TY - JOUR
T1 - Nitrate management discourses in Poland and Denmark-Laggards or leaders in water quality protection?
AU - Ptak, Emilia Noel
AU - Graversgaard, Morten
AU - Refsgaard, Jens Christian
AU - Dalgaard, Tommy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - The most significant source of nitrate pollution in the European Union (EU) is attributed to agricultural activities, which threaten drinking water, marine, and freshwater resources. The Nitrates Directive is a key feature of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which seeks to reduce nitrate pollution from agricultural sources. Yet, weak compliance by Member States (MS) diminishes the legitimacy of the EU environmental acquis and undermines efforts to achieve environmental objectives. This study examines the nitrate management discourse in Poland to identify influencing factors that impact governance capacity and overall compliance performance. The empirical investigation is based on nine stakeholder interviews, three written correspondences, and a literature review that collectively comprise an evaluation study. A comparison in governance approaches between Poland and Denmark provides a calibration in assessing performance respective to another MS. The findings categorize both Poland and Denmark as "laggard" in WFD compliance. This case contributes new insights in identifying 6 enabling and 13 constraining factors affecting the ability of MS to fulfill their implementation duties. The findings demonstrate that divergent stakeholder views based on historical and cultural norms require a differentiated approach tailored to domestic conditions for effective fulfillment of the objectives set forth in EU environmental legislation.
AB - The most significant source of nitrate pollution in the European Union (EU) is attributed to agricultural activities, which threaten drinking water, marine, and freshwater resources. The Nitrates Directive is a key feature of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which seeks to reduce nitrate pollution from agricultural sources. Yet, weak compliance by Member States (MS) diminishes the legitimacy of the EU environmental acquis and undermines efforts to achieve environmental objectives. This study examines the nitrate management discourse in Poland to identify influencing factors that impact governance capacity and overall compliance performance. The empirical investigation is based on nine stakeholder interviews, three written correspondences, and a literature review that collectively comprise an evaluation study. A comparison in governance approaches between Poland and Denmark provides a calibration in assessing performance respective to another MS. The findings categorize both Poland and Denmark as "laggard" in WFD compliance. This case contributes new insights in identifying 6 enabling and 13 constraining factors affecting the ability of MS to fulfill their implementation duties. The findings demonstrate that divergent stakeholder views based on historical and cultural norms require a differentiated approach tailored to domestic conditions for effective fulfillment of the objectives set forth in EU environmental legislation.
KW - Agriculturally induced water pollution
KW - Comparative governance approaches
KW - Implementation performance
KW - Leaders and laggards
KW - Nitrates directive
KW - Policy design
KW - Water framework directive
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091098689&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/W12092371
DO - 10.3390/W12092371
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091098689
VL - 12
JO - Water (Switzerland)
JF - Water (Switzerland)
SN - 2073-4441
IS - 9
M1 - 2371
ER -