When reflecting about the origin and the transition of the Dutch Water Boards, one should realise that they originated in the west of what we call at present the Netherlands, an area predominantly near or under mean sea level.
From the ninth century onwards, large peat areas had been drained for agriculture. As drainage in peat areas causes land subsidence, flooding and the discharge of excess water became important issues. The local governments, the so called ambachten, singly or together, had to build dykes and construct drainage canals Sometimes they dammed rivers, which minimised the total length of dykes to be constructed and freed the downstream area from water from upstream, thus facilitating drainage of their areas. In the upstream areas, however, this construction of dams caused very serious flooding problems.
Gradually, the scale of the water management problems became so large that the local communities could no longer solve their management problems on their own or with some neighbouring communities. Thus, from around the twelfth century regional water boards were established, being regional government bodies with specific water management tasks. These tasks were related to relatively minor infrastructure works with regional benefits.
In addition to regional water boards and the ambachten, also local water boards were established, in the west of the Netherlands called ‘polders’. Their task was to improve local drainage, first by constructing local drainage canals discharging as far downstream as possible, and as from the early 15th century onwards by building and operating windmills. Their size could differ greatly, and many transgressed the borders of the ambachten. As their activities could influence the regional drainage systems, the regional water boards gradually began to supervise the local water boards.
Functional (specific) Government - In the Middle Ages the relation between the functional water boards and general government was close. Local water management was the responsibility of the local landowners, supervised by the local government. The construction and maintenance of the regional infrastructure was the joint responsibility of the benefiting local communities, supervised by the regional water board.
In the 16th century changes took place. The regional water boards started to do more work themselves, the costs of which they recovered from the beneficiaries.
After 1798 the functional water management and the general government separated more. Due to old charters the independence of the water boards remained secure. Provincial supervision over the water boards functioning, however, became more intense with the increase of the influence of the provinces as general government institutions for land and water issues.
Concentration of water boards - In 1953 in the Netherlands 2544 water boards existed. Then, on 1 February of that year, a combination of spring tide and a strong storm raised the water level in the south-west of the Netherlands to a level 0.57 meter higher than the highest level previously recorded. An area of 200,000 hectares was flooded and 1835 people drowned. The maintenance of the dykes in the affected area had been the responsibility of mostly very small water boards without much technical expertise and financial possibilities. Consequently, the dykes had been in a bad state of repair. To solve the problem, many water boards in the south-west of the Netherlands merged after 1953.
Concentration was also necessary because the scale and complexity of water management increased. Water quality became a new object for water management. Water quality management required expertise that could not be efficiently developed by small water boards. The solution chosen was to give the responsibility for water quality management to the provinces, which could delegate the task to existing (bigger) water boards or to newly formed water quality water boards.
The last stimulus for concentration came from 1985 onwards from the introduction of the concept of ‘Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)’. In this approach water systems (surface and groundwater quality and quantity, banks, river bed and technical infrastructure) have to be managed as a whole, and nature gets more attention. This increased the demands on the water boards in terms of required expertise even further. Moreover, the idea became popular that water quantity management and water quality management should be in one hand (Ministry of Transport and Water Management, 1985, 1989, 1990). This promoted further mergers between small water quantity water boards and between water quantity and water quality water boards, resulting in about 27 water boards in 2003.
Appraisal - You may say that the water boards in the Netherlands are unique phenomena that survived the ages. Which factors prompted the evolution of these organisations so crucial for the integrated management of water resources in the Netherlands?
They originated where needed and transformed to changing conditions and concepts. The boards were spearheaded by influential people with authority based on the general approval of the public. No consensus meant/means flooding and starvation. The boards have always been financed by the stakeholders and the level of contribution is in relation with the level of interest. The right of say is also in line with the level of contribution. The ‘existential slogan’ of the Dutch water boards is ‘interest, payment, right of say’. Their functions have developed in line with changes in society and changes in physical circumstances and requirements for efficiency and effectiveness.

Actknowlegement

Associte Prof Mukand S Babel and Dr S M Wahid, Asian Institute of Technology

Ronakarn, RECOFTC-The Centre for People and Forest, Thailand