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Water Governance and Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition
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Water Governance and Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 September 2026 | Viewed by 1798

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mariusz Adynkiewicz-Piragas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Meteorology and Water Management National Research Institute (IMGW-PIB), Warszawa, Poland
Interests: water management; hydromorphology; water resources; environmental development; eco-engineering; hydrology; climate resilience and adaptation; blue-green infrastructure; environmental protection; environmental monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Leszek Kuchar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Mathematics, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
Interests: simulation models; weather generators; climate change; hydroclimate
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alicja Edyta Krzemińska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wrocław, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: environmental planning and management; sponge city; water resource management; water environment and aquatic ecosystem restoration, nature-based solutions; water quality assessment; water chemistry; blue-green infrastructure; wetland surface–groundwater interactions; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Anna Zaręba

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wrocław, pl. Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: blue-green infrastructure; water resources; climate adaptation; environmental protection; urban planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue represents the second edition of the series “Water Governance and Sustainable Water     Resources Management”, continuing the debate initiated in the first volume. In line with the OECD (2015), water governance is understood as a set of political, institutional, and administrative principles and practices, as well as formal and informal processes through which stakeholders articulate their expectations and needs in the field of water management. Complementing this, according to FAO and UNECE, water management should also address the requirements of the aquatic environment to ensure the protection of ecosystems.   Sustainable Water Management (SWM) refers to the use of water in ways that balance ecological, social, and economic objectives without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Effective SWM builds trust, fosters cross-sectoral cooperation, and ensures that water policies respond not only to societal demands but also to environmental priorities. At the same time, the intensification of extreme phenomena such as floods, droughts, and heavy rainfall highlights the need for adaptive approaches and resilience-building within existing water management systems.

We invite cutting-edge research on water management, with an emphasis on sustainable strategies for managing water resources under the pressures of climate change. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Innovative approaches to water governance;
  • Sustainable management of water resources in different sectors;
  • Climate change adaptation in water governance and policy;
  • Spatial planning in riverside, coastal, and urban areas;
  • Challenges of developing blue and green infrastructure in cities;
  • Aquatic ecosystem restoration and ecological governance;
  • Best practices in participatory and community-based water management;
  • Social and stakeholder engagement in decision-making;
  • Policy coherence, institutional frameworks, and cross-sectoral integration;
  • Transboundary and regional water governance;
  • Equity, justice, and inclusiveness in water governance;
  • Governance of the water–energy–food nexus. 

Dr. Mariusz Adynkiewicz-Piragas
Prof. Dr. Leszek Kuchar
Dr. Alicja Edyta Krzemińska
Dr. Anna Zaręba
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water management
  • sustainable water resources management
  • water governance and policies
  • climate change
  • climate change adaptation
  • water resources monitoring
  • stakeholder engagement
  • decision support systems
  • water-related tourism
  • blue-green infrastructure
  • aquatic ecosystem restoration
  • urban water planning
  • transboundary water management
  • water–energy–food nexus

