The Ythan Project: A case study of public participation in river restoration

The Ythan Project (2001-2005) was a catchment-scale partnership project based in northeast Scotland, which aimed to involve local people in a variety of river management related activities, including the implementation of a number of river restoration projects. The project originally developed from an increased public interest in the river in response to a perceived deterioration in water and habitat quality, most notably in terms of increased nutrient levels in the river waters, as a result of diffuse pollution. The extent of this public interest led to the project facilitating public participation throughout a series of actions designed to protect and enhance the river. This paper describes the project's actions to involve local people in the river restoration element of the Ythan Project and looks at some of the wider lessons learnt during this process and their relevance to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Europe.