The ecosystem approach to management in the Baltic Sea Region: Analyzing regional environmental governance from a spatial perspective

The ecosystem approach has become a common tool in environmental governance over the last decade. Within the EU context this is most clearly accentuated through the adoption of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning, that both include requirements for member states to apply the approach. This paper examines how the EU countries in the Baltic Sea Regionhave organised their marine spatial planning (MSP) in terms management levels and geographic delimitations. The examination shows that there is no consistent interpretation of what the appropriate level of management, or ecosystem scale, is. These findings are used to inform a discussion on how the ecosystem approach has been applied in the countries around the Baltic Sea, and how this may affect thepotential of transboundary cooperation initiatives.

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The Good, the Bad and the Future: A SWOT Analysis of the Ecosystem Approach to Governance in the Baltic Sea Region

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su131910539 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 10539

Author(s):

Savitri Jetoo ◽

Varvara Lahtinen

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Swot Analysis ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Systematic Assessment ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic ◽

Good Ecological Status

The ecosystem approach has been used extensively as a guiding principle in water policies of the Baltic Sea Region since the 1970s. In addition to its operationalization as a management framework in this region, it also has expansive theoretical underpinnings. However, despite extensive literature on this approach, there has not yet been any systematic assessment of the internal and external factors that influence its implementation. This kind of assessment could form the basis for improved thinking around the concept and better implementation actions. As such, this article presents a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the ecosystem approach in the Baltic Sea Region by using content analysis on Baltic Sea documents. This study found that key strengths of the principle are its interdisciplinary focus and its acceptance as a framework for conservation, whilst resource intensiveness and its operational complexity are key weaknesses. The SWOT analysis revealed that a key opportunity in the external environment is the ease of alignment with other policies whilst the key external threat is the difficulty integrating disciplines. This study showed that with a streamlined allocation of resources, more stakeholder engagement through capacity building and political leadership, the ecosystem approach could facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge pooling to achieve a good ecological status of the Baltic Sea.

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Cooperation, Media and Framing Processes

Nordicom Review ◽

10.1515/nor-2016-0022 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (s1) ◽

pp. 41-55

Author(s):

Anna Maria Jönsson ◽

Mikael Karlsson

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Action Plan ◽

Media Framing ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

Controversial Topic ◽

The One ◽

The Baltic

AbstractCooperation and communication play an important role for environmental governance. This holds true for the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, one of the most disturbed ecosystems in the world, where insufficient cooperation between different stakeholders is one reason for goal failure. This article addresses the linkages between (media) framing on the one hand, and cooperation on the other. The case in focus is a set of negotiations related to the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the most central governance strategy in the Baltic Sea region. Our results show that in order to influence political decision-making, key stakeholders compete over the power to define and interpret problems, causes and solutions to an extent impeding cooperation. We focus the analysis on eutrophication, which we show to be a complex and controversial topic, framed in incompatible ways by different stakeholders.

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Enabling policy innovations promoting multiple ecosystem benefits: lessons learnt from case studies in the Baltic Sea Region

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2019.054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 546-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andis Zilans ◽

Gerald Schwarz ◽

Kristina Veidemane ◽

Maria Osbeck ◽

Andrzej Tonderski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Nutrient Management ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Institutional Settings ◽

Nutrient Emissions ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic ◽

Ecosystem Benefits ◽

Factors Of Success

Abstract This paper analyses how specific institutional barriers and drivers affect the success of agri-environmental governance and policy innovations in four case study catchments in Germany, Latvia, Poland and Sweden. Possible adaptations of institutional settings are explored, aiming at increased effectiveness of policies and governance in delivering multiple ecosystem benefits along with reduced nutrient emissions and flood management. Factors of success synthesized from existing examples of innovative policy instruments in the EU and further afield are used to identify barriers and opportunities for the implementation of policy innovations in different institutional settings across the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). Key factors of success include close and trusting cooperation in scheme development, utilization of intermediaries in trust building, an active role of civil society and private sector, spatial targeting and coordination of measures, and result-based and long-term approaches. It is concluded that the effectiveness of measures can be increased by (i) adopting a less prescriptive approach to implementation, (ii) strengthening bottom-up participatory stakeholder learning processes, (iii) fostering cross-sectoral planning and funding initiatives, (iv) creating incentives for local collaborative actions, (v) developing cooperative nutrient management initiatives in the BSR and (vi) developing a systematic and coordinated approach to pilot-testing of new concepts and measures.

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