Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.2 Detailed qualitative analysis of key barriers and bridges to water management solutions for adaptive capacity building across different scales in the
Swiss case
Major barriers and bridges to adaptation: Switzerland
Scale
Barriers
Bridges
Federal
level
Limited authority of the Federal government on environment and
water due to Federalism; also, resistance and aversion at lower
levels to federal level intervention weakens enforcement powers
of federal level legal provisions and policy guidelines for
sustainable water management
Strong connections with different actors (universities, research
institutes, and stakeholder platforms) and levels through
research partnerships on climate change and other
developing trends
Tactical use of financial incentives and subsidies through the
Neue Finanz Ausgleich to encourage the implementation of
federal legal provisions for sustainable water management
practices, water efficiency improvements, along with
increased participation and the ecological improvement of
water management (infrastructural) projects for the increased
resilience of waterways
Capacity of non-state actors (environmental NGOs etc.) is
strong, with strong legal instrument to influence law and
decision making (Verbandbeschwerderecht), which has
allowed for the integration of longer term ecological and
climate related issues to be taken into account in both
legislation and federal policies
Integration of ecological considerations into the 1991 WPA
moved federal legislation away from a purely technical focus
to one based on managing the resilience of the hydrological
system (incl environmental flows and revitalization projects)
No legislative or regulatory concept of managing water resources at
the watershed level, and rules or ordinances for management of
conflicts and scarcity are only rudimentary, since there have not
been many instances of water conflicts to date
Federal legislation across water relevant acts (WPA, FPA, EPA,
Hydropower Laws etc.) are neither integrated nor aligned, so
while the systems are connected, the laws affecting them are not
Enforcement of federal legislation, particularly in relation to water
quality impacts from nitrates and pesticides are not very
consequent and coherent; additionally, the water quality provi-
sions in WPA are not aligned with the precautionary principle (e.g.
as REACH laws are) but mainly focussed on end of pipe solutions
 
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