Decision-making and stakeholders' constructive participation in environmental projects

Integrated water resources management means making decisions and taking actions while focusing on how managing water. This study identifies the stakeholders participating in decision-making process of Jumilla-Villena aquifer (SE Spain), their objectives, and alternative actions that stakeholders should consider in the public participation project. If the system achieves the good quantitative groundwater status in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), future scenarios regarding pumping strategies may arise. These future scenarios will lead to different environmental impacts and socio-economic development of the region, and hence, to a different acceptance degree between stakeholders. This study establishes the foundations to perform a public participation project and contributes to define the best management policies for the groundwater system.