Author(s)

Dirk Huchtemann, Manuel Frondel

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In this paper, we develop a methodological approach to increase the efficiency of watershed management approaches that focuses on the reduction of diffuse water pollution. The basic idea is that the efficiency may be improved by identifying and constituting homogenous groups of contiguous administrative units of a watershed, which jointly implement water pollution reduction measures. Homogeneity means similarity of group members with respect to a set of local and environmental characteristics, such as the degree of pollution and abatement costs. We empirically apply our methodology to the watershed of the German river Ems and identify homogenous groups of contiguous administrative units using cluster analysis methods implemented in a Geographical Information System.

Diffuse Water Pollution, Environmental Federalism, Cluster Analysis, EU Water Framework Directive

D. Huchtemann and M. Frondel, "Increasing the Efficiency of Transboundary Water Management: A Regionalization Approach," Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 2 No. 6, 2010, pp. 501-506. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2010.26057.