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Multi-level Governance, Multi-level Deficits: The Case of Drinking Water Management in Hungary
Abstract
This paper improves our understanding of failed implementation in the European Union by studying a case whereby a member state has transposed legislation but failed to comply with it. Drawing on existing literature on transposition deficits, this paper creates a framework for interrogating implementation failures in the EU's multi-level governance system. It is applied to a Hungarian case study to explain why parts of the country continue to deliver drinking water that exceeds the Drinking Water Directive's limits for arsenic, creating a public health risk. The failure to comply is shown to be a series of linked implementation deficits at every level of the governance system. Processes of horizontal and vertical disintegration are clearly demonstrated. The conclusions make policy recommendations with wider relevance to other cases of failed implementation. Recommendations are also made for research that uses our framework as a starting point to understand the drivers behind individual deficits. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
... Understanding land governance is crucial because linkages between stakeholders lay the foundation for how different interests, policies and strategies on the land are integrated and implemented. For example, collective action, integration of diverse interests, sharing of knowledge and experience, effective interaction of stakeholders across governance levels, and appropriate implementation can all be fostered or hindered by existing governance structures (Berkes and Ross 2013;Candel 2014;Candel and Biesbroek 2016;Cumming 2016;Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
... In addition to a lack of communication between policy and implementation, the observed structure could also result in an implementation deficit, created by a discrepancy between the intent of a given policy and its actual on-ground implementation (Leventon and Antypas 2012). Especially for the integration of food security and biodiversity conservation, the translation of policies into practice through a proper implementation process is crucial (Esa 2011;Hailemariam, Soromessa, and Teketay 2016). ...
... For instance, an empirical study in the Philippines (Dressler et al., 2016) found that land sharing was supported by the local community, partly because it yielded sustainable outcomes in both social and ecological terms. The existing discourse thus causes two main misfits: (1) an incompatibility of policies with local conditions and preferences (Leventon & Antypas, 2012;Hailemariam et al., 2016), and (2) various implementation misfits created through a gap between policy content and on-ground realities (Leventon & Antypas, 2012; see also Hailemariam et al., 2016). Thus, social as well as institutional dimensions, including local preferences need to be integral parts of land use policy (see also Fischer et al., 2014;Kremen, 2015). ...
... To harmonize food security and biodiversity conservation, understanding the governance network is important because structural linkages between actors lay the foundation for how different interests, policies and strategies are integrated and implemented. For example, collective action, integration of diverse interests, learning and sharing of experience, effective interaction of stakeholders across governance levels, and appropriate implementation can all be fostered or hindered by the established governance structure (Leventon and Antypas, 2012;Berkes and Ross, 2013;Cumming, 2016). The nexus between food security and biodiversity is part of a social-ecological system that is characterized by complexity, interconnectedness and dynamism (Berkes et al., 2003;Folke, 2016). ...
... Nevertheless, collaborative governance network can also generate conflict, delay action, or may be used by influential stakeholders to collaborate purely to pursue their own interests (Koontz and Thomas, 2006;Cumming, 2016). Furthermore, we must remain critical of where in a governance network collaboration occurs; it is possible that the stakeholders that are tasked with bringing together diverse interests may not have the capacities or powers to do so effectively (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). Thus, to assess the effectiveness of a governance network one must investigate the characteristics of stakeholders, the position and interest of individual stakeholders in the collaborative network, and the nature of collaboration between the stakeholders (Bodin and Norberg, 2007;Cumming, 2016;Bodin, 2017). ...
... The observed network structure could also produce an implementation deficit because of discrepancies between policy goals and on-ground implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In food security and biodiversity conservation, the translation of good policy and plans into practice through proper implementation is crucial as the lack thereof leads to poor integration (Esa, 2011;Hailemariam et al., 2016). ...
... Furthermore, drinking water management must develop adaptation and mitigation strategies that are aligned with several regulatory frameworks, such as the European Water Framework Directive, the European Drinking Water Directive and the European Waste Water Directive. Successful provisioning of drinking water within such regulatory frameworks will depend on institutional and organizational co-ordination and collaboration on the regional and national levels (van der Hoek et al., 2014) and on the European level (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
... Hood et al. (2001) conclude that risk regulation is shaped by policy context, organizational and institutional features, legal and regulatory structures, and interaction patterns among governance actors. Governance interactions are often multi-purpose and take place in arenas that are characterized by multi-level and multi-sectoral governance (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). The Swedish system for spatial planning in the context of climate change adaptation has been shown to be fragmented and susceptible to local political ideas about the attractiveness of place, resulting in ad-hoc solutions and a lack of overarching strategic planning (Storbjörk and Hjerpe, 2014). ...
... Although drinking water provisioning is basically the responsibility of local municipal authorities governed by local politicians, risk management depends on complex collaboration between local, regional, national and European authorities (Leventon and Antypas, 2012;Orru and Rothstein, 2015) within a complex and historically evolved regulatory framework. Cross-sectoral collaboration (Bryson et al., 2015) and effective inter-agency interaction are key to drinking water risk management (Jalba et al., 2010). ...
The challenges for society presented by climate change are complex and demanding. This paper focuses on one particular resource of utmost necessity and vulnerability to climate change: namely, the provisioning of safe drinking water. From a critical perspective on the role of expertise in risk debates, this paper looks at how Swedish experts understand risk to drinking water in a climate change scenario and how they reason about challenges to risk management and adaptation strategies. The empirical material derives from ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts, employed both at government agencies and at universities, and with disciplinary backgrounds in a variety of fields (water engineering, planning, geology and environmental chemistry). The experts understand risk factors affecting both drinking water quality and availability as complex and systemically interrelated. A lack of political saliency of drinking water as a public service is identified as an obstacle to the development of robust adaptation strategies. Another area of concern relates to the geographical, organizational and institutional boundaries (regulatory, political and epistemological) between the plethora of public actors with partly overlapping and sometimes unclear responsibilities for the provisioning of safe drinking water. The study concludes that climate change adaptation regarding drinking water provisioning will require a new integration of the knowledge of systemic risk relations, in combination with more efficient agency collaboration based on a clear demarcation of responsibility between actors.
... Lack of policy implementation has been highlighted as a key problem in environmental governance (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). Policy implementation is "the carrying out of a basic policy decision" (Sabatier and Mazmanian, 1980:540), which involves translating policy decisions into on-the-ground actions, often supported by statutes. ...
... Policy implementation is "the carrying out of a basic policy decision" (Sabatier and Mazmanian, 1980:540), which involves translating policy decisions into on-the-ground actions, often supported by statutes. Policies consist of outputs (laws, regulations and organisations created to address a policy problem) and policy outcomes (practical management actions stipulated by outputs to address the problem) (Jordan, 1999;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). Central to implementation analysis is identifying factors which affect the implementation of policy goals (Sabatier and Mazmanian, 1980). ...
... Implementation deficits or gaps occur when there exists "shortfalls between the goals embodied in particular directives and their practical effects" (Jordan, 1999:72). A policy deficit arises either from the failure to meet delineated policy goals or the failure by policy goals to sufficiently tackle policy problems (Jordan, 1999;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
Policies play a vital role in setting priorities and actions for forest use and management. High rates of forest loss can be attributed to failure by policies to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. It is argued that in most Least Developed Countries such as Zambia, adopted forest and natural resources policies are rarely put into effect resulting in ecosystem degradation.This study examined policy actor's perception of implementation of policies aimed at reducing deforestation and forest degradation and their implications for forest resources.To examine policy implementation, 55 policy actors were interviewed at national, regional and local levels. This included government officials, Non-Governmental Organisations, traditional leaders and local people. Interviews were analysed using discourse analysis.Findings show that policy implementations deficits are prevalent in Zambia's forest sector. Policy actors identified the main barriers as inadequate institutional capacity, inadequate legal framework, political influences, insecure land tenure, poor funding, and lack of intersectoral coordination. The paper has shown gaps between policies and their implementation. To halt deforestation and forest degradation, it is imperative that formulated policies are implemented. This will require improved communication and coordination among government units and various stakeholders, sufficient resources and harmonizing policies and legal frameworks.
... Harris, 2007), one explanation can be found in the elevation of economic values and interests in today's societies. A superior role is given to markets and market actors in coordinating the use and distribution of resources, particularly in the Western world (Armour, 1997;Lunt et al., 1996). While international competition and national economic interests seem to effectively contribute to hampering responsible political decision making, businesses and consumers, to whom much of the responsibility for sustainable development is allocated, have until now not succeeded to achieve the sustainable use and distribution of natural and man-made capital (Brown, 2011;. ...
... This notion, whether it really is the case or not (see e.g. , is one of the main underlying reasons for the privatization trend among state-owned suppliers, in industries such as energy, water, food, transportation, education, healthcare and medicine (e.g. Lunt et al., 1996). ...
... Proponents of international and domestic regulation have also been disappointed, as national states and supranational communities (such as the EU and UN) have proved ineffective in tackling the problems of sustainable development (Stiglitz, 2010;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). This failure to succeed with, or even to admit responsibility for, sustainable development is found to be associated with concerns regarding the impact of policy on industrial competitiveness (Gouldson and Murphy, 1996). ...
This thesis attempts to reframe the field of strategic corporate responsibility by examining the responsibility of corporations in terms of their strategic means and ends. The focus is on the research problem of how responsibility and strategy should be connected in a business organization in order for it to become a responsible corporation and contribute to sustainable development.
