PRIMUS/Informed Cities: Making research work for local sustainability

The final report of a three year European Commission FP7 project

Governing the Baltic Sea : a study of the functionality of contemporary environmental governance

The research interest of this thesis is outlined by the concept of governance. Governance is used to describe, understand and explain the development of governing styles applied to solve complex societal problems. Governance embodies a societal shift in governing problems by emphasizing the need of interaction across and between state and non-state actors to augment the capacity of public policy. Governance transforms the role of the government by subverting the hierarchical principles for governing through interface and collaboration. The normative perception of governance is that it improves governments’ ability to develop alternative and innovative governing solutions to intricate problems and challenges. The study of governance entails the research on complex and interactive governing. The design of innovative governing commands an integration of a range of actors in the development of programs, strategies and policy. In contemporary interactive governing the position of the government is redefined. Formal and hierarchical governing is interlinked with informal and multi-level governing through networks. Networks join the interests of public entities operative on different levels, with non-state actors, e.g. citizen, business and local organizations. Networks operate based on varied institutional interests and diverse sociopolitical preferences and often have their own view of societal problems and opinion of methods to deal with these problems. A functional interactive governing implies that the design of innovative policy solutions is a result of a coordinated interaction where the interests and preferences of different networks are respected and integrated. This is a precondition for an informed problem understanding that reflects the complexity of contemporary societal challenges. This thesis describes and examines governance endeavors designed to solve contested and illdefined environmental challenges. The thesis contributes to the academic literature by using the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) as a research area. The BSR is a relevant area to study governance, as it has been a laboratory for alternative modes of governing ever since the 1950s. The focus of this thesis is the environmental governance of the Baltic Sea. The BSR environmental governance is synonymous with autonomous network endeavors that aim to generate policy responses that target the shared challenges of the Baltic Sea. The BSR network governance is tasked with the multi-level governing of the environmental degradation of the Baltic Sea ecosystems. The destruction of the Baltic Sea ecosystems is largely a consequence of extensive chemical pollution, eutrophication and overfishing. The thesis examines how the current BSR environmental network governance functions in practice and summarizes the key features that define the reality of governing the Baltic Sea. The thesis illustrates how the current mode of Baltic Sea governing does not comply with normative logic. Modern environmental governance advocates interactive governing through inclusive actor arrangements to attain a holistic view of the underlying structures and features defining complex challenges. The hierarchical conditioned BSR network governance fails to transform and reframe the Baltic Sea governing style to comply with and respond to the conflict-ridden and intricate ecosystem challenges. Ecosystem based challenges are difficult to solve, as there is not a shared view of the scope of their true nature, because of diverging and conflicting societal and actor interests. In particular, the governing of the Baltic Sea does not properly consider the social dimension of ecosystem challenges. Technical and expert guided governance cannot solve the underlying socio-cultural tensions in the region, which impedes the usefulness, efficiency and the true potential of current policy actions. A future Baltic Sea environmental network governance must be defined based on a broad and varied actor base. The governing of the Baltic Sea needs to accept normative reasoning. This entails adaptive governing that combine technical actions with interactive and participatory governance styles to enable a functional governance of the Baltic Sea. This offers improved provisions for integrating multilayered knowledge, by joining expert, lay and indigenous actors into the development of policy. This enhances the conditions for an informed governance approach of the ecosystems of the Baltic Sea

e-Förtroende : En mätning av aspekter som påverkar konsumentens förtroende vid köp av hemelektronik över Internet

