2004b). The PIP procedure in the planning of lake verbano

Abstract

Abstract: Lake Verbano, located in Northern Italy on the Swiss-Italian border, is a natural lake used as multipurpose reservoir. Its management primarily aims at the satisfaction of downstream water demand for hydropower generation and irrigation, and at the control of floods, both on the lake shores and on the outflowing river. Due to the increased frequency of flooding in the last two decades, the conflict between these objectives has become a burning issue. In 1999 the Verbano Project was financed (within the interreg ii-eu framework) with the purpose of evaluating and comparing different options to address this conflict. The project gave the opportunity to follow the adage “practise what you preach”and apply the Participatory Integrated Planning procedure (pip) presented in Castelletti and Soncini-Sessa [2004] to support the decisional process accordingly with the requirements of the eu Water Framework Directive (wfd) and the Integrated Water Resources Management (iwrm) paradigm