27
other hand, there might be goal confl icts or synergies at similar levels in the
environmental governance landscape. In the following, we will fi rst describe and
then analyse the situation in the case of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.
2.3.1 Key International and Regional Governance Structures
The European Union’s importance in the Baltic Sea region has increased signifi -
cantly over time, not least after the 2004 EU enlargement (Kern and Löffelsend
2008 ; Kern et al. 2008 ; Tynkkynen et al. 2014 ). The EU has a unique capacity to
legislate and set supranational demands in the fi eld of environmental protection that
are often binding for EU member states. The EU legislation of most importance for
mitigating eutrophication in the Baltic Sea consists of WFD and MSFD , as well as
the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive ( UWWTD ) (EEC 1991a ) and the
Nitrates Directive (ND) (EEC 1991b ).
The 1991 UWWTD focuses on the collection, treatment and discharge of urban
wastewater and on the treatment and discharge of wastewater from certain industrial sectors.
3 The ND from the same year instead aims to protect natural ground and
surface water quality from nitrate pollution caused by agriculture and is thus one of
the key instruments for mitigating eutrophication.
On a broader scale, WFD renewed the EU’s water policy in the year 2000, and it
covers the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters
and groundwater. The ultimate aim is to prevent further deterioration and to achieve
a “good status”, which includes eutrophication parameters of all European waters
by 2015 by the help of River Basin Management Plans . The watercourses in the EU
are divided into separate water units according to the natural geographical and
hydrological conditions. MSFD covers the entire marine area, outside the coastal
reach of the WFD. MSFD was adopted in 2008 for a more effective protection of
the marine environment and as a central component of the then emerging integrated
maritime policy of the EU. It thus complements WFD for offshore waters and sets
out similar goals (“good environmental status”), albeit with a deadline 5 years later
(2020). The implementation rests mainly with member states , which are supposed
to collaborate in marine regions, one of them being the Baltic Sea. MSFD is explicitly stated to be based on the ecosystem approach to management.
Last but defi nitely not least in this context, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) is central for the nutrient impact from crop to livestock production (see, e.g.
Chen et al. 2014 ; Schumacher 2012 ). After a so-called health check in 2008, CAP
became a target for contested reform between 2010 and 2013, with one among several aims being “greening the CAP”, the latter based on studies showing obvious
3 Related to wastewater treatment, both HELCOM and EU have taken decisions and measures
against phosphates in, e.g. detergents, which have led to environmental improvements but also to
criticism for fi lling an “alibi function” and consequently drawing attention away from other more
complex issues (see further Schumacher 2012 ).
2 Eutrophication and the Ecosystem Approach to Management: A Case Study…
other hand, there might be goal confl icts or synergies at similar levels in the
environmental governance landscape. In the following, we will fi rst describe and
then analyse the situation in the case of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.
2.3.1 Key International and Regional Governance Structures
The European Union’s importance in the Baltic Sea region has increased signifi -
cantly over time, not least after the 2004 EU enlargement (Kern and Löffelsend
2008 ; Kern et al. 2008 ; Tynkkynen et al. 2014 ). The EU has a unique capacity to
legislate and set supranational demands in the fi eld of environmental protection that
are often binding for EU member states. The EU legislation of most importance for
mitigating eutrophication in the Baltic Sea consists of WFD and MSFD , as well as
the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive ( UWWTD ) (EEC 1991a ) and the
Nitrates Directive (ND) (EEC 1991b ).
The 1991 UWWTD focuses on the collection, treatment and discharge of urban
wastewater and on the treatment and discharge of wastewater from certain industrial sectors.
3 The ND from the same year instead aims to protect natural ground and
surface water quality from nitrate pollution caused by agriculture and is thus one of
the key instruments for mitigating eutrophication.
On a broader scale, WFD renewed the EU’s water policy in the year 2000, and it
covers the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters
and groundwater. The ultimate aim is to prevent further deterioration and to achieve
a “good status”, which includes eutrophication parameters of all European waters
by 2015 by the help of River Basin Management Plans . The watercourses in the EU
are divided into separate water units according to the natural geographical and
hydrological conditions. MSFD covers the entire marine area, outside the coastal
reach of the WFD. MSFD was adopted in 2008 for a more effective protection of
the marine environment and as a central component of the then emerging integrated
maritime policy of the EU. It thus complements WFD for offshore waters and sets
out similar goals (“good environmental status”), albeit with a deadline 5 years later
(2020). The implementation rests mainly with member states , which are supposed
to collaborate in marine regions, one of them being the Baltic Sea. MSFD is explicitly stated to be based on the ecosystem approach to management.
Last but defi nitely not least in this context, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) is central for the nutrient impact from crop to livestock production (see, e.g.
Chen et al. 2014 ; Schumacher 2012 ). After a so-called health check in 2008, CAP
became a target for contested reform between 2010 and 2013, with one among several aims being “greening the CAP”, the latter based on studies showing obvious
3 Related to wastewater treatment, both HELCOM and EU have taken decisions and measures
against phosphates in, e.g. detergents, which have led to environmental improvements but also to
criticism for fi lling an “alibi function” and consequently drawing attention away from other more
complex issues (see further Schumacher 2012 ).
2 Eutrophication and the Ecosystem Approach to Management: A Case Study…