International waterway consulting and expertise
Euromapping has been providing consulting services and expert appraisals for the development of inland waterways and their uses since 1993. The qualifications of the founder, his team of collaborators and external partners mean that the company can undertake multidisciplinary studies covering either complete waterway networks (e.g. the Canal des Deux Mers, the rivers Lot and Baïse, the cross-border Franco-Belgian waterway network, the Rhône-Saône basin) or specific waterway sites such as boat harbours or urban sites enhanced by inland waterway.
The company being located in South-East France, most consulting assignments are conducted within the 8500km French waterway network, bu the expert David Edwards-May and his team also work throughout Europe on Interreg or other EU-funded projects on inland waterways.
The company is currently seeking to expand its network of experts/partners in order to improve the supply of information in other parts of the world. The choice – unusual for a commercial company – to develop its activity in this single field is motivated by our conviction that sustainable development imposes the maximum use of inland navigation, the most environment-friendly transport mode, not only on rivers that are navigable in their natural state, but also on canalised rivers and the canals that link them, to form integrated networks.
How are canals funded? Study for UK waterways body
Euromapping studied funding sources for inland waterways in several countries of Europe and North America. The client is a consultative body created by the UK Government, the Inland Waterways Advisory Council (IWAC), attached to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The objective was to identify the various sources of funding, covering both initial investments (as in major restoration projects) and running costs. The study - completed in June 2009 - shows that the percentage of costs covered by earned income is very low in most cases. Despite this, national and regional governments are maintaining funding levels sufficient to guarantee the ongoing operation, maintenance and renewal of this sensitive infrastructure. The research on the North American examples was conducted for Euromapping by The Canals Group.
