made accessible to the farmers by also considering the legal requirements of creating and sharing such data. For instance, providing regular information to the
farmers about the hydrological situation in their plots could directly increase their
awareness about the drought conditions. It is also important to establish clear rules
as to when and why farmers are not allowed to withdraw groundwater and/or
surface water. For instance, decreasing groundwater levels is a local phenomenon:
If the groundwater level drops in a field, it goes back to normal in a few weeks
when it rains. With the new irrigation policy, farmers are not allowed to pump
groundwater near a nature area, as this will negatively affect the groundwater level
in that area. Farmers can easily understand and agree with such rules when the
reasoning behind them and their relevance is communicated. Establishment of such
rules would also indirectly contribute to another governance issue, namely the
balancing of supply management with demand management, given that the current
functioning of the water system is dominated by a supply-oriented approach. As the
impacts of climate change are likely to put pressure on the availability and
accessibility of freshwater resources, the management of the water demanded by
farmers would become a major concern regarding the sustainable use of water in
irrigation. Effective implementation of measures, such as the monitoring of notifications for groundwater extraction and the metering of water withdrawals at the
field level, could contribute to the management of farmers’ water demand.
8.6.4 Enable the Active Involvement of Non-governmental
Organizations Towards Creating Shared
Responsibilities
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), such as environmental NGOs and
farmer organizations have positive intentions for improving the current situation,
yet they lack the mechanisms and resources for representing their interests at higher
decision-making levels. For instance, the LTO lacks the technical capacity to
contribute to the debates on climate change in general, and drought in particular.
Similarly, the NMO represents all the local NCOs in Overijssel, but its limited
capacity in terms of financial and human resources leads to underrepresentation at
the regional level. Their involvement is further threatened by the cuts made in the
funds allocated for directly participating in relevant projects or initiatives. Active
involvement of environmental NGOs and farmer organizations can broaden the
perspectives for understanding drought and create more willingness to share risks.
Despite the expected benefits of increasing the involvement of NGOs, it is also
acknowledged that many questions regarding division of risks and responsibilities
would need to be addressed by changing nature of the involvement of these actors.
The improvement of information sharing and communication mechanisms among
the actors would be recommended for facilitating a fair and clear distribution of
responsibilities. Given that the water governance system is open to designing new
178
G. Özerol et al.
farmers about the hydrological situation in their plots could directly increase their
awareness about the drought conditions. It is also important to establish clear rules
as to when and why farmers are not allowed to withdraw groundwater and/or
surface water. For instance, decreasing groundwater levels is a local phenomenon:
If the groundwater level drops in a field, it goes back to normal in a few weeks
when it rains. With the new irrigation policy, farmers are not allowed to pump
groundwater near a nature area, as this will negatively affect the groundwater level
in that area. Farmers can easily understand and agree with such rules when the
reasoning behind them and their relevance is communicated. Establishment of such
rules would also indirectly contribute to another governance issue, namely the
balancing of supply management with demand management, given that the current
functioning of the water system is dominated by a supply-oriented approach. As the
impacts of climate change are likely to put pressure on the availability and
accessibility of freshwater resources, the management of the water demanded by
farmers would become a major concern regarding the sustainable use of water in
irrigation. Effective implementation of measures, such as the monitoring of notifications for groundwater extraction and the metering of water withdrawals at the
field level, could contribute to the management of farmers’ water demand.
8.6.4 Enable the Active Involvement of Non-governmental
Organizations Towards Creating Shared
Responsibilities
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), such as environmental NGOs and
farmer organizations have positive intentions for improving the current situation,
yet they lack the mechanisms and resources for representing their interests at higher
decision-making levels. For instance, the LTO lacks the technical capacity to
contribute to the debates on climate change in general, and drought in particular.
Similarly, the NMO represents all the local NCOs in Overijssel, but its limited
capacity in terms of financial and human resources leads to underrepresentation at
the regional level. Their involvement is further threatened by the cuts made in the
funds allocated for directly participating in relevant projects or initiatives. Active
involvement of environmental NGOs and farmer organizations can broaden the
perspectives for understanding drought and create more willingness to share risks.
Despite the expected benefits of increasing the involvement of NGOs, it is also
acknowledged that many questions regarding division of risks and responsibilities
would need to be addressed by changing nature of the involvement of these actors.
The improvement of information sharing and communication mechanisms among
the actors would be recommended for facilitating a fair and clear distribution of
responsibilities. Given that the water governance system is open to designing new
178
G. Özerol et al.