Stakeholder engagement in water resource management: a systematic review of definitions, practices, and outcomes

Hannah Whitley, Elyzabeth W. Engle, Kathryn J. Brasier, Weston M. Eaton, Mark E. Burbach, Lara B. Fowler, Sara Bonilla Anariba, Emma Butzler, Kathryn Dixon, Anil Kumar Chaudhary and Walt Whitmer

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2025, vol. 68, issue 11, 2523-2544

Abstract: In the past three decades, a paradigm shift has elevated stakeholder engagement in natural resource governance, emphasizing collaborative approaches for effective decision-making. While academic literature increasingly endorses engagement methods, a gap persists in our knowledge of the methods and outcomes of such processes. To address this disparity, we systematically reviewed 261 peer-reviewed studies on stakeholder engagement in water resource management from 2000 to 2019. Analyses find that data-driven studies of engagement processes and outcomes from engagement processes are limited in the peer-reviewed literature. Our findings underscore the need for consistent vocabulary and theoretical frameworks and increased empirical evaluation to enhance our understanding of stakeholder engagement processes and outcomes in water resource management. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings and synthesizing the methods suggested by the general literature for creating more inclusive, replicable, and impactful engagement-related research and practice in the future.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09640568.2024.2323611 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:jenpmg:v:68:y:2025:i:11:p:2523-2544

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CJEP20

DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2024.2323611

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management is currently edited by Dr Neil Powe, Dr Ken Willis and George Bill Page

More articles in Journal of Environmental Planning and Management from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().