Linking expert evaluations with public consultation to design water policy at the watershed level

In view of the increasing demand for public participation in public affairs, the European Water Framework Directive requires public consultation when drawing up watershed management plans. Implementation of this Directive requires the development of methods for linking the scientific and technical knowledge of experts with the viewpoints expressed by local actors. The objective of this paper is to propose a public consultation method that can be used as early as the preliminary assessment of river basin characteristics, defined by the Directive, and at the scale of sub-watersheds that make up the district. A case study of a watershed in southern France illustrates this method.