The thesis comprises four research articles, two of which are empirical and two conceptual extensions to the empirical research. The methods employed were single and multiple qualitative case studies rooted in the constructivist tradition of science. Four case companies were selected from the food industry and one case company from the hospitality industry. Altogether, 23 managers in the Finnish and Swedish business context were interviewed.
In business organizations there is a need to reframe the theorizing and practicing of strategic corporate responsibility, as the conventional market-capability perspective was found inadequate. The market-capability perspective is characterized by (a) an extrinsic responsibility orientation through the logic of economic instrumentalism, and (b) an external and internal strategy orientation through stakeholder thinking. This conventional perspective is inadequate for an organization to become responsible, firstly because it leads to multiple and competing corporate identities that do not reflect a coherent image. Secondly, the conventional perspective assumes weak sustainability that does not lead to sustainable development in both space and time.
To address the shortcomings of the conventional perspective, inclusion of the awareness-sustainability perspective is suggested. This alternative posits that firstly an organization should insource its ethical considerations in order to develop a responsible identity and thus become perceived as a responsible entity, and secondly, an organization should assume strong sustainability in order to reach sustainable development over both space and time. Therefore, in order become a responsible corporation and contribute to sustainable development, responsibility and strategy should be connected in a business organization from the awareness-sustainability perspective.
... This paper applies the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to analyse REDDþ implementation. Policy implementation refers to translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
... This paper applies the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to analyse REDDþ implementation. Policy implementation refers to translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In the context of REDDþ this would mean translating the negotiated decisions on forest protection into practice and coordinating activities to deliver on sustainable development outcomes such as sustainable forest management and livelihood benefits (appendix 1/COP 16). ...
... In the context of REDDþ this would mean translating the negotiated decisions on forest protection into practice and coordinating activities to deliver on sustainable development outcomes such as sustainable forest management and livelihood benefits (appendix 1/COP 16). Policy implementation however remains a key challenge in environmental governance with most policy decisions characterised by implementation deficits (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). Implementation deficits occur when the original goals of a policy are not met either because the policy itself is not translated into action or the policy is translated into action but fails to sufficiently achieve the desired implementation outcomes (Jordan, 1999). ...
Effective implementation of rules on reduced emission from avoided deforestation and forest degradation (REDD +) depends on the compatibility between these rules and existing sectoral policies associated with forests. This paper applies content analysis of policy documents, semi-structured interviews and case study analysis to examine the interplay between REDD + rules and Kenyan sectorial policies and local socioeconomic settings. Results reveal that the preparation of national REDD + strategies in Kenya is usefully coordinated by the Kenyan forestry sector drawing on the sector's policy mandate and past experiences in forest management. This sectoral mainstreaming however degenerates into negative vertical policy interplay caused by poor consultations with key sectors outside the forestry sector e.g. lands and agriculture and is further exacerbated by sectoral competition for climate finance. Analysis of REDD + coherences with sectoral policies revealed that forest polices on reforestation and decentralisation are coherent with REDD + rules (horizontal interplay) but this coherence is impeded by limited implementation of these measures e.g. poor support and coordination of Community Forest Associations. Lack of coherence was mainly observed between REDD + rules and resettlement and agricultural mechanisation policies prescribed in the lands and agriculture policies. Agricultural mechanisation and resettlement policies are synonymous with deforestation especially through illegal and politically motivated agricultural or settlement expansions into Kenya's forest areas. At the local level, REDD + showed potential to positively influence local livelihoods but the aforementioned national institutional gaps and strict carbon standards and prices lead to negative trade-offs between carbon sequestration and alternative livelihoods. The paper advocates for strong multi-stakeholder consultative mechanism so that both Kenyan policy and socioeconomic settings can support effective REDD + implementation.
... In a joint examination of the five examples of the Table 2 we realize that the dialectic approach operates in an intrinsic way with the complexity of the socio environmental and health context under study and intervention. If on one hand we have a participatory approach that promotes involvement of local community actors revealing risk factors not evident before, improving a public policy within its actions through a bottom-up intervention, like Lazenbatt et al., 2001 [22] shows, on the other hand we determine that in a cross territorial policy it is imperative that a dialectic process be operated to warrant the sustainability of a top-down initiative to be successfully applied within a small scale context [23] [25]. ...
... Leventon & Antypas, 2012 [25] Elaborated by the authors. der environmental injustice or social exclusion. ...
... Moctezuma (2001) [33] describes how community-based mapping allowed better management of natural resources in municipalities in Mexico, and so representing an important role within national political changes. The above cited papers of Getzner (2008) [23] and Leventon & Antypas (2012) [25] are also examples of multilevel approaches, since both engage through an approach from the context of the European Union to a country. ...
... This paper applies the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to analyse REDDþ implementation. Policy implementation refers to translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
... This paper applies the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to analyse REDDþ implementation. Policy implementation refers to translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In the context of REDDþ this would mean translating the negotiated decisions on forest protection into practice and coordinating activities to deliver on sustainable development outcomes such as sustainable forest management and livelihood benefits (appendix 1/COP 16). ...
... In the context of REDDþ this would mean translating the negotiated decisions on forest protection into practice and coordinating activities to deliver on sustainable development outcomes such as sustainable forest management and livelihood benefits (appendix 1/COP 16). Policy implementation however remains a key challenge in environmental governance with most policy decisions characterised by implementation deficits (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). Implementation deficits occur when the original goals of a policy are not met either because the policy itself is not translated into action or the policy is translated into action but fails to sufficiently achieve the desired implementation outcomes (Jordan, 1999). ...
... The LPB research has been done and funded by the Regional Budget Society's Role The society has not been involved maximally Administration Sanction There has been no sanction established Source: Balmford, Green, & Scharlemann, 2005;Dressler, et al. 2016;Egan & Mortensen, 2012Leventon & Antypas, 2012Phelps, et al, 2013;Pirard & Belna, 2012;Rai & Bawa, 2013 The main target of development is the establishment of strong fundamental to the economic structure to grow and develop its own power to achieve the equitable and prosperous community according to the national ideals (Yudha & Wahyu, 2013;Ditzler, et al. 2018). The wider job opportunity is required to balance the population growth rate, especially the youth in productive ages who enter the labor market. ...
... Farmers' Welfare Subsidy/ Direct Policy LPB Regulation Figure 1. The Proposed Model of Policy Instrument of the Sustainable Food Fishing Land Conservation in Pasuruan Regency, East Java, Indonesia Source : Dressler, et al. 2016;Egan & Mortensen, 2012;Leventon & Antypas, 2012;Phelps, et al, 2013;Pirard & Belna, 2012;Rai & Bawa, 2013;Tadesse, Zavaleta, Shennan, & FitzSimmons, 2014 Based on the figure 1 above, it was shown that the policy of the sustainable food fishing land conservation has to be able to improve the welfare of the farmer as the main purpose of the policy. ...
In order to implement the food sustainability and sovereignt, the sustainable fishing development has to be carried out. The research problem is how to analyze to sustain land conservation after the implementation of the Law number 23 in 2014 Pasuruan Regency, East Java, Indonesia. The specific aims of this analysis is to identify the implementation of the sustainable land conservation after the implementation of the Law number 23 in 2014 about the regional government, to identify the obstacle in the implementation of the policy, to identify the stabilizer of the implementation of the policy, and to propose recommendation of the policy strategy to be carried out by the regional government of Pasuruan, This study employs qualitative descriptive approach. The respondent of this study comes from farmer’s, in which Pasuruan regency is represented by respondents of SKPD (Satuan Kerja Perangkat Daerah or Regional Work Unit) from Regional Development Planning Agency (henceforth Bappeda). The research finding shows that Overall, the implementation of the lahan pangan berkelanjutan or the Sustainable Food Land (henceforth LPB) has complied with the Law number 1 2011 despite the planning and decision of LPB in RTRW (spatial planning), the obstacle in LPB is the absence of regional regulation, the model of strategic policy; the regencies synergistically coordinate with each other, encouraging the development of pond reserve as well as the role of private sector and society, and the synchronization of the state budget and the regional government budget, and all regional governments have to protect all LPB areas complying with the Law number 1 2011 and its derivation, and the strategy to improve the welfare of the farmer is related to the instruments which have the lowest force intensity, namely market instrument, family and community, and voluntary organizations.
... With the EU accession of Central and eastern European countries, the European biophysical and governance landscapes be- came even more diverse, and so became the landscape of implemen- tation deficits. Leventon and Antypas (2012) had demonstrated the difficulties Hungary faced with the implementation of the EU Drink- ing Water Directive. On one hand, local geological conditions cause high concentration of arsenic in groundwater in a significant part of the country. ...
... adoption of an EU Directive and all the necessary sub-laws for completing the formal implementation process) or policy problems (the extent to which the actual problem is solved), and to policy outputs (creation of policy infrastructure) or policy outcomes (specific management actions demanded by the out- puts). In simplified form the classification used to describe the im- plementation of the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) in Hungary is set in the Table 1.1 (Leventon & Antypas, 2012: 255): Table 1.1 Implementation deficits in the EU policy system in Hungary (Leventon & Antypas, 2012) Failure Impact Policy output Policy outcome Orientation to policy goals A. There is no Hungari- an legislation to enact the EU drinking water directive B. The actions outlined in Hungarian legislation can- not achieve the EU arsenic limits Orientation to policy problem C. The EU DWD is not the most effective option for managing arsenic in drinking water in Hun- gary D. The arsenic limits set in EU legislation do not pro- tect public health from the impacts of geogenic arse- nic ...
