Editors’ introduction

Abstract

Dear readers, Our fourth issue for 2023 is again composed of articles from the open submissions assembled under two thematic categories: water governance and transboundary waters. In addition we have included an article from the International Water Resources Association’s (IWRA) Publication Mentoring Initiative. We close the issue with two book reviews. Under the usual category water governance, we have included four articles offering good geographical diversity and a variety in the topics. Guba et al. study the sustainability of multiple-use water systems (MUS). This is a topic we have already published on for the case of Nepal (Clement et al. 2019; Raj et al. 2022). The focus here is on two rural communities in north-western Ghana, which have benefitted from a MUS project. MUS is designed and managed to consider the several uses of water; it focuses on expanding access to water for domestic and productive uses such as small-scale agriculture or microenterprises. In theory, the MUS approach involves low financial costs and moderate investment. The authors confirm the potential of the MUS approach to improve livelihoods in rural Ghana. It has enhanced traditional sources of livelihood and created new opportunities. Unfortunately in the studied communities, the MUS approach did not last, leading to social disruptions. The reason, as is often the case, is the lack of capacities to adopt new approaches that are introduced. According to the authors, capacity-building is required for technical support and creating innovative fund-raising strategies. With Krpesova and Raska we move to Central Europe and, more precisely, to Czechia. In Europe, floods represent the most serious natural hazards, and Czechia is one of the most affected countries. The authors present a study of the municipal flood plans that represent the most decentralized flood planning documents that complement the obligatory flood risk management plans. The European Union Floods Directive of 2007 aimed at regulating flood risk and has stimulated a shift from traditional flood protection towards holistic and adaptive flood risk management. The new approach represents a challenge for policymaking and risk governance schemes, and requires a collaborative multistakeholder process calling for the integration of spatial planning and water management in flood risk management. Based on this evolution, the authors have explored the processes of drafting the municipal flood plans in Czechia and the practical value assigned to these plans by municipal representatives. According to their findings, the municipalities are well motivated to draft flood plans but have limited capacities. Collaborative efforts remain weak, and in the end the flood plans, which are inadequate, lie unused. There is no doubt that the situation needs improvement with more integration of local and national expectations in a more collaborative process. WATER INTERNATIONAL 2023, VOL. 48, NO. 4, 441–443 https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2023.2229134