E-handel mellan företag som säljer hemelektronik och svenska konsumenter har blivit vanligare de senaste åren. Trots den kraftiga tillväxten är konsumenter fortfarande ifrågasättande till tryggheten med att handla över Internet. Med hjälp av teori har aspekter identifierats som påverkar konsumentens förtroende till en webbutik. Aspekterna delas in i fyra kategorier; influensbaserade faktorer, upplevelsebaserade faktorer, personlig inställning och erfarenhetsbaserad inställning. Med en kvantitativ studie har vi undersökt vilka faktorer som är viktiga för att konsumenten ska känna förtroende till en webbutik när den handlar hemelektronik. Studien undersökte även den svenska konsumentens inställning till att handla. Undersökningen visade att i stort sett samtliga faktorer inom den upplevelse- och influensbaserade kategorin är viktiga för konsumentens förtroende. Svenska konsumenter har överlag positiva erfarenheter av att handla hemelektronik på Internet och de känner sig trygga. Undersökningen visade dock att kvinnor inte har lika god vana som männen av att handla över Internet och tenderar att uppleva mindre förtroende.E-commerce business selling consumer electronics to Swedish consumers have become more common in recent years. Despite rich growth, consumers are still questioning the safety of shopping over the Internet. Using the theory has identified aspects that affect consumer confidence to an online store. The aspects are divided into four categories: Influence-based factors, cognitive-based factors, personal-oriented aspects and experience-based aspects. In a quantitative study we have investigated which factors are important for consumer confidence to an online store and the context of consumer electronics. The study also examined the Swedish consumer’s attitude to shopping. It turns out that almost all factors in the experience and influence-based category is important for consumer confidence. Swedish consumers have a generally positive experience of shopping consumer electronics in the Internet and they feel safe. The study showed that women are not as good as men accustomed to online shopping and tend to experience less confidence

The Ecosystem Approach to Management in Baltic Sea Governance : Towards Increased Reflexivity?

This chapter analyses the governance structures linked to the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. The purpose is to assess whether current developments of the governance structures have a potential to take into account requirements of an Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM). We use the concept of reflexive governance to understand key components and weaknesses in contemporary governance modes, as well as to elaborate on possible pathways towards a governance mode more aligned with EAM. The reflexive governance framework highlights three elements: (1) acknowledgement of uncertainty and ambiguity; (2) a holistic approach in terms of scales, sectors and actors; and (3) acknowledgement of path dependency and incremental policy-making. Our analysis is based on a comparative case study approach, including analysis of the governance in five environmental risk areas: chemical pollution, overfishing, eutrophication, invasive alien species and pollution from shipping. The chapter highlights an existing governance mode that is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of environmental problems in a holistic manner, with systematic attention to uncertainty, plurality of values, ambiguity and limited knowledge, while also pointing at important recent cognitive and institutional developments that can favour pathways towards reflexive governance and consequently EAM

The Ecosystem Approach to Management in Baltic Sea Governance : towards increased reflexivity?

This chapter analyses the governance structures linked to the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. The purpose is to assess whether current developments of the governance structures have a potential to take into account requirements of an Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM). We use the concept of reflexive governance to understand key components and weaknesses in contemporary governance modes, as well as to elaborate on possible pathways towards a governance mode more aligned with EAM. The reflexive governance framework highlights three elements: (1) acknowledgement of uncertainty and ambiguity; (2) a holistic approach in terms of scales, sectors and actors; and (3) acknowledgement of path dependency and incremental policy-making. Our analysis is based on a comparative case study approach, including analysis of the governance in five environmental risk areas: chemical pollution, overfishing, eutrophication, invasive alien species and pollution from shipping. The chapter highlights an existing governance mode that is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of environmental problems in a holistic manner, with systematic attention to uncertainty, plurality of values, ambiguity and limited knowledge, while also pointing at important recent cognitive and institutional developments that can favour pathways towards refl exive governance and consequently EAM

Environmental risk governance in the Baltic Sea - A comparison between five key areas : Deliverable number 8

