Abstract
The EU Water Framework Directive exerts a major impact on water management structure and aims, and water use activities in the member states. This paper reviews the perceptions of the early WFD implementation in a case study area in southern Sweden. The focus is on the perceptions of both water management and forestry actors, the latter as a potential diffuse source impact on water quality. This study highlights the considerable complexity of reorienting or rescaling governance given the complex existing systems particular to the area, the multi-interpretable early policies on implementation and the complexity of interpreting the regionally-focused WFD approach in the largely locally-focused Swedish system. While the first phase of implementation is now long past, conclusions on the complexity of reorienting systems remain relevant, particularly with regard to non-point sources.
Highlights
Introduction and AimThe EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is currently being implemented across the EU with the aim of bringing all water bodies up to “good ecological and chemical status” by 2015 with full enforcement of the directive by 2027 [1]
The WFD may contribute to a rescaling of governance, whereby very different impacts in terms of actors” losses or gains of influence may result as compared with the previous structure in each country [4,5]
This paper studies the perceptions of the actors in the first round of the WFD directive implementation within the Swedish Västerhavet Water District
Summary
Introduction and AimThe EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is currently being implemented across the EU with the aim of bringing all water bodies up to “good ecological and chemical status” by 2015 with full enforcement of the directive by 2027 [1]. The. WFD can be seen as a multi-level governance tool [4] that results in the rescaling of water governance: it changes the distribution of authority across levels and may result in some actors losing or gaining influence, this depends on their own capabilities to work across scales [4]. WFD can be seen as a multi-level governance tool [4] that results in the rescaling of water governance: it changes the distribution of authority across levels and may result in some actors losing or gaining influence, this depends on their own capabilities to work across scales [4] Such changes will impact the national level, which will develop specific ways to implement the Directive that serve as guides at the regional and local level.
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