Sustainable water resources governance developments: cross-sectorial policies and societal practice

The governance process of surface water resources in Latvia, particularly, in small river catchment areas and lake lands, also being Natura 2000 territories, was the main foci for two studies described. Previous traditional research done in related fields in Latvia has been focusing on water studies/protection and nature protection, diverse agriculture sector developments, but often mono-disciplinary and very limited on governance studies, particularly, cross-sectorial governance of the local-regional water/lake/nature territorial socio-ecological system, and also on general and environmental-water-nature governance communications, especially to have all complementary communication instrument groups (information, education/training, participation and pro-environmental behavior). For this extended abstract/paper, we are to recognize still not sufficiently developed cross-sectorial understanding and its top-down management applications, but also a kind of partially compensatory instrument - existing bottom-up management applications with more cross-sectorial practice and also innovative participatory management qualities. Communities and local municipalities, having limited national support and capacities limitations, developed different specific management approaches for water resources and also Natura 2000 territories governance – they could be called as non-governmental management approach and also tourism communication management approach, where lakes etc. are managed by NGOs established by the municipalities or combined with inhabitants and anglers, being the issue studied during these research projects.