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Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM) operate within complex environmental and governance contexts where agricultural practices, water management objectives and economic considerations intersect. For this reason, stakeholder engagement is essential to ensure relevance, feasibility and long-term uptake.
Within OPTAIN, engagement was structured through stakeholder mapping and Multi-Actor Reference Groups (MARG), ensuring that modelling results, optimisation analyses and socio-economic assessments were discussed in light of local realities. This approach strengthened the connection between scientific evidence and territorial decision contexts, without assuming regulatory or policy-making roles.
By integrating perspectives from water authorities, agricultural stakeholders and regional planners, the project enhanced understanding of how NSWRM align with environmental objectives while remaining economically and socially viable.