This report provides a new and broad reference framework and set of guidelines for the development of sustainable infrastructure for recreational navigation on inland waterways. The need for this document stemmed from the observations made in the Terms of Reference. A key initial focus was the potential conflicts of use between commercial and recreational navigation, the associated risks and their possible mitigation by providing adapted infrastructure for smaller craft using the same waterways.
Long-distance navigation is an observable trend, often corresponding to lifetime choices, making this an international issue. Development is more successful – both for the economy of the host regions and for the users themselves – where a common set of basic services is provided, and where regulations are compatible or aligned across different jurisdictions. This is clearly the objective of the European Commission with its directives applicable to recreational craft. Common standards give confidence, so that both entrepreneurs and private individuals are encouraged to invest, and then feel comfortable with conditions of navigation while under way, and with the conditions of maintenance and operation of mooring facilities when leaving their boats in permanent or temporary berths.
The case studies were selected to cover a broad range of situations and waterways systems, to provide additional value. Sharing the waterway with other users, especially commercial navigation, is critical and has a significant impact on the provision of infrastructure for smaller craft. River cruising ships are a new form of commercial navigation, requiring their own facilities, notably in locations of value for tourism, as in the case of Lyon. The case of the Erie Canal is of interest because of the focus on making the waterway available and user-friendly not only for traditional cruising in larger boats, but also for non-powered craft. The case of Alton Marina on the Mississippi River highlights the value of adapting redundant commercial navigation infrastructure, to develop boating facilities at a reduced cost, along with other benefits. Ghent is a case of smaller, commercially redundant waterways in the city centre having been continuously maintained after they were bypassed by the high-capacity Ghent Circular Canal.
Waterways that currently see very little or even no recreational use are represented by lakes and the Karun River in western Iran, while the City of Amsterdam sees such intensive use of its canals that the question of sustainability is clearly posed, potentially leading to guidelines in the opposite direction to that initially intended: reducing the numbers of boats or regulating their use, possibility extending to the ‘rewilding’ of sections of river or canal banks.
A challenge specific to the River Danube and the Vode Vojvodine canal system is to develop concepts and structures that will effectively give a boost to tourism use of the navigable networks, while being sensitive to the limits of the actual market for use of these waters, whether for private boats or passenger boat operators.
Lake Inle in Myanmar has become an international tourism destination, with boats as the only means of transport. The concern is regulating the use of the navigable waters by boats of all kinds, to limit the risks of environmental damage. The question of sustainability of the lake channels and canals as itineraries for recreational boating is raised.
The guidelines thus cover the broadest range of situations encountered, building on the work in this area in previous PIANC Working Group reports. Effective planning and design means carefully identifying interactions with other waterway activities, suggesting how these may be managed most effectively.
Reference to the parallel Working Group Report (WG 228) on the ‘Extended Values of Low- Use Inland Waterways’ is also recommended for the multidisciplinary approach that needs to be applied to derive the maximum value from recreational use without damaging the environment.