The purpose of this textbook is to give an overview of environmental policy, starting from the history of environmental thought and growth of environmental awareness to the fundamental principles and the application. Wherever possible, we take the European policy context, and discuss local and regional environmental issues from the perspectives of EU-promoted policy developments. The target audience of the book are university students and teachers interested in the field, but also environmental professionals interested to have a better grasp on the tools and methodology, and to learn how policies are developed and work in a variety of contexts worldwide, and how they compare with European contexts.
Many examples and case studies analysed in the book are taken from the context of Central and Eastern Europe, so this book will be of a particular value to those interested in the region (in particular the former USSR).
... (1) an incompatibility of policies with local conditions and preferences (Leventon & Antypas, 2012), and (2) various implementation deficits created through a gap between policy content and on-ground capacities (Leventon & Antypas, 2012). In a landscape with multiple functions and multiple interests, the conflict of interest between stakeholders such as between the policy and implementation level stakeholders could be reconciled though greater use of participatory processes (Groot, 2006). ...
... (1) an incompatibility of policies with local conditions and preferences (Leventon & Antypas, 2012), and (2) various implementation deficits created through a gap between policy content and on-ground capacities (Leventon & Antypas, 2012). In a landscape with multiple functions and multiple interests, the conflict of interest between stakeholders such as between the policy and implementation level stakeholders could be reconciled though greater use of participatory processes (Groot, 2006). ...
Agricultural land use is a key interface between the goals of ensuring food security and protecting biodiversity. “Land sparing” supports intensive agriculture to save land for conservation, whereas “land sharing” integrates production and conservation on the same land. The framing around sparing versus sharing has been extensively debated. Here, we focused on a frequently missing yet crucial component, namely the governance dimension. Through a case-study in Ethiopia, we uncovered stakeholder preferences for sparing versus sharing, the underlying rationale, and implementation capacity challenges. Policy stakeholders preferred sparing whereas implementation stakeholders preferred sharing, which aligned with existing informal institutions. Implementation of both strategies was limited by social, biophysical and institutional factors. Land use policies need to account for both ecological patterns and social context. The findings from simple analytical frameworks (e.g. sparing versus sharing) therefore need to be interpreted carefully, and in a social-ecological context, to generate meaningful recommendations for conservation practice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
... Leipold) 2011; May and Winter, 2009;Hill and Hupe, 2006;Meyers and Vorsanger, 2003;Jordan, 1999). Some scholars argue that particularly European environmental policies suffer from such implementation deficits (Jordan, 1999;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In a search to overcome such perceived deficits, implementation studies aim to find explanations of and solution strategies for such "failures" (cf. ...
... In order to evaluate the extent of the failure, policy "performance" is often measured by conformance of policy outcomes with pre-set policy objectives (cf. Leventon and Antypas, 2012;Haverland and Romeij, 2007;Lampinen and Uusikylä, 1998). This procedure has been suggested also for the assessment of policies tackling illegal logging, including the EUTR. ...
... We applied the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to develop a lesson learning framework for the analysis (Fig. 1). Within the framework, policy implementation is defined as translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities to achieve desired implementation outcomes (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
... We applied the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to develop a lesson learning framework for the analysis (Fig. 1). Within the framework, policy implementation is defined as translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities to achieve desired implementation outcomes (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In the context of REDD+, sustainable development is the main desired implementation outcome and this encompasses forest protection to deliver on the global expectations for emission reductions and local expectations of community (and other stakeholders) participation and benefits (Appendix 1/COP. ...
There are diverse lessons that subnational projects designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) should learn from integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) working in developing country settings. This paper develops and applies a lesson learning framework to identify and analyse lessons that the Kasigau REDD+ project learns from a governmental ICDP (national park) and a nongovernmental ICDP (World Vision) that have been implemented in Taita-Taveta county, Kenya. Fieldwork and document reviews revealed 24 lessons drawn from both positive and negative ICDP experiences. At the design level, the REDD+ project maintained the commonly critiqued top-down intervening approach as used by the ICDPs by excluding community input into its globally-linked design. At the implementation level, the REDD+ project promoted better community representation in project decisions and benefit sharing when compared to the ICDPs. A landscape approach, democratic institutional choices and pro-poor benefit sharing were the key interventions that enabled the REDD+ project to improve on the ICDP experiences. The usefulness of the ICDP experiences was however weakened by a lack of direct consultative platform between the projects. The REDD+ project relied mainly on the local community to learn from ICDP experiences, but this led to partial implementation deficits by promoting local participation interests over global mitigation goals. Further, community-driven lesson learning appeared to disconnect the project from State institutions that the community perceived negatively due to past resource centralization regimes. These State institutions are however the legal custodians of most assets (such as land) required for REDD+ implementation. ICDP lessons are therefore necessary for effective REDD+ implementation but can only be useful if the process of adopting lessons is cognizant of relevant stakeholders such as the State.
... We applied the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to develop a lesson learning framework for the analysis (Fig. 1). Within the framework, policy implementation is defined as translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities to achieve desired implementation outcomes (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). ...
... We applied the concept of policy implementation (Leventon and Antypas, 2012) to develop a lesson learning framework for the analysis (Fig. 1). Within the framework, policy implementation is defined as translating documented policy decisions into practice through on-the-ground activities to achieve desired implementation outcomes (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In the context of REDD+, sustainable development is the main desired implementation outcome and this encompasses forest protection to deliver on the global expectations for emission reductions and local expectations of community (and other stakeholders) participation and benefits (Appendix 1/COP. ...
There are diverse lessons that subnational projects designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) should learn from integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) working in developing country settings. This paper develops and applies a lesson learning framework to identify and analyse lessons that the Kasigau REDD+ project learns from a governmental ICDP (national park) and a nongovernmental ICDP (World Vision) that have been implemented in Taita-Taveta county, Kenya. Fieldwork and document reviews revealed 24 lessons drawn from both positive and negative ICDP experiences. At the design level, the REDD+ project maintained the commonly critiqued top-down intervening approach as used by the ICDPs by excluding community input into its globally-linked design. At the implementation level, the REDD+ project promoted better community representation in project decisions and benefit sharing when compared to the ICDPs. A landscape approach, democratic institutional choices and pro-poor benefit sharing were the key interventions that enabled the REDD+ project to improve on the ICDP experiences. The usefulness of the ICDP experiences was however weakened by a lack of direct consultative platform between the projects. The REDD+ project relied mainly on the local community to learn from ICDP experiences, but this led to partial implementation deficits by promoting local participation interests over global mitigation goals. Further, community-driven lesson learning appeared to disconnect the project from State institutions that the community perceived negatively due to past resource centralization regimes. These State institutions are however the legal custodians of most assets (such as land) required for REDD+ implementation. ICDP lessons are therefore necessary for effective REDD+ implementation but can only be useful if the process of adopting lessons is cognizant of relevant stakeholders such as the State.
... In such systems, O'Toole and Hanf (1998) have shown that there can be vertical and horizontal disintegration; policies are not translated into practice as they progress through governance levels (vertical disintegration), or the priorities of local level actors take precedence over those of actors at higher levels (horizontal disintegration). In complex governance systems with multiple actors and levels, such disintegration can lead to multiple points of failure, whereby actors do not fulfil their roles, leading to an overall failure to comply (Leventon and Antypas 2012). Therefore, understanding the causes of non-compliance requires focus beyond the national to explain why these processes of vertical or horizontal disintegration occur in multi-level governance systems. ...
... The EU's drinking water directive sets a limit of 10 ppb arsenic permissible in water for 2 J. Leventon human consumption. However, at the beginning of 2010, parts of Hungary were exceeding this limit in three different ways: (1) according to the unpublished data supplied by the Ministry of Environment and Water (KvVM) in Hungary, 435 settlements received water through their tapped supply that exceeded 10 ppb arsenic; (2) the drinking water improvement programme (DARF € U) to rectify non-compliance in the distribution systems was delayed and (3) there were publicly accessible artesian wells in towns, delivering untreated groundwater and used by the population as a source of drinking water (see Leventon and Antypas 2012). Arsenic is a known carcinogen (IARC 1990) and a higher rate of arsenic-related illnesses has been demonstrated in affected regions of Hungary (Lindberg et al. 2007;Lindberg et al. 2006). ...
This paper uses a multi-level governance lens to explore a case of non-compliance
with EU legislation in Hungary and expands historical institutionalist explanations of
EU laggards. Despite adopting the European Union’s (EU’s) limit of 10 ppb arsenic in
drinking water, parts of Hungary do not comply. To explain this deficit, the paper
examines the match between discourse incorporated into policy and held by policy
actors in Hungary. Multiple points of mismatch are found that influence
implementation because of governance structures, adding specificity to explanations
of ‘goodness of fit’ between EU and national policy.
... The need for better collaboration between local, regional, national and international levels has been identified as a core requirement to advance the work on sustainable consumption in Sweden (Moraeus, 2015), for sustainable food systems (Government Offices of Sweden, 2021) and across the EU (De Schutter et al., 2020). However, previous research points to several challenges that complicates this work, including translating policies between levels (Leventon and Antypas, 2012;van Stigt et al., 2013); coordination between levels (Nilsson et al., 2009); and differing timeframes that affect political incentives to take action (Wibeck et al., 2006). Lack of national-level guidance can also stall local work. ...
