7
sources of contamination (e.g. hazardous chemicals) and the use of natural resources
(e.g. commercial fi sheries), there are now strong policy ambitions to achieve multisector integration through approaches such as EAM , integrated ecosystem assessments (IEA) and marine spatial planning (MSP) (Douvere 2008 ; Karlsson et al.
2011 ; Linke et al. 2014 ; Udovyk and Gilek 2014 ; Walther and Möllmann 2014 ).
Hence, understanding the processes and outcomes of Baltic Sea environmental governance requires that several multilevel and multi-sector interactions and associated
challenges are simultaneously considered.
First, at the national level environmental governance may vary considerably
among the states surrounding the Baltic Sea, which complicates international collaboration (e.g. Gilek et al. 2013 ). In the Baltic Sea region, we fi nd countries such
as Sweden that have gained a reputation as environmental pioneers since the 1970s
and countries such as Poland and the three Baltic states that started to develop their
environmental policy with a background of having been centrally planned
economies.
Second, beyond the national level, Baltic Sea environmental governance is
affected not only by global and EU agreements (such as the MARPOL Convention ,
EU regulations , directives and policies) but also by the regional international
Helsinki Convention and its Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) which came into effect
from 2007 (HELCOM 2007 ). Even though this regionalisation of marine governance at the level of the entire Baltic Sea has the potential to improve multilevel
coordination and cooperation by, for example, distinguishing between measures
that can be implemented at international, EU and national levels, the successful
harmonisation and coordination of actions still remain to be done (Gilek and Kern
2011 ). It is also possible that differences in, for example, path dependency , power
relations and knowledge base will lead to differences in effi ciency and outcomes of
environmental governance at the regional level in various sectors (e.g. fi sheries,
shipping , agriculture , etc., cf. Linke et al. 2014 ).
Third, the Europeanisation of the Baltic Sea has developed quickly. This is most
prominent in the area of fi sheries as witnessed by the dominance of the EU Common
Fisheries Policy (CFP) (Linke et al. 2014 ), but includes a proliferating body of EU
legislation affecting various aspects of the marine environment under the guidance of
EAM (cf. Raakjær and Tatenhove 2014 ). However, there is a division between EU
policies that aim primarily at achieving good environmental status, such as the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) , and those aiming to regulate pollutants (e.g. the REACH chemicals regulation) and the use of natural resources, such as
fi sh (e.g. EU CFP). This points to the need to achieve integration of various EU policies, since different policy objectives may lead to contradictions and confl icts
between, for example, fi sheries and marine nature conservation (De Santo 2015 ).
All these aspects are explored in this book. A particular focus is, however, placed
on the macro-regional Baltic Sea level, because the most severe environmental
issues in the Baltic Sea such as eutrophication and chemical pollution affect the
Baltic ecosystem at large spatial scales that transgress national borders (HELCOM
2010 ). Moreover, national and local management measures are in practice often
based on decisions at supranational levels. It has been argued that analyses of
1 Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea: Identifying Key Challenges,…
sources of contamination (e.g. hazardous chemicals) and the use of natural resources
(e.g. commercial fi sheries), there are now strong policy ambitions to achieve multisector integration through approaches such as EAM , integrated ecosystem assessments (IEA) and marine spatial planning (MSP) (Douvere 2008 ; Karlsson et al.
2011 ; Linke et al. 2014 ; Udovyk and Gilek 2014 ; Walther and Möllmann 2014 ).
Hence, understanding the processes and outcomes of Baltic Sea environmental governance requires that several multilevel and multi-sector interactions and associated
challenges are simultaneously considered.
First, at the national level environmental governance may vary considerably
among the states surrounding the Baltic Sea, which complicates international collaboration (e.g. Gilek et al. 2013 ). In the Baltic Sea region, we fi nd countries such
as Sweden that have gained a reputation as environmental pioneers since the 1970s
and countries such as Poland and the three Baltic states that started to develop their
environmental policy with a background of having been centrally planned
economies.
Second, beyond the national level, Baltic Sea environmental governance is
affected not only by global and EU agreements (such as the MARPOL Convention ,
EU regulations , directives and policies) but also by the regional international
Helsinki Convention and its Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) which came into effect
from 2007 (HELCOM 2007 ). Even though this regionalisation of marine governance at the level of the entire Baltic Sea has the potential to improve multilevel
coordination and cooperation by, for example, distinguishing between measures
that can be implemented at international, EU and national levels, the successful
harmonisation and coordination of actions still remain to be done (Gilek and Kern
2011 ). It is also possible that differences in, for example, path dependency , power
relations and knowledge base will lead to differences in effi ciency and outcomes of
environmental governance at the regional level in various sectors (e.g. fi sheries,
shipping , agriculture , etc., cf. Linke et al. 2014 ).
Third, the Europeanisation of the Baltic Sea has developed quickly. This is most
prominent in the area of fi sheries as witnessed by the dominance of the EU Common
Fisheries Policy (CFP) (Linke et al. 2014 ), but includes a proliferating body of EU
legislation affecting various aspects of the marine environment under the guidance of
EAM (cf. Raakjær and Tatenhove 2014 ). However, there is a division between EU
policies that aim primarily at achieving good environmental status, such as the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) , and those aiming to regulate pollutants (e.g. the REACH chemicals regulation) and the use of natural resources, such as
fi sh (e.g. EU CFP). This points to the need to achieve integration of various EU policies, since different policy objectives may lead to contradictions and confl icts
between, for example, fi sheries and marine nature conservation (De Santo 2015 ).
All these aspects are explored in this book. A particular focus is, however, placed
on the macro-regional Baltic Sea level, because the most severe environmental
issues in the Baltic Sea such as eutrophication and chemical pollution affect the
Baltic ecosystem at large spatial scales that transgress national borders (HELCOM
2010 ). Moreover, national and local management measures are in practice often
based on decisions at supranational levels. It has been argued that analyses of
1 Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea: Identifying Key Challenges,…