Abstract
The transboundary nature of stressors impacting shared water bodies has been traditionally recognized in agreements between nation states. Several developments have led to new layers of cross border environmental actors, including regional and city level interactions. This proliferation of non-state actors is witnessed in two large water bodies, the Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes. In both regions, transboundary water governance was led by nation states in agreements to improve heavily contaminated waters, the Helsinki Convention (1974) and the North American Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1972), respectively. Whilst there has been much research on transnational regional networks, especially in Europe, there has been less theoretical work done on transnational municipal transboundary water networks due to the delay of recognition of the legitimacy of these local government actors. This paper aims to examine the role of the transnational municipal networks in transboundary water governance by looking at the case studies of the Union of Baltic cities in the Baltic Sea region and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in the North American Great Lakes Basin. It does this by assessing the role of these transnational municipal networks in bridging water governance gaps in these regions.
Highlights
In 1972, the United States and Canada signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to “restore the chemical, biological and physical integrity” [1] of the waters of the Great Lakes whilst in 1974 the coastal states of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Poland signed the Helsinki Convention to “to assure the ecological restoration of the Baltic Sea, ensuring the possibility of self-regeneration of the marine environment and preservation of its ecological balance” [2]
In the North American Great Lakes and Baltic Sea regions, water governance would refer to the political, social, economic and administrative systems that are put in place to guide decision making, usually of federal actors which is implemented through management actions usually by municipal actors
There is much success in bridging the capacity and information gaps, but more work to be done in bridging the funding gap in the North American Great Lakes Region and in bridging the policy gaps in the Baltic Sea Region
Summary
In 1972, the United States and Canada signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to “restore the chemical, biological and physical integrity” [1] of the waters of the Great Lakes whilst in 1974 the coastal states of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Poland signed the Helsinki Convention to “to assure the ecological restoration of the Baltic Sea, ensuring the possibility of self-regeneration of the marine environment and preservation of its ecological balance” [2] Whilst these agreements might be hailed successes because they resulted in the key national actors being brought to the table and they provided a clear sense of direction, the current ecological status of both water bodies are not an indication of the ability to meet restoration or pollution prevention goals. Great Lakes and the Union of Baltic Cities in the Baltic Sea
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