Introduction
Municipalities have a key role to play in developing and implementing policy for sustainable consumption, yet the evidence on the extent of municipalities’ work in this area and the constraining and enabling factors they face in this endeavor is sparse. This study examines municipal policies for sustainable consumption and their implementation, using food consumption in Sweden as an example.
Method
It combines data from a nationwide survey, policy document analysis, and a two-year in-depth investigation into two municipalities that serve as case studies.
Results
Findings show that Swedish municipalities have several policies in place related to sustainable food consumption. They use multiple policy instruments to target specific areas of food consumption, and are positive about their current and potential impact in specific areas such as sustainable school meals and tackling food waste. However, municipalities face multiple challenges in delivering sustainable food consumption, including lack of resources and knowledge in some areas. If there is a lack of political support, it can also be a major inhibiting factor. The municipalities welcome national-level strategy, rules and regulations that are supportive of their goals. They rely on good data collection and strong networks and stakeholder relationships to enable their work.
Discussion
Many of the latest recommendations for a comprehensive policy approach to sustainable food consumption are yet to be applied at the municipal level in Sweden. There was little evidence of the use of systems thinking and practices-based approaches for policy design for example. Likewise, strong visions and strategic approaches to food were also lacking. The least coercive, informative policy instruments remain most popular. However, this study did reveal several existing areas where there are strong policy foundations from which these approaches might be developed, such as innovative ways to engage different target groups and a suitable policy mix to deliver specific objectives. Tackling the identified constraints and expanding the enabling factors could further the work on sustainable food consumption at the municipal level in Sweden and provide insights for other countries and studies at the local level.
... Policy implementation has been defined by many scholars from various perspectives; the founding fathers of the implementation process (Pressmann & Wildavsky, 1973) highlighted that Policy implementation is the carrying out of a basic policy decision, which involves translating policy decisions (goals and objectives) into on-the-ground actions, often supported by statutes. As the process consists of outputs (laws, regulations, and organisations created to address a policy problem) and policy outcomes (practical management actions stipulated by outputs to address the problem (Leventon & Antypas, 2012). ...
... This study conducted a detailed survey to understand how social capital (Paldam 2005). Criticism has been leveled at Member States labeled as "countries in transition" (Poland included), in that the pace of implementation has been too slow to adopt the legislative measures of the European Union, leading to an implementation deficit (Lampinen and Uusikylä 1998;Leventon and Antypas 2012). Research by Paldam and Svendsen (2002) has highlighted that low levels of social capital are correlated with slow rates of change. ...
Context
Agricultural activities constitute the most significant source of nitrate pollution, posing a threat to water quality and ecosystem services. The Nitrates Directive is an integral feature of the Water Framework Directive, which seeks to reduce nitrate pollution from agricultural sources. Directive compliance has proven to be problematic for every Member State in fulfilling their respective implementation duties.
Objectives
The research focuses on the nitrate management discourse within agricultural landscapes of Poland and provides a governance capacity framework to understand how social factors shape local implementation performance. The case study examines how the social factors of social capital and street-level bureaucrats constrain or enable stakeholder agency within agricultural landscapes.
Methods
The empirical investigation utilizes a multi-method assessment, including a survey categorizing social capital levels among 31 Polish farmers, interviews with nine stakeholders, and a literature review.
Results
The findings demonstrate how differentiated social capital levels are a result of complex social dynamics within the nitrate management discourse. Achieving policy objectives rests on stakeholder interactions in their capacity to navigate myriad changes and translate policy messages into practical actions. Due to low social capital levels exhibited by farmers and limited agency of street-level bureaucrats, overall capacity for effective nitrogen management in Polish agricultural landscapes is constrained.
Conclusions
Overall, the study contributes new insights in identifying how social factors affect the ability of Member States to fulfill implementation obligations. Further, the study discusses the influence of social factor interplay upon actor agency and subsequent policy relevance amidst changing agri-environmental landscapes.
... In a strongly hierarchical governance system such as in Ethiopia (Dejene 2003;, maintaining a good institutional structural fit for food security and biodiversity is inherently challenging due to a linear command pathway, which may not be able to capture the inherent complexity of the socialecological system. Achieving individual as well as integrated goals of food security and biodiversity requires, among other things, institutions that foster collective action within and across sectors, promote institutional learning, and share resources (Berkes 2009;Leventon and Antypas 2012;Candel and Biesbroek 2016). ...
Ensuring food security while also protecting biodiversity requires a governance system that can address intra- and intersectoral complexity. In this paper, we sought to explore the governance challenges surrounding food security and biodiversity conservation through an empirical study in Jimma zone, southwestern Ethiopia. We used bottom-up snowball sampling to identify stakeholders and then held semi-structured interviews with 177 stakeholders across multiple levels of governance. We also conducted 24 focus group discussions with local people. Data were transcribed and thematically analyzed for its contents. Challenges in the structure of institutions and policy incoherence were the key challenges identified for the governance of food security and biodiversity conservation. The challenges around institutional structure included incompatibilities of the nature of governing institutions with the complexity inherent within and between the two sectors examined. Incoherences in policy goals, instruments, and contradictions of policy output relative to the actual problems of food security and biodiversity further hampered effective governance of food security and biodiversity conservation. Notably, many of the challenges that influenced an individual sector also posed a challenge for the integrated governance of food security and biodiversity conservation, often in a more pronounced way. Based on our findings, we argue that governance in our case study area requires a more integrated and collaborative approach that pays attention to institutional interplay in order to ensure institutional fit and consistency across policy goals.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
Diversity of applications and multiplicity of purposes, possibilities, and outcomes challenge to search for understanding that the plasticity of participatory research is not to hinder its quality. Indeed, such versatility associated with sharing power and self-organizing features must be studied and characterized to help for better choices and appropriate understanding of potentialities. In this chapter, there is the expectative to contribute to analyzing experiences and scientific bibliographic production about cases in order to propose three kinds of classification keys for participatory research projects. The first is concerning the application and combining of participatory tools, also regarding the methodological flow of interactions among social actors. The second classification key is associated with the territorial scales of approach and dedicates to distinguish projects through their power to be allocated in a single scale or to transcend territories. The last is on the functionality of participatory processes since the objectives of social transformation can be distinctive without abandoning the perspective of fostering empowerment and learning through the production of hybrid knowledge. The expectative is to contribute to better knowledge on participatory research coverage and alternative to pose the socio-ecological complexities and uncertainties, fostering sustainability, and health promotion.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
On the motivation of rethinking the 50-year-old but still vigorous book “Pedagogy of the oppressed,” written by Paulo Freire, this chapter brings an overview of provocative contemporary issues and circumstances, demanding participatory production of knowledge and collective action. The background is structured on themes associating crisis on sustainability and health, raising dimensions of determinants that were not quite recognized when Freire published his book. Also, the flagrant of uncertainties on scientific statements and related decision-making of the end of the twentieth century induce a crucial discussion within the current scenario, challenging the production of a new and socially robust scientific knowledge. Post-normal science is presented as a pertinent criticism, and the related proposal of extended peer communities is assumed as a call for participatory approaches, as a sort of dialogical alternatives to involving different social actors. Such methodological perspective is argued to overlap the conventional reproduction of “normal” science, correspondent relations of knowledge and power, and a framework unable to deal with contemporary complexities.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
Methodological features and a “menu” of tools are explored concerning the cyclical and adaptive approach of participatory research, which relates to understanding structural peculiarities and possibilities. Shedding light on an ongoing process with a myriad of outcomes and feedbacks, the combining of consecutive participatory tools, or the execution of research by collaboration with nonacademic, grow successively, strengthening dialogical interactions, empowerment, and social learning. This text also remarks possibilities to go beyond the dogmatic concern on replicability, typical of conventional scientific approaches. Accordingly, it opens an opportunity to integrate uncertainties in the process of interaction among different social actors, as well as the evolving intersubjectivity enables a worth and distinct production of qualitative information and a distinct sort of meta-information. Participatory research processes are interpreted as systems of interactions with self-organizing capabilities, represented by procedures and dynamics, which perform products inherent to the evolution of integrated actions and interactions.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
This book shows how participatory research can provide tools to overcome the current epistemic and ethical challenges faced by traditional scientific approaches. Ever since Funtowicz and Ravetz proposed the notion of post-normal science, there has been a growing awareness of the limits of a form of knowledge production based only on the traditional scientific peer communities that excludes other social groups affected by its results and applications. The growing uncertainty and complexity posed by socio-ecological issues in the interactions between science, society and decision making has revealed the importance of a social quality control over crucial decisions that rely on scientific research and the necessary democratization of knowledge to tackle sustainability and health concerns.
Departing from a reinterpretation of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, this volume shows how participatory research can contribute to reconnect science and society by extending peer communities through the incorporation of different forms of knowledge and different social actors into research projects. To do so, the author presents a critical review of different participatory research approaches, identifying the elements that distinguish a true participatory research from a traditional one, and proposing a taxonomy of the various participatory methodologies. The volume also analyzes a diversity of social practices and understandings that deal with an ecology of knowledge and its systemic characteristics. Moreover, it demonstrates that uncertainties can be integrated in dialogical processes that open possibilities for a myriad of outcomes.
