Jacko van Ast

Jacko van Ast is an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, specializing in institutional and legal dimensions of international water management within multi-disciplinary teams addressing complex institutional change processes.

Education:

• Master of Dutch Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam (1986), with triple specialization in civil law, business law, and environmental regulation; thesis focused on enforcement of environmental policy developed during an internship at the Environmental Federation of the Province of South-Holland.

Research Interests:

Van Ast's work centers on water governance, environmental law, and sustainable development across transboundary contexts. His research critically examines how legal frameworks interact with institutional arrangements in water management, emphasizing public participation mechanisms, expert knowledge integration, and adaptive governance for flood risk mitigation and climate adaptation. Key case studies span the Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Poland, and South Africa, revealing how traditional institutions like Indonesia's 'Adat' systems contribute to sustainable common-pool resource management while confronting modern governance challenges.

Publication Trends:

Analysis of his 114 publications (2023-2011) reveals consistent focus on institutional innovation in water governance, particularly urban lake systems and transboundary river basins. His work demonstrates evolving methodology from legal analysis toward participatory action research, integrating stakeholder values with technical expertise. Recurring themes include co-valuation of flood risks, institutional barriers to sustainable water management, and the role of cultural values in shaping governance outcomes across diverse socio-political contexts.

Scientific awards: None documented in source materials.

Advising and Grants:

While supervising at least one graduate student (per 'Supervised Work' notation), Van Ast has coordinated the environmental infrastructure specialization for IHS-EUR's Master on Urban Development and led the pre-master program for Public Administration. His grant portfolio includes international projects on South African water law, Polish flood management systems, and Dutch-French-German water regulation, often involving multi-stakeholder partnerships with governmental agencies and NGOs to address practical governance challenges.

Labs and Teams:

He operates within the Erasmus Centre for Sustainability and Management (ESM) and Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS-EUR), collaborating with interdisciplinary teams combining environmental scientists, legal scholars, and policy analysts. Current initiatives focus on integrating traditional knowledge systems with modern governance frameworks for climate-resilient water management in rapidly urbanizing regions.