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 1566 KB  
Article
Integrating Lean-Informed Continuous Improvement with Participatory Groundwater Governance: A PDCA Maturity Framework
by Aswathy Nair, Arathi M. Nair, Deepa Indira Nair and Geena Prasad
Water 2026, 18(6), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18060666 - 12 Mar 2026
Viewed by 474
Abstract
Groundwater management increasingly relies on participatory governance, yet most existing participatory frameworks lack mechanisms for iterative learning and continuous improvement and further lack structured operational indicators, systematic monitoring–feedback integration, and institutionalized mechanisms that embed participation within measurable governance cycles rather than treating it [...] Read more.
Groundwater management increasingly relies on participatory governance, yet most existing participatory frameworks lack mechanisms for iterative learning and continuous improvement and further lack structured operational indicators, systematic monitoring–feedback integration, and institutionalized mechanisms that embed participation within measurable governance cycles rather than treating it as a one-time procedural input. Conversely, Lean thinking, particularly the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA)-based continuous improvement principles, offers systematic methods for feedback and adaptation, but remains underexplored in environmental governance contexts. This paper bridges these traditions by conceptualizing participatory groundwater governance as a continuous improvement system, thus aligning community participation with PDCA logic in order to enhance adaptive management and sustainability outcomes. This study introduces a novel conceptual synthesis that integrates Lean management principles into participatory groundwater governance. In the current research, a methodological framework is proposed for integrating Lean thinking, particularly the Plan–Do–Check–Act cycle, with participatory groundwater governance, thus producing a Lean–participatory groundwater governance (Lean–PGG) framework. To conceptualize the framework, a set of eight rubric-based indicators was developed from a literature matrix of 54 peer-reviewed case studies selected through predefined inclusion criteria and multi-stage screening procedures, in order to evaluate participation, governance readiness, tool application, data use, monitoring, learning, and institutionalization. Each variable indicator was then scored on a three-point scale and categorized into the PDCA maturity levels The findings suggest a consistent heuristic trend across cases, characterized by comparatively stronger performance in the planning and implementation stages. A clear majority of studies scored in the moderate-to-high range (≥2.5/3) for the Plan and Do dimensions, whereas only a limited proportion demonstrated structured Check mechanisms and fewer still exhibited institutionalized Act processes. This asymmetry indicates persistent gaps in the consolidation of evaluation and feedback within participatory groundwater governance systems. This Lean–PGG framework thus demonstrates how continuous improvement mechanisms, i.e., feedback loops, reflection, and adaptive standardization, can strengthen participatory groundwater governance. The proposed framework offers a replicable and practical model for integrating continuous improvement into environmental and groundwater governance, fostering adaptive management, resource efficiency, and sustainability outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Governance and Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition)
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35 pages, 14920 KB  
Article
A Study on Blue Infrastructure Governance from the Issue-Appeal Divergence Perspective: An Empirical Analysis Based on LDA and BERTopic Models
by Bin Guo, Xinyu Wang, Yitong Hou, Wen Zhang, Bo Yang and Yuanyuan Shi
Water 2026, 18(2), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020148 - 6 Jan 2026
Viewed by 711
Abstract
Enhancing blue infrastructure is a critical pathway to strengthening urban water resilience and improving living environments. However, divergent perceptions and demands among multiple stakeholders may lead to misalignment between governance priorities and implementation pathways, thereby limiting governance effectiveness. Recognizing and addressing these differences [...] Read more.
Enhancing blue infrastructure is a critical pathway to strengthening urban water resilience and improving living environments. However, divergent perceptions and demands among multiple stakeholders may lead to misalignment between governance priorities and implementation pathways, thereby limiting governance effectiveness. Recognizing and addressing these differences has become essential for enhancing the performance of blue infrastructure governance and public satisfaction. Taking Shaanxi Province as a case study, this research systematically identifies core issues and disparities in public demands regarding water governance of blue infrastructure by analyzing governmental documents and public demands. The study aims to support a shift in governance strategy from a “provision-driven” to a “demand-driven” approach. A “topic identification–demand extraction–problem diagnosis” framework is adopted: first, the LDA model is used to analyze government platform texts and derive a macro-level thematic framework; subsequently, the BERTopic model is applied to mine public comments and identify micro-level demands; finally, the Jaccard similarity algorithm is employed to compare the two sets of topics, revealing the gap between policy provisions and public demands. The findings indicate the following: first, government agendas are highly concentrated on macro-level strategies (the topic “Integrated Water Ecosystem Management and Strategic Planning” accounts for 72.91% of weighting), whereas public appeals focus on specific, micro-level daily concerns such as infrastructure quality, drinking water safety, and drainage blockages; second, the Jaccard semantic correlation between the two is generally low (ranging from 6.05% to 14.62%), confirming a significant “topic-term overlap”; third, spatial analysis further reveals a geographical mismatch, particularly in core urban areas, which exhibit a “system-lag” type of misalignment characterized by high public demand but insufficient governmental attention. The research aims to clarify governance discrepancies, providing a basis for optimizing policy priorities and enabling targeted governance, while also offering insights for establishing a sustainable water resource management system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Governance and Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2nd Edition)
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