Participatory Research in the Post-Normal Age - Unsustainability and Uncertainties to Rethink Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed will be of interest to researchers working with participatory approaches in different fields like health, environmental sciences, and education, as well as to practitioners of action research concerned with scientific dilemmas and counter-hegemonic strategies.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
To connect participation to the search for sustainability, it is imperative to recognize the role of diversity in socio-ecological systems and the imperative of forging better and fairer structures of multilevel governance. It means at reconnecting the individuals with the planetary boundaries, considering contexts of distinct vulnerability and knowledges, and promoting social and cognitive inclusion through the ecology of knowledges. Complex issues and interdependencies are the backgrounds of analysis and propositions, like the water-food-energy nexus. In that way, social practices and traditional knowings are to cope with resource constraints and scarcity, demystifying traditional knowledge through applicability for solving local problems aligned to the global crisis. Otherwise, anti-dialogical structures remain as imposing a reproduction of an oppressive model, hindering a natural ability of individuals and communities to self-organizing in the process of changing the world as changing themselves. For that matter, Paulo Freire’s theory of revolutionary action is considered with the power to be applied in the context of the current complex and multilayered challenges involving unsustainability and health-related issues.
... Within the European multilevel environmental governance, for instance, national governmental bodies can play less important roles. In that way, some Hungarian municipalities have shown various local impediments to deliver water supply according to the EU's directives, and it demonstrates the prevalence of top-down impositions causing governance failures, employing insufficient dealing with peripheral contexts (Leventon and Antypas 2012). ...
This chapter is conceived to explore a broad range of situations in which contemporary contradictions towards science–society relationships are posing demands and opportunities for cognitive inclusion and knowledge democracy. Regardless of any case or dilemma discussed, I propose to raise epistemological issues and current debates about inherent complexity in association with practical experiences that can testify possibilities and real relevance for participatory research approaches. For that matter, it is necessary to browse from the simple to the complex, as from the local multilayered problems to global conditionings related to unsustainability. Such a frame makes necessary reflexive discussions on inter- and transdisciplinarity associated with post-normal problems, and then ecology of knowledge is presented as a convergent alternative with dialogical and participatory research. In the interplay of contemporary threats and science misuse, some evidence of oppression can be recognized. Moreover, the nature of ruptures among society in terms of knowledge and power possession can be related to extreme circumstances, sometimes at the basis of disasters of cognitive exclusion.
... action (Leventon and Antypas, 2012). This is no different for the European Union (EU), which is an active producer of environmental policies. ...
EU environmental policy can only work in practice when it is implemented by and within the member states. Yet, despite its importance, we still lack a solid and cumulative understanding of the practical implementation of EU environmental policies, mainly because of the dominance of case-specific empirical insights and the dichotomous conceptualisation of compliant implementation. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for analysing implementation performance, which is built around three dimensions: implementation substance, scope and effort. The framework's relevance and analytical quality are substantiated by a systematic review of empirical studies on practical implementation of 18 EU environmental directives. We find evidence of three types of knowledge deficits: there is neglect of the 'scope' and 'effort' dimensions of implementation; disproportionate attention to the Water Framework Directive, and the Northern and Western European member states. The proposed conceptual framework aims to inform future research on EU environmental implementation.
... The researchers then organise a stakeholder engagement event, where the researchers and stakeholders generate knowledge. However, this approach is done by focussing on one (or a few) case study, with long lead-in times, and substantial resources and social science skills committed to identifying stakeholders (see, for example Ravnborg and Westermann 2002;Leventon and Antypas 2012). By bridging these two approaches, we are able to build on researcher knowledge without requiring long leadin times or large resources, in order to identify stakeholders prior to trying to engage with them in the research project. ...
In this paper we present a novel methodology for identifying stakeholders for the purpose of engaging with them in transdisciplinary, sustainability research projects. In transdisciplinary research, it is important to identify a range of stakeholders prior to the problem-focussed stages of research. Early engagement with diverse stakeholders creates space for them to influence the research process, including problem definition, from the start. However, current stakeholder analysis approaches ignore this initial identification process, or position it within the subsequent content-focussed stages of research. Our methodology was designed as part of a research project into a range of soil threats in seventeen case study locations throughout Europe. Our methodology was designed to be systematic across all sites. It is based on a snowball sampling approach that can be implemented by researchers with no prior experience of stakeholder research, and without requiring significant financial or time resources. It therefore fosters transdisciplinarity by empowering physical scientists to identify stakeholders and understand their roles. We describe the design process and outcomes, and consider their applicability to other research projects. Our methodology therefore consists of a two-phase process of design and implementation of an identification questionnaire. By explicitly including a design phase into the process, it is possible to tailor our methodology to other research projects.
... The researchers then organise a stakeholder engagement event, where the researchers and stakeholders generate knowledge. However, this approach is done by focussing on one (or a few) case study, with long lead-in times, and substantial resources and social science skills committed to identifying stakeholders (see, for example Ravnborg and Westermann 2002;Leventon and Antypas 2012). By bridging these two approaches, we are able to build on researcher knowledge without requiring long leadin times or large resources, in order to identify stakeholders prior to trying to engage with them in the research project. ...
In this paper we present a novel methodology for identifying stakeholders for the purpose of engaging with them in transdisciplinary, sustainability research projects. In transdisciplinary research, it is important to identify a range of stakeholders prior to the problem-focussed stages of research. Early engagement with diverse stakeholders creates space for them to influence the research process, including problem definition, from the start. However, current stakeholder analysis approaches ignore this initial identification process, or position it within the subsequent content-focussed stages of research. Our methodology was designed as part of a research project into a range of soil threats in seventeen case study locations throughout Europe. Our methodology was designed to be systematic across all sites. It is based on a snowball sampling approach that can be implemented by researchers with no prior experience of stakeholder research, and without requiring significant financial or time resources. It therefore fosters transdisciplinarity by empowering physical scientists to identify stakeholders and understand their roles. We describe the design process and outcomes, and consider their applicability to other research projects. Our methodology therefore consists of a two-phase process of design and implementation of an identification questionnaire. By explicitly including a design phase into the process, it is possible to tailor our methodology to other research projects.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11625-016-0385-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... biosafety or climate), in others (e.g. agriculture or fisheries) its policies have been associated with particular policy incoherence (Falkner, 2007;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). In addition, as Skodvin and Andresen (2006) rightly point out, what may be praised as a progressive stance during the course of international negotiations might, with the benefit of hindsight, turn out to be quite the opposite. ...
... Responsibilities are distributed between multi-functional institutions and networks. However, whilst clear demarcation of responsibility is beneficial, it can be undermined by a breakdown between levels as a result of the varying drivers and capabilities of actors at different levels (Leventon and Antypas 2012). Type 1 multi-level governance tends to provide a greater degree of stability and security in policy direction but has been criticised for lacking innovation and adaptation to changing conditions (Smith 2007). ...
Infrastructure operation in the UK can be described as separate utility systems provisioning unconstrained demand, with higher throughput corresponding to higher profits. A more sustainable approach would prioritise coordinated infrastructure operation focused on essential service delivery at the lowest possible resource use. However, the presiding policy paradigm reinforces the current regime to such an extent that it constrains the necessary transition to a more sustainable infrastructure system. This paper combines the findings of existing case study research with insights from theories of multi-level governance, co-evolution and institutional dynamics to improve our understanding of how governance systems could accelerate the transition to more resource efficient, service-oriented infrastructure operation. We develop a governance analysis framework to improve the understanding of this transition and in particular the role that governance might take in managing its acceleration. The framework allows analysts to identify elements or relationships that are absent from a system of interest or that are constrained by the current governance system. This can be used to identify alternative approaches to governance that remove barriers to transitions or enable the creation of a necessary element and accelerate desirable transitions.
... Such disparity among intra-EU emissions levels serves to further highlight a key problem in European environmental governance, namely that of ensuring that community policies are adequately translated into on-theground action (see e.g. Hunter and Smith 2005, Jordan and Tosun 2012, Leventon and Antypas 2012, Zhelyazkova 2013. 2 Interviews were conducted with a former regulator with expertize in environmental risk and regulation, with an industrial environmental manager with expertize in better environmental regulation and with a pressure group lawyer with expertize in the interpretation and implementation of EU environmental law in the UK. ...
Whilst there is much discussion about the stringency of environmental regulations and the variability of industrial environmental performance in different countries, there are very few robust evaluations that allow meaningful comparisons to be made. This is partly because data scarcity restricts the ability to make 'like for like' comparisons across countries and over time. This paper combines data on benzene emissions from Pollution Release and Transfer Registers with data on industrial production from oil refineries to generate normalized measures of industrial environmental performance across eight Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and the EU-15. We find that normalized emissions levels are improving in nearly all countries, and that there is some convergence in emissions performance between countries, but that there are still very significant variations across countries. We find that average emissions levels are lower in Japan and Germany than in the USA and Australia, which in turn are lower than in Canada and the EU-15, but we note that average emissions in the EU-15 are significantly affected by particularly high emissions in the UK. These findings have significant implications for wider debates on the stringency of environmental regulations and the variability of industrial environmental performance in different countries.
... Recent research on compliance with environmental and health standards in drinking water illustrates this point. In their study of enforcement and compliance with the European Commission Drinking Water Directive in Hungary, Leventon and Antypas (2012) find that although all actors involved in monitoring the levels of arsenic in water in Hungary are aware about the maximum limit of 50 parts per billion and the health risks associated with consuming water with higher arsenic concentrations, arsenic-contaminated water consumption through artesian wells still continues. ...
