Transboundary governance and the problem of scale for the interpretation of the European Water Framework Directive at the Dutch-German border

River Basin Management (RBM) requires cooperation within a catchment area of all relevant stakeholders. When such a catchment crosses national boundaries, the complexity of this cooperation process increases dramatically. This originates from cultural, political and institutional differences. These processes are analysed for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive(WFD) along the Dutch-German boundary, particularly the river basin district Delta Rhine, in which the Netherlands is collaborating with the German States North-Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony. From the perspective of governance it is shown that the difficulty lies in its multi-level, multi-actor and multi-sectoral dimensions. Each level has its own specific problems and therefore needs its own specific approach and, at the same time, an overall view is needed to arrive at integrated results. Detailed descriptions are given of observed differences and similarities between the countries. It is concluded that transboundary governance is not an easy task, but that it is a real possibility for making joint agreements on a catchment scale.