PLATINA project shaped future of inland navigation in Europe
The Danube region plays an important role in the EU’s transport and energy infrastructure,
and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region will combine those sectors
with economic, environmental, social and cultural elements.
PLATINA project shaped future of inland navigation in Europe
As the four-year PLATINA project comes to a close, its achievements are proving that success for inland waterway transport is possible when all stakeholders participate.
While the first PLATINA project will end this autumn, its programmes for inland waterway transport will remain afloat.
The four-year PLATINA project will officially end this autumn, but the legacy of integrated stakeholder dialogue will continue. Project Coordinator Gert-Jan Muilerman reflects on the project’s past challenges and success.
Danube Watch: How were stakeholders
key to the success of
the PLATINA project?
Muilerman: We started PLATINA
in 2008 as a project with 23 partners
from nine different countries
and completely different backgrounds.
The one thing they all
had in common however was that
all partners had a genuine interest
in the project’s results. I think the
PLATINA project thereby created
an atmosphere and a platform on
which sometimes controversial
themes could be discussed in a non-controversial
and factual way. The participants and stakeholders
could develop and discuss content without having
to represent formal positions from the beginning.
That approach worked for themes related to not only
education and image building, but also infrastructure
development.
Danube Watch: How were stakeholders key to the
success of the PLATINA project?
Muilerman: The toughest nuts to crack are – at least in
hindsight – often the most rewarding activities. The
interdisciplinary good practice manual on environmentally
sustainable waterway planning certainly was such
a hard nut, but we did it. Starting bottom up with
small working group meetings, the ICPDR created a
setting in which different stakeholders could get to
know and understand each other’s motivation better.
Together they elaborated a joint product and came to
a common conclusion. Almost unnoticed as a side effect,
they learned to respect each other’s position and
expertise better.
Danube Watch: How were stakeholders key to the
success of the PLATINA project?
Muilerman: This spring we submitted a proposal for
a PLATINA II project. PLATINA II will - provided
that we pass the evaluation successfully - have a
very focused approach. Since the research budget
will be significantly smaller than for the first PLATINA
project, we had to make hard choices: we had
to focus on fewer items and had to reduce the size
of the consortium. One of the current priorities of
the European Commission is the modernisation and
greening of the inland waterway fleet. Keeping up
with the rapid technological improvements taking
place in the road sector will be the main challenge
for the years to come. PLATINA II will provide
technical expertise and create strategies to retain the
relative head start of inland navigation in terms of
emissions to air, and it will push logistical innovations
that will allow inland navigation to enter new
markets.
PLATINA
The PLATINA project is a consortium of 23 different players working to promote inland waterway transport in Europe. Organised along the lines of the European Commission’s Navigation and Inland Waterway Action and Development programme (NAIADES), PLATINA consists of five work packages in the following policy areas: markets, fleet, jobs and skills, image and infrastructure. PLATINA provides technical and organisational assistance in these fields of action by ensuring the active participation of key industrial stakeholders, associations and Member State administrations. The PLATINA Manual on Good Practices in Sustainable Waterway Planning can be ordered free of charge from the ICPDR ( vpcqe@haivraan.betgro.anneivnu@rdpci ).