In the past two decades, integrated water resources management (IWRM) hascome to represent a dominant policy narrative in the field of water policy and governance.However, IWRM has come under strong criticism in recent years for what critics see as apoor record of implementation and heavy emphasis on technocratic solutions. We outlinehow the present debate around IWRM has become narrowly construed by focusingexclusively on IWRM as an analytical and prescriptive concept. We argue that this narrowconceptualization of IWRM, or the
prescriptive
epistemic form, which sets forth a set of guidelines for implementation in accordance with the logic of instrumentality, has in partresulted in a stalemate manifested in less research on the subject and scarcer attention of policy makers. To help advance beyond the stalemate, we propose two additional epistemicforms:
discursive
, as a point of reference for the discussion of power and values in watermanagement and
practical
, or experiential and context-based understanding of watermanagement. Recognizing this diversity of epistemic forms of IWRM to include thediscursive and practical can create a shared space for multiple conflicting epistemologiesand allow ways of knowing of non-expert stakeholders, thereby lessening the polarizednature of the discourse. Our typology of three epistemic forms—prescriptive, discursiveand practical—offers public policy scholars a heuristic tool to approach policy conceptsfrom multiple dimensions. Recognizing multiple epistemic forms requires new skills frompolicy workers and analysts, as well as institutional arrangements for articulating andtranslating across these forms.
... Proponents of international and domestic regulation have also been disappointed, as national states and supranational communities (such as the EU and UN) have proved ineffective in tackling the problems of sustainable development (Stiglitz, 2010;Leventon and Antypas, 2012). This failure to succeed with, or even to admit responsibility for, sustainable development is found to be associated with concerns regarding the impact of policy on industrial competitiveness (Gouldson and Murphy, 1996). ...
The Lebanese waste sector is heavily dependent on land-filling and the unsustainable waste practices have led to a national waste crisis and other related environmental issues. This has sparked a growing interest to transform into sustainable waste management practices to cure these issues. The example of waste management in Saida has been viewed as one possible alternative in light of the challenges associated with waste management. Nevertheless, a lot of barriers have been faced on a national level. Consequently, this research aims to explore the barriers faced when transforming towards SWM, and the triggers behind such a transition. The assessment is experientially demonstrated with a qualitative case study based on Saida WTE facility, with an input from semi- structured interviews, literature review and observations. The Transition Theory based on the Multi-Level Perspective offered the analytical framework by which the triggers and barriers were outlined. To overcome the waste lock-in, the transformation in the waste sector was found to include mainly a political transition and other factors. The main barriers found are corruption, lack of accountability and transparency, public pressures, sectarianism and “Mohasasa”. Moreover, other evident blockades exist such as financial constraints, institutional and legal barriers, overlapping responsibilities, and weak law enforcement.
We outline a conceptual strategy for implementing conservation interventions in a multi-scale, multi-actor, and multi-level governance world. Using farmland as an example, we argue that conservation interventions should be implemented within a multi-scale framework of guiding ecological principles. In this context, findings from multi-level governance research can inform a nuanced understanding of the role of evidence in conservation governance and decision-making. We propose that principles of evidence-based conservation can be used to refine guiding ecological principles across scales, thereby creating a comprehensive evidence base that underpins decision-making. This evolving evidence base, in turn, should be operationalized by considering the fit of ecologically relevant scales to governance levels, paying explicit attention to issues such as democratic legitimacy and interplay with existing governance structures. We outline two specific steps for meeting this challenge. Drawing on a strategic combination of conservation interventions, guiding ecological principles, and insights from multi-level governance research promises to improve both the effectiveness and legitimacy of conservation action. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Although in recent years great emphasis has been placed on global agreements and national commitments on climate change, ultimately action on mitigation and adaptation must take place at the local level. Many local authorities have to face questions of whether they should develop policies on climate change, and if so, on what evidence should policies be designed and delivered. This paper describes how academic research on the economics of low carbon cities (the ‘mini-Stern review’) helped create such an evidence base for the Leeds City Region and its constituent local authorities. We describe how the response to the evidence and the pathways to impact were different in the individual local authorities and what this means for our understanding of evidence in local policy making. In terms of Weiss’ (Social sciences and modern states: national experiences and theoretical crossroads. Advances in political science, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991) classification, the study was mainly useful as an argument and idea rather than being used instrumentally. We find that the policy and political context in each authority determines to a large extent whether such an academic study is useable as evidence. The contents and timing of the study need to align with existing policy and/or political agendas: is climate change on the agenda at all, with what priority and how is it framed. We find confirmation of a relationship between the policy problem type and the role of evidence as argument, idea or data. The mini-Stern study itself was just one contribution to wide-ranging processes of informing, convincing, pressurising, etc., not just within the different councils but also within the wider communities. Other contextual factors include composition, agenda and activities of local civil society and the local business community. Finally, it depends on the expertise of policy officers in the councils what use is made of evidence. Making policy takes (much) time, translation and negotiation across levels and sectors. Policy work describes how policy officers bring their diverse forms of knowledge to bear on policy questions; how this work is done is something that is learned from practice rather than from the study.
In this article we test current knowledge about policy implementation in multilevel governance systems and focus on the debated case of transport biofuels (EU Directive 2003/30/EC). We probe a set of hypotheses in a qualitative comparative analysis, offering a systematic comparison of 10 member states between 2003 and 2006. The findings show that implementation of the EU biofuels policy is a complex phenomenon where combinations of causal conditions, and not single conditions, produce the outcome. Implementation is more likely when three favourable conditions are present, when policy frames and content between EU and national levels match, when a consensual policy style is used and the most important actors are included. These findings are in agreement with previous studies. Non-implementation, on the other hand, is explained by a dichotomy between member states unable to implement because they lack capacity and those member states unwilling to implement even if they can.
Since the collapse of communist rule, many aspects of the environmental policy agendas in Central and East European (CEE) states have been influenced by the desire to join the EU. This introduction presents key concepts and issues associated with the transition away from the communist systems and the process of EU expansion in CEE countries. Specifically, it examines major political and environmental changes that have taken place since 1989, discusses the role of foreign assistance in these transitions, and summarises the 'Europeanisation' turn in contemporary social science research. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the ways that the contributions to this volume augment conventional views of eastern enlargement of the EU.
This article assumes that a central problem for effective implementation of European legislation is the impact of national administrative traditions, since the formal and practical transformation of EU law rests mainly at the national level. The article investigates the interplay of national administrative traditions and European policy implementation. National administrative traditions prevalent in a policy field may differ from country to country. It is argued, that implementation effectiveness depends on the institutional scope'' of European adaptation pressure, which is not only affected by European requirements, but also by the embeddedness of the respective administrative traditions and national capacities for administrative reform. According to the degrees of adaptation pressure, different paths are distinguished, suggesting more or less effective implementation.
Ian Bache and Matthew Flinders provide an overview of the development and main issues in the study of multi-level governance, before identifying the main themes of the book. These are concerned with how multi-level governance should be defined and how the concept is understood and utilized in different academic fields; how structures and processes of multi-level governance differ across policy sectors and how these differences might be explained; the implications of multi-level governance for the power, position, and role of the nation state; the implications of multi-level governance for democratic accountability; and the limitations of the multi-level governance model.
With the move in EU studies from a focus on European integration to Europeanisation, that is from the process of EU formation to its impact on member states, the number and range of theories and methodologies have proliferated. This article embraces such pluralism. Only by considering a full range of factors - policy problems, legacies, preferences, political and institutional capacity, and discourse - from a variety of perspectives - interest-based rationality, historical path-dependencies, social constructions of action, ideas and discourse - can a complete picture of policy change in Europe emerge. Discourse deserves to be emphasised, however, because it is an often missing, but important, approach to explanation. Discourse, as a set of ideas and a process of policy formulation and communication, helps complete our understanding of policy change when put in relation to other factors and perspectives. Where it helps explain - in which institutional settings - and when it helps - by exerting a causal influence - are matters for empirical investigation that are explored in the essays included in this volume.
Interviews are one of the major tools in qualitative research, although there is a limited literature on the subject of interviewing generally and elite interviewing particularly. The aim of this article is to introduce some of the issues involved in elite interviewing to researchers new to the use of the technique. Emphasis is also placed on the need for the interviewer to know his/her subject thoroughly, and to be prepared to be flexible in an interview situation. The information is based on the author's own recent experience of interviewing a number of top civil servants, both serving and retired.
This article seeks to systematically describe and explain variation in European Union policy implementation performance across member states and directives. The analyses rely on a new and original dataset comprising comparable information about transposition delay for practically all EU social directives in Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. On the basis of nearly 300 observations, we could establish that only in 42.7 per cent of our cases did member states transpose in time; 17.5 per cent exceeded the deadline by more than two years. The analysis reveals modest variation between social policy areas, more profound cross-country differences and strong cross-area variations within some countries. The need for inter-ministerial coordination and administrative inefficiency are strongly associated with transposition delay. Whether a directive is new or merely an amendment is unrelated to transposition delay. The same holds for the directive’s complexity and parliamentary involvement in the transposition process. The irrelevance of the latter factors may suggest that member states anticipate some potential challenges to transposition performance and act to mitigate them. Whether and why this is the case merits further research.
In this article I analyse the role of the European Commission in monitoring the transposition and implementation of EU Directives. The point of departure is that the Commission, like any political actor, has policy preferences that affect how it shapes its overseeing role. The Commission's responses may vary between being 'the guardian of the treaties', not allowing for any changes, and a 'silent witness', permitting member states to set their own, deviating national policies. These different responses are consistent with empirical findings showing that the Commission is rather selective in starting infringement procedures. 'Big brother is watching' the member states, but this is evident only when interests clash and the Commission receives sufficient support from the European Court of Justice or the other member states.