This report focuses on challenges for adaptive, reflective and legitimate regional environmental governance related to environmental risks in the regional context of the Baltic Sea. The point of departure is the assumed challenges for establishing mutually fruitful regional collaboration among a diverse group of neighbouring countries. The Baltic Sea countries differ considerably in terms of socioeconomic development, institutional structures and procedures, power relations, policy styles, political cultures and history. How can regional governance arrangements cope with such differences and establish robust and sustainable modes of risk management? The report places its focus on regulatory frameworks for identified environmental risks as well as decision-making forms and processes. It builds on a discursive comparative case-study design where five key risks for the long-term ecological integrity of the Baltic Sea previously have been studied in detail: oil discharges from marine transportations, chemical pollution, over-fishing, eutrophication and invasive alien species. The analysis is based on case studies undertaken for the international research project ‘Risk governance of the Baltic Sea’ (RISKGOV). The analytical framework is primarily based on mappings of problem structures (i.e. bio-geophysical features affecting collaborative patterns), existing international conventions, regulatory institutions and to what extent civil society actors take part in governance arrangements. Although our primary focus is on the regional scale, the analysis takes into consideration the interplay (in terms of synergistic or conflicting effects) of such regional arrangements with national, EU, and international risk management. Our findings suggest that whereas comprehensive regulatory frameworks in most cases are in place, enforcement and implementation often lags behind. Moreover, regional institutional mechanisms for systematic reflection among relevant stakeholders on long term improvement of environmental safety within the individual issue-areas as well as between different sectors are largely lacking. This tends to lead to – via mecchanisms such as path dependency, sectoral management, too narrow coneptions of uncertainty, static rather than dynamic approaches, neglect of self-moitoring activities and inadequate appreciation of governance plurality – reactive rather than forward-looking policy responses, legitimacy deficits and sub-optimal social and institutional learningEnvironmental Risk Governance of the Baltic Sea (RISKGOV

Environmental risk governance in the Baltic Sea - A comparison between five key areas : Deliverable number 8

This report focuses on challenges for adaptive, reflective and legitimate regional environmental governance related to environmental risks in the regional context of the Baltic Sea. The point of departure is the assumed challenges for establishing mutually fruitful regional collaboration among a diverse group of neighbouring countries. The Baltic Sea countries differ considerably in terms of socioeconomic development, institutional structures and procedures, power relations, policy styles, political cultures and history. How can regional governance arrangements cope with such differences and establish robust and sustainable modes of risk management? The report places its focus on regulatory frameworks for identified environmental risks as well as decision-making forms and processes. It builds on a discursive comparative case-study design where five key risks for the long-term ecological integrity of the Baltic Sea previously have been studied in detail: oil discharges from marine transportations, chemical pollution, over-fishing, eutrophication and invasive alien species. The analysis is based on case studies undertaken for the international research project ‘Risk governance of the Baltic Sea’ (RISKGOV). The analytical framework is primarily based on mappings of problem structures (i.e. bio-geophysical features affecting collaborative patterns), existing international conventions, regulatory institutions and to what extent civil society actors take part in governance arrangements. Although our primary focus is on the regional scale, the analysis takes into consideration the interplay (in terms of synergistic or conflicting effects) of such regional arrangements with national, EU, and international risk management. Our findings suggest that whereas comprehensive regulatory frameworks in most cases are in place, enforcement and implementation often lags behind. Moreover, regional institutional mechanisms for systematic reflection among relevant stakeholders on long term improvement of environmental safety within the individual issue-areas as well as between different sectors are largely lacking. This tends to lead to – via mecchanisms such as path dependency, sectoral management, too narrow coneptions of uncertainty, static rather than dynamic approaches, neglect of self-moitoring activities and inadequate appreciation of governance plurality – reactive rather than forward-looking policy responses, legitimacy deficits and sub-optimal social and institutional learningEnvironmental Risk Governance of the Baltic Sea (RISKGOV

Final Project report: PRIMUS/Informed Cities: Making research Work for Sustainability

This publication has been prepared in the framework of the Informed Cities Initiative and is one of the outcomes of the EU FP7 Research Project PRIMUS (Policies and Research for an Integrated Management of Urban Sustainability), May 2009 to April 2012