Addressing diffuse water pollution from agriculture: Do governance structures matter for the nature of measures taken?

Wiering, Mark, Kirschke, Sabrina and Akif, Nasir Uddin, (2023). Addressing diffuse water pollution from agriculture: Do governance structures matter for the nature of measures taken?. Journal of Environmental Management, 332 117329-n/a

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Wiering, Mark
    Kirschke, Sabrina
    Akif, Nasir Uddin
    Title Addressing diffuse water pollution from agriculture: Do governance structures matter for the nature of measures taken?
    Appearing in Journal of Environmental Management
    Volume 332
    Publication Date 2023-04-15
    Place of Publication Online
    Publisher Elsevier Ltd
    Start page 117329
    End page n/a
    Language eng
    Abstract Nutrient pollution of freshwaters from agriculture is a key barrier to achieving the water quality goals of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Governance research suggests that governance structures can support the planning of water quality measures. However, it is widely unclear how specific governance structures affect the actual nature of practical measures taken for addressing the “wicked problem” of diffuse nutrient pollution. This study analyses how the extent of consensual policy styles, organizational and program integration, participatory governance, and the capacities of public authorities are related to the substance of practical measures taken (effect-vs. source-based measures) and the choice of policy instruments (e.g., sermons, carrots, sticks). Based on a comparative case study design including six country cases, document analyses, and expert interviews, we find no clear-cut relationships between the country's governance structures and the types of measures chosen or any trend of a combined effect. This suggests that, in the case of the WFD, governance structures are less important than expected or that different governance structures compensate for the effects on the level of practical measures taken and policy instruments chosen. These results question the dominant assumption that these governance structures matter (a lot) in wicked problem solving and may hint to additional context factors these governance structures are embedded in.
    UNBIS Thesaurus GOVERNANCE
    Keyword Diffuse pollution
    Agriculture
    Water Framework Directive
    Policy instrument
    Wicked problem
    Copyright Holder The authors
    Copyright Year 2023
    Copyright type Creative commons
    ISSN 0301-4797
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117329
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    Created: Thu, 26 Oct 2023, 05:03:44 JST by Věra Greschner Farkavcová on behalf of UNU FLORES