Data from monitoring reports of the European Commission consistently indicate that Lithuania is among the best performers in transposing and implementing EU law. This article analyses whether this is really the case. Through two case studies – the second gas Directive 2003/55/EC and the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant – the paper attempts to verify and explain the results of the monitoring report and finds that, in reality, implementation appears more problematic. Non-compliance due to neglect at the administrative level is not an issue, as the process of EU law implementation in Lithuania is well organized. Special planning and monitoring mechanisms and tools developed to ensure transposition and implementation of the acquis remained in place in Lithuania after EU accession. On the other hand, these mechanisms are unable to cope with cases of voluntary non-implementation, which is now practiced more often than previously. However, fear of sanctions and reputational damage has replaced pre-accession conditionality as the main driver of compliance, and effectively limits the number of cases of voluntary non-implementation.
This contribution addresses questions regarding the future of European environmental policy after the EU has been enlarged to include a number of Central and Eastern European countries. The existing literature, based mainly on EU-related 'top-down' variables such as status of harmonisation, availability of pre-accession funds, and future Council voting dynamics, predicts a largely negative impact of enlargement for progressive environmental policy. However, based on extensive survey data from within the candidate countries, this contribution asserts that this prediction should be qualified. It was also found that current theories in respect of national integration deal poorly with such 'bottom-up' perspectives.
This paper takes stock of academic literature and official sources on post-accession compliance in Bulgaria and Romania, the only new member states where the Commission has preserved the right to monitor key reforms following accession. The data used in the analysis suggests that formal compliance with EU law has not decreased since their accession. Quite the contrary; Bulgaria and Romania have performed well with regard to the transposition of EU law, yet signs of shortcomings have appeared at the enforcement level, possibly on a greater scale than in other CEECs. Moreover, it is argued that in the first years of membership, the Commission’s post-accession monitoring did not yield the same results in Bulgaria and Romania. While Romania has managed to convince the Commission of its good will and determination to meet the benchmarks set by the EU, Bulgaria has failed to do so and has faced sanctions in relation to the EU’s extended conditionality. The analysis concludes by presenting possible directions for further research.
Implementation lies at the 'sharp end' of the European Union (EU) environmental policy process. The success of the EU's policies must ultimately be judged by the impact they have on the ground, but despite many institutional initiatives, poor implementation remains a fact of life in Europe. In this paper the author investigates why the issue of poor implementation was neglected during the first decade of EU environmental policy, outlines the responsibilities and interests of the main actors involved in putting policies into effect, and discusses possible solutions to the well-publicised 'gap' between policy goals and outcomes. Implementation deficits will be difficult to eradicate completely because they serve to maintain the delicate 'balance' between governmental and supranational elements in the EU.
There is a wide variation in susceptibility to health effects of arsenic, which, in part, may be due to differences in arsenic metabolism. Arsenic is metabolized by reduction and methylation reactions, catalyzed by reductases and methyltransferases.
Our goal in this study was to elucidate the influence of various demographic and genetic factors on the metabolism of arsenic.
We studied 415 individuals from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia by measuring arsenic metabolites in urine using liquid chromatography with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-HG-ICPMS). We performed genotyping of arsenic (+III) methyltransferase (AS3MT), glutathione S-transferase omega 1 (GSTO1), and methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR).
The results show that the M287T (T-->C) polymorphism in the AS3MT gene, the A222V (C-->T) polymorphism in the MTHFR gene, body mass index, and sex are major factors that influence arsenic metabolism in this population, with a median of 8.0 microg/L arsenic in urine. Females < 60 years of age had, in general, higher methylation efficiency than males, indicating an influence of sex steroids. That might also explain the observed better methylation in overweight or obese women, compared with normal weight men. The influence of the M287T (T-->C) polymorphism in the AS3MT gene on the methylation capacity was much more pronounced in men than in women.
The factors investigated explained almost 20% of the variation seen in the metabolism of arsenic among men and only around 4% of the variation among women. The rest of the variation is probably explained by other methyltransferases backing up the methylation of arsenic.
The imminent large-scale EU enlargement raises important questions regarding the success of Phare as one of the Pre-Accession Funds in preparing candidate countries' institutions for Structural Funding, the need to reform EU regional policy itself, and to what extent the Commission is using Phare to build regional-level institutions and shift an enlarged EU towards multi-level governance. Despite some successes, Phare will not be able to deliver everything it was set up for, and a coherent set of post-accession transition policies will need to be set up as part of the next reform of the Structural Funds to ensure that the process of learning and adjustment leading to the adoption of the "acquis" does not stall with the new membership. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
More than 95 % of the drinking water demand of Hungary is met from groundwater. The first nationwide study of groundwater quality was made using chemical data from 5000 water supply wells. The wells were arranged into eight groups according to geological properties and depth of the aquifers. Groundwater quality was characterized by twelve main chemical components, and analysis undertaken by statistical treatment and mapping of areal distribu-tions. It was established that the majority of groundwater quality problems in Hungary is caused by naturally derived components. These chemical components (iron, manganese, ammonia, organic material, methane, arsenic and low hardness) have been derived by water-rock interactions involving subsurface flow for more than 10 000 years according to environmental isotope studies.
Hungary is undergoing both radical economic transformation and political change. Presently a number of challenges converge and compete simultaneously for attention and resources. Hungarian environmental policy and administration are part and parcel of these changes and the competing demands they make on the limited capacities of the institutions of governance. Improving institutional capacity is likely to be difficult since the issues involved are deeper than merely technical and administrative improvements. While democratisation, in many ways, makes improving the institutional capacity for managing environmental quality in Hungary more difficult, it may also be a prerequisite for it. In Hungary institutional capacity is generally in short supply. Consequently, the broader challenges and institutional needs of the nation are also a piece of the explanation of the problems of implementing environmental policy. A significant expansion of institutional capacity is required as part of any concerted effort to address environmental issues.
Since the United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985, gender equality has been an important element of the European social agenda. Yet, 23 years later, despite the fact that all European Union (EU) member states have adopted a legal framework addressing issues of gender equality, there is little evidence that this regime has been implemented successfully anywhere within the EU. By investigating public and official discourses in Poland surrounding gender equality, I seek to understand why the gender equality agenda has been difficult to implement meaningfully in Poland. Rather than claiming this as “Polish exceptionalism,” I suggest that conflict amongst factions within Poland, as well as between Poland and the EU, over the transposition and implementation of the international gender equality agenda is emblematic of the ways in which integration can succeed formally, but fail substantively, highlighting the need for further theorizing the cultural dimensions of European integration.
By focusing on the speed of transposition of European directives in the Netherlands, this article evaluates the claim made by various researchers and EU politicians that there is an EU implementation deficit. It has the twofold objective of assessing the timeliness of transposition and explaining delays, using the technique of survival analysis. The main finding is that almost 60 percent of the directives are transposed late, i.e. after the deadline specified by the directive. There hence exists an implementation deficit in the Netherlands. Various legal and political variables combine to explain the time needed for transposition, the most important of which are the legal instrument used, the responsible ministry and the EU decision-making procedure.
This article examines the impact of accession to the European Union (EU) on environmental standards in three candidate countries: Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. It argues that we must look beyond adoption of environmental standards to their implementation, and it suggests that there is a “deception gap” between what is said on paper and what is actually done in practice. Two sets of factors internal to the East Central European countries work against closing this deception gap: their historical legacy of environmental practice and the interests of domestic producers and environmental groups. Pressure from the EU is the main force in attempting to close the gap, that is, to foster compliance with environmental standards. Domestic producers in East Central Europe could potentially be a force for closing the gap as well.
This paper assesses whether EU compliance is still a black hole', reviewing two decades of research on this topic. It is argued that the first wave of scholarship was rather eclectic in nature, suggesting numerous legal and politico-administrative explanations. The second wave focused on the goodness of fit hypothesis. As the empirical support for this hypothesis has been rather disappointing, the consensus now seems to be that domestic politics needs to enter the equation in a more explicit fashion. The current challenge is to theorize and research the exact role and effects of domestic politics on processes of compliance. In doing so, scholars are advised to pay more attention to methodological issues, such as case selection. Finally, scholarship on compliance should shed more light on the actual size of the implementation deficit, especially when it comes to application and enforcement.
This article reviews the debate about implementation that has occurred over the past 20 years. It concludes that it has been helpful to focus attention upon 'downstream' events in the policy process. But it sees the 'top down/bottom up debate' as often unhelpfully confusing prescriptive concerns with analytical ones. In particular it suggests that there has been a dangerous tendency to separate implementation issues from policy-making issues, when what is important is to understand their inter-relationships.
Member states' implementation of European Union regulations is often analysed in terms of 'implementation deficit' and 'transposition delay'. New member states have to transpose the acquis communautaire in formal terms, while implementation deficit is expected regarding policy impact on issues of ecological modernization, especially in the former socialist states. A comparison of the implementation of two regulations on organic agriculture in six old member states and five new member states accessing in 2004 shows this proposition to be invalid. Policy impacts show similar levels and parallel variations in both the old and the new member states. Variation in policy impact is explained by the level of conflict in the food sector and by the level of institutional change. The impact of the EU in member states thus depends on domestic institutional processes rather than on member states' ascribed position as more or less ecologically modernized.
