Public Participation in the Implementation in Italy of the Water-Related Directives

Public participation is one of the most important trends in international environmental law in the last 30 years, since the adoption of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration. The European Union’s acquis has been influenced by this trend so that today many of its directives and other instruments contain provisions on the need to conduct public participation. In the water sector, the key legislative sources of public participation (that includes information supply, consultation processes and active involvement) are Article 14 of the Water Framework Directive and Article 9(3) of the Floods Directive. The chapter explores the way Italy has implemented these provisions with a reference to practical cases and by considering the relevant levels of government (State, river basin districts and Regions). Special attention is also devoted to the study of the so-called “river contracts” negotiated between institutions and the general public – a practice that has now a solid history in Italy.