In the urbanised delta of the Netherlands, it is important to take water-related and environmental impacts fully into account when deciding on socio- economic activities. This is the aim behind Water Assessment (WA). Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This thesis is centred on a comparative research of these policy instruments.
The method that is used in this thesis is positioned at the intersection of theory and practice. It is a method underpinned, philosophically, in Aristotle’s phronesis and apagoge. With its focus on governmental decision- making, the research can be positioned mainly in the fields of planning and public administration. The thesis ends by offering practical contributions to the further development of WA, EIA and SEA.
Judith van Dijk has been employed as an advisor at the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management. As such, she has worked on the implementation of a new, spatial approach to water management in general, and Water Assessment in particular. In the period 2004-2008, she combined her job with this PhD research at Wageningen University.
