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Bruns, A.: Governance im Küstenraum. Europäische Umweltpolitik im Wandel – Die Umsetzung des Integrierten Küstenzonenmanagements und der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie an der Westküste Schleswig-Holsteins. Dissertation. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Christian-Albrecht-Universität zu Kiel, 2010.

Zusammenfassung: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) are commonly viewed to represent an environmental paradigm shift within European Community Law.
The research presented here asks whether these approaches lead to changes in regional governance and if so, in what way. The case study analysis employs a governance perspective in order to focus on those forms of governing where civil society is an active participant. The interchange between institutional (framework) conditions and collective action by actors is of particular interest.
Empirical work focuses on the regional level (specifically: the West coast of Schleswig-Holstein) on account of the particular importance accorded to regions by the EU. Expert interviews and written questionnaires, as well as analysis of legal documents and official reports form the methodological core of this research.
Aiming for integrated management in new spatial units ( the coast and river  catchments, respectively) is a new aspect for community law. It is also of high relevance for geography-based research.
The WFD, which came into force in 2000, represents the first coherent framework for the management of all European waters. In order to achieve their good ecological status, the WFD supplements environmental quality targets by specific procedural requirements. A similar approach is pursued by ICZM for issues that transcend the land-sea boundary. Here too, the aim is to facilitate holistic and participative management. The main difference is that ICZM is based on a nonbinding
EU recommendation whose aims are comparatively vague.
The case study on ICZM shows that neither the national ICZM strategy nor initiatives at state level (here: Schleswig-Holstein) provide any tangible impulses for ICZM in the region of Uthlande. Nevertheless, there is evidence for regional management processes which could be considered examples of ICZM. Reasons and conditions for their emergence are therefore of particular interest. Here it is shown that strong bottom-up processes were important in a first phase. This was followed by a process of institutionalization which was triggered by top-down initiatives provided through agricultural policy. A network of actors thus constituted itself that is particularly suited to representing interests and to coordinating action at a local and regional level. The network, however, is unable to resolve conflicts of distribution and problems extending to multiple scales. Despite the emergence of a new governance regime at a regional level, the regime is limited in its capacity to act. The lack of suitable ICZM structures is clearly apparent at a national and subnational level.
The case study on the WFD demonstrates that the state of Schleswig-Holstein comprehensively implements the procedural principles of the Directive. River basin management is considered a strategic task by the higher river basin authority and is characterized by broad involvement of the organized public. Within this framework several new bodies have emerged together with a diverse range of vertical and horizontal structures of communication. The River Basin Advisory Board primarily
serves as a point of information and a central hub for networking between interested and affected actors. 34 heterogenic working groups are responsible for the operative implementation of the WFD at sub-basin level. Empirical evidence shows that the processes of dialogue initiated by this yield various ‘soft effects’. Overall, the WFD has facilitated comprehensive river basin management across new spatial units that also opens up arenas for decision-making to the participating actors and brings together informal and formal instruments. The research presented here documents the  considerable broadening of spatial management that is taking place on the coast. It also demonstrates that spatial management processes lead to the emergence of new governance regimes. These changes do not originate within a single sphere of coordination or at a single spatial level. On the contrary, they are the result of a wide range of interchanges between contextual, institutional and procedural contributing factors. Local and regional demands for participation in spatial decision-making play a particular role.
PDF: Bruns Diss Governance im Kuestenraum 2010.pdf (4.532.946 Bytes)
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