9789087045128.pinn.LR_DeWilt DEF.indb

The main question addressed in this research is how the governance of water management developed in Delfland in the sixteenth century, both locally and regionally, and how we can explain the institutional changes that occurred. The research into the development of water management governance in Delfland in the sixteenth century has yielded a number of conclusions on the administrative relations between local and regional water management and managers, on the economic background of local officials, and on residents’ participation in the decision-making process. These findings are explained with reference to the soil condition, the organisation of water management, how land was divided between land-users, the design of the institutions that were responsible for water management, the economic background of shire officials and residents’ participation in decision-making. Conflicts between the shires (ambachten) and the regional water board trustees play a major role in this research, as they provide more insight into how water governance functioned in practice and the nature of the relationship between the different parties. In addition to the geographical conditions that necessitated the development of an organised system of water management, the actions of polder landholders also had considerable influence on the developments. The division between freehold and leasehold and the amount of land owned (freehold and leasehold) thereby played a key role in shaping attitudes towards water board trustees. Governance arrangements and the participatory culture were also important elements. As regional water management was divided across two layers of governance, namely policy at the regional level and implementation at the local level, landholders were able to make a substantial contribution to developments at the regional administrative level of the dike-reeve and water board trustees. The interrelated factors that affected this can be classified in terms of the geographical, economic and administrative conditions. During the research, I considered geographical developments, which were continuously present in the background, to be a constant. They were manifest in the constantly rising groundwater level and the threat posed by the water encircling the polder. These water-related threats often played a major role in decision-making and thereby contributed to the development of more advanced water management and the increasing professionalisation of water governance. The results of the research into the relations between these different factors and the development of regional water management governance in Delfland are set out below. ▶