Groundwater resources in the Pannonian Basin (Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Serbia) are known to contain elevated naturally occurring As. Published estimates suggest nearly 500,000 people are exposed to levels greater than the EU maximum admissible concentration of 10 μg/L in their drinking water, making it the largest area so affected in Europe. In this study, a variety of groundwaters were collected from Romania and Hungary to elucidate the general geochemistry and identify processes controlling As behaviour. Concentrations ranged from <0.5 to 240 μg/L As(tot), with As predominantly in the reduced As(III) form. Using cluster analysis, four main groups of water were identified. Two groups (1 and 2) showed characteristics of water originating from reducing aquifers of the area with both groups having similar ranges of Fe concentrations, indicating that Fe-reduction occurs in both groups. However, As levels and other redox characteristics were very different. Group 1, indicative of waters dominated by methanogenesis contained high As levels (23–208 μg/L, mean 123 μg/L), with group 2 indicative of waters dominated by -reduction containing low As levels (<0.5–58 μg/L, mean 11.5 μg/L). The remaining two groups were influenced either by (i) geothermal and saline or (ii) surface contamination and rain water inputs. Near absence of As in these groups, combined with positive correlations between δ7Li (an indicator of geothermal inputs) and As(tot) in geothermal/saline influenced waters indicate that elevated As is not from an external input, but is released due to an in-aquifer process. Geochemical reasoning, therefore, implies As mobilisation is controlled by redox processes, most likely microbially mediated reductive dissolution of As bearing Fe-oxides, known to occur in sediments from the area. More important is an overlying retention mechanism determined by the presence or absence of . Ongoing -reduction will release S2−, removing As from solution either by the formation of As-sulfides, or from sorption onto Fe-sulfide phases. In methanogenic waters, As released by reductive dissolution is not removed from solution and can rise to the high levels observed. Levels of organic C are thought to be the ultimate control on the redox conditions in these 2 groups. High levels of organic C (as found in group 1) would quickly exhaust any present in the waters, driving the system to methanogenesis and subsequent high levels of As. Group 2 has much lower concentrations of organic C and so is not exhausted. Therefore, As levels in waters of the Pannonian Basin are controlled not by release but by retention mechanisms, ultimately controlled by levels of TOC and in the waters.δD and δ18O analysis showed that groundwaters containing elevated As dated mostly from the last ice-age, and are sourced from Late Pliocene to Quaternary aquifers. The importance of TOC and retention capabilities of -reduction have only previously been suggested for recent (Holocene) sediments and groundwater, most notably those in SE Asia as these are the most likely to contain the right combination of factors to drive the system to a redox situation leading to high aqueous As concentrations. In contrast, it is shown here that a much older system containing As bearing Fe-oxides, also has the potential to produce elevated levels of As if the TOC is suitable for the microbial population to drive the system to the correct redox situation and is either absent or wholly consumed.Graphical abstractElevated As levels in the Pannonian Basin are mainly present in very old (Palaeo) groundwater of methanogenic Pliocene/Quaternary aquifers, which is in contrast to Asian regions where arsenic-enriched groundwater is generally much younger.Research highlights► Arsenic originates from Late Pliocene/Quaternary aquifers and some very old waters. ► Arsenic levels are controlled by both mobilisation and retention mechanisms. ► Mobilisation is caused by biogeochemical reductive dissolution. ► Sufficient sulfate supply triggers arsenic retention in sulfide precipitates. ► Nearly 500,000 people are exposed to elevated arsenic in their drinking water.
This paper first reviews the implementation literature of the past fifteen years, with particular emphasis on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches. It also argues that the 4–6 year time-frame used in most implementation research misses many critical features of public policy-making. The paper then outlines a conceptual framework for examining policy change over a 10–20 year period which combines the best features of the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches with insights from other literatures.
The term 'governance' is popular but imprecise. It has at least six uses, referring to: the minimal state; corporate governance; the new public management; 'good governance'; socio-cybernetic systems; and self-organizing networks. I stipulate that governance refers to 'self-organizing, interorganizational networks' and argue these networks complement markets and hierarchies as governing structures for authoritatively allocating resources and exercising control and co-ordination. I defend this definition, arguing that it throws new light on recent changes in British government, most notably: hollowing out the state, the new public management, and intergovernmental manage-ment. I conclude that networks are now a pervasive feature of service delivery in Britain; that such networks are characterized by trust and mutual adjustment and undermine management reforms rooted in competition: and that they are a challenge to governability because they become autonomous and resist central guidance.
This article discusses factors effecting the implementation of European policies at the national level. Four main independent variables are distinguished: political institutions, the degree of corporatism, citizens' support for the EU, and political culture in the member states. The impacts of these variables on the success of implementing EU directives in ten policy areas are then tested with the multiple regression model. The results suggest that political culture and the design of political institutions in the member states had the most significant impact on implementation behavior. Countries with a high level of trust and political stability combined with efficient and flexible political institutions had the most success in implementing European policies.
The White Carpathians Protected Landscape Area (PLA) typifies large areas of grassland in the Central and East European countries which, to maintain their exceptional nature conservation and landscape value, rely on the continuation of traditional farming practice. Current domestic policies in the Czech Republic recognise the need for an incentive-based approach. However, achievement of policy goals is hampered by a number of factors including a lack of harmonisation between policy instruments, faulty policy design, uncertainty over property rights to farmland and a lack of engagement with local communities, including farmers. The requirements of European Union accession raise severe challenges to policy development, administration and monitoring. However, it is argued they will also present an opportunity for greater participation by local actors and for increasing the level of co-operation between governmental institutions in policy development.
Since the early 1990s, the development of agri-environmental policy in the Central and Eastern European Countries has had to respond to the needs arising from the legacies of communist regimes and to the challenges of complying with the EU environmental acquis. Previous assessments of agri-environmental problems in the region have focused almost exclusively on problems stemming from intensification and the inefficiencies of central planning. This is an inadequate characterisation and ignores problems that may derive from small-scale production and inappropriate farm management practices. Case study findings highlight that transition, by increasing the number of holdings and policy stakeholders, has increased the complexity of policy systems in a period of falling real budgets for administrative bodies. Nevertheless the evolution of the environmental policy system, institution building and administrative reform induced by the preparation for EU Membership has been shaped by the specific historic trajectories of the each of CEECs. This may lead to varying impacts of Europeanisation on the CEECs. However, certain commonalities and convergences can also be observed among the acceding countries arising from the nature of the membership negotiation process.
Millions of people worldwide are chronically exposed to arsenic through drinking water, including 35-77 million people in Bangladesh. The association between arsenic exposure and mortality rate has not been prospectively investigated by use of individual-level data. We therefore prospectively assessed whether chronic and recent changes in arsenic exposure are associated with all-cause and chronic-disease mortalities in a Bangladeshi population.
In the prospective cohort Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), trained physicians unaware of arsenic exposure interviewed in person and clinically assessed 11 746 population-based participants (aged 18-75 years) from Araihazar, Bangladesh. Participants were recruited from October, 2000, to May, 2002, and followed-up biennially. Data for mortality rates were available throughout February, 2009. We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality, with adjustment for potential confounders, at different doses of arsenic exposure.
407 deaths were ascertained between October, 2000, and February, 2009. Multivariate adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality in a comparison of arsenic at concentrations of 10.1-50.0 microg/L, 50.1-150.0 microg/L, and 150.1-864.0 microg/L with at least 10.0 microg/L in well water were 1.34 (95% CI 0.99-1.82), 1.09 (0.81-1.47), and 1.68 (1.26-2.23), respectively. Results were similar with daily arsenic dose and total arsenic concentration in urine. Recent change in exposure, measurement of total arsenic concentrations in urine repeated biennially, did not have much effect on the mortality rate.
Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water was associated with an increase in the mortality rate. Follow-up data from this cohort will be used to assess the long-term effects of arsenic exposure and how they might be affected by changes in exposure. However, solutions and resources are urgently needed to mitigate the resulting health effects of arsenic exposure.
US National Institutes of Health.
Inorganic arsenic is a potent human carcinogen and toxicant which people are exposed to mainly via drinking water and food. The objective of the present study was to assess current exposure to arsenic via drinking water in three European countries. For this purpose, 520 individuals from four Hungarian, two Slovakian and two Romanian countries were investigated by measuring inorganic arsenic and methylated arsenic metabolites in urine by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Arsenic in drinking water was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Significantly higher concentrations of arsenic were found in both the water and the urine samples from the Hungarian counties (median: 11 and 15 μg dm−3, respectively; p < 0.001) than from the Slovakian (median: 0.94 and 4.5 μg dm−3, respectively) and Romanian (median: 0.70 and 2.1 μg dm−3, respectively) counties. A significant correlation was seen between arsenic in water and arsenic in urine (R2
= 0.46). At low water arsenic concentrations, the relative amount of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in urine was increased, indicating exposure via food. Also, high body mass index was associated with higher concentrations of arsenic in urine (p
= 0.03), mostly in the form of DMA. Smokers had significantly higher urinary arsenic concentrations than non-smokers (p
= 0.03). In conclusion, elevated arsenic exposure via drinking water was prevalent in some of the counties. Exposure to arsenic from food, mainly as DMA, and cigarette smoke, mainly as inorganic arsenic, are major determinants of arsenic exposure at very low concentrations of arsenic in drinking water.
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