ABSTRACT
Public participation is a term with many different meanings. In this guidebook we focus on participation in the policy process by the organized stakeholders and unorganized groups (the ‘general public’) as an instrument for Adaptive Water Management (AWM) (see Mostert, 2003). According to Pahl-Wostl et al (2008), ‘the transition to more adaptive and integrative water management requires a paradigm shift towards participatory management and collaborative decision-making’. Hence, the question is no longer whether we should make water management more participatory but how.
