bring one of the most polluted rivers in Europe. As a result of the long awaited remedial action, which has been implemented over the past fifteen years, there is now unequivocal evidence that the water quality of the river and the biology of the system have improved significantly and will continue to do so as further planned alleviation schemes are completed. This paper reviews the achievements, which have been made at the halfway stage in the 25-year multi-billion pound clean up campaign. Publication dateSeptember 2003 MBC041 Spotlight - Peter Batey Source talks to Professor Peter Batey of the University of Liverpool (later to become Chair of the Mersey Basin Campaign) about his involvement with the Mersey Estuary Management Plan, and the newly-formed Mersey Waterfront Regional Park.