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The goal of this article is to explore the ways in which institutional changes are made to accommodate the application of the ecosystem approach for the governance of international environmental organizations. It examines the case of the Helsinki Commission, the governing body for restoration of good ecological status to the Baltic Sea, using the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) as its main tool. The Parties to the Helsinki Convention committed to adopting the ecosystem approach in the BSAP, recognizing that a clear shift was needed from the previous sectoral emphasis. The analysis is relevant and timely, as a review of BSAP indicates that implementation actions are lagging. The findings show that while the ecosystem approach influenced problem framing and envisioning, the overarching governance paradigm within HELCOM has not changed. Targeted transition leadership is crucial to guide more formal rules of engagement among actors and sectors for the better implementation of this holistic approach.
Savitri Jetoo; Nina Tynkkynen. Institutional Change and the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach: A Case Study of HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Environments 2021, 8, 83 .
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo, Nina Tynkkynen. Institutional Change and the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach: A Case Study of HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Environments. 2021; 8 (8):83.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo; Nina Tynkkynen. 2021. "Institutional Change and the Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach: A Case Study of HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP)." Environments 8, no. 8: 83.
The city of Turku is located in southwest Finland, in Northern Europe. Founded in 1229, it is the country’s oldest city. It is situated around the Aura River, which flows into the Baltic Sea, making it an ideal location for its 184,000 inhabitants and 20,000 enterprises. In June 2018, the city unveiled an ambitious climate plan to be carbon neutral by 2029. This plan was prepared according to the common model of the European Union (EU) (SECAP, Sustainable energy and climate action plan) with key milestones for years 2021, 2025, and 2029. It focuses on both adaptation and mitigation strategies with six measures outlined as necessary to meet the targets, two of which directly target citizen outreach and engagement. These two measures focus on mobilizing communities as partners in the climate plan and on raising awareness of climate change. Given its significance to the plan, this paper examines stakeholder engagement in the City of Turku’s climate policies from a governance perspective. It asks the question, how does stakeholder participation materialize in the City of Turku’s carbon neutral planning process? It aims to give a snapshot of baseline stakeholder participation in the city’s carbon neutral aspirations. It has found that whilst the plan contains ambitions for stakeholder participation, it is not fully implemented. It recommends a citizen facilitated public participation steering group that aims to inspire citizens towards taking action and engaging in the decision-making process for a carbon neutral 2029.
Savitri Jetoo. Stakeholder Engagement for Inclusive Climate Governance: The Case of the City of Turku. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6080 .
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo. Stakeholder Engagement for Inclusive Climate Governance: The Case of the City of Turku. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (21):6080.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo. 2019. "Stakeholder Engagement for Inclusive Climate Governance: The Case of the City of Turku." Sustainability 11, no. 21: 6080.
This paper uses the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) water governance principles to assess the governance of the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), with a focus on the eutrophication segment. Whilst governance assessments can be used as auditing functions, this study was done with the goal of stimulating reflection, in order to investigate whether the governance systems have made any improvements. This is especially needed, since the BSAP is to be renewed in 2021, so that any assessment of it at this moment is timely. This review has focused on the 12 principles of water governance and the three complementary drivers into which the principles are grouped: Effectiveness, efficiency and trust, and engagement. This paper focuses on national implementation actions. It uses qualitative thematic analysis to analyze the content of the national implementation plans for Baltic Sea Coastal countries. It identifies gaps in water governance and makes recommendations for enhancing effectiveness, efficiency and trust, and engagement in the governance of the Baltic Sea, including improved stakeholder participation, the establishment of a permanent lead agency for the implementation of BSAP, increased funding for implementation actions, and a better governance of trade-offs.
Savitri Jetoo. An Assessment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) Using the OECD Principles on Water Governance. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3405 .
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo. An Assessment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) Using the OECD Principles on Water Governance. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (12):3405.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo. 2019. "An Assessment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) Using the OECD Principles on Water Governance." Sustainability 11, no. 12: 3405.
Nutrient enrichment of water bodies is one of the greatest stressors facing aquatic ecosystems worldwide. It is a problem faced in the Baltic Sea in Europe and the Laurentian Great Lakes in North America. Whilst progress was made in the Great Lakes during the 1990s to restore resiliency to the ecosystem, it is still a challenge in both basins today. This problem has been traced to a failure of governance, where traditional forms of government and legal steering have been unable to reduce nutrient inputs to the most polluted areas of the North American Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea. As such, governance innovations are needed to reduce nutrient inputs from agriculture and wastewater treatment plants, two of the biggest sources of land-based nutrients into these water bodies. Whilst a lot of the literature has focused on documenting the problems, there has been little attention on documenting novel governance innovations that have been working across scales to build adaptive capacity to nutrient abatement. This article fills this gap in the literature by looking at novel governance innovations across scales in the multi-level governance framework setting of the North American Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea steering mechanisms. It asks the question of what are the roles of actors other than the government in nutrient abatement. It examines innovations in governance by highlighting the role of new actors in building adaptive capacity through a focus on these determinants: public participation, science, networks, leadership, flexibility and resources.
Savitri Jetoo. Multi-level governance innovations of the Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes: New actors and their roles in building adaptive capacity for eutrophication governance. Marine Policy 2018, 98, 237 -245.
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo. Multi-level governance innovations of the Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes: New actors and their roles in building adaptive capacity for eutrophication governance. Marine Policy. 2018; 98 ():237-245.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo. 2018. "Multi-level governance innovations of the Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes: New actors and their roles in building adaptive capacity for eutrophication governance." Marine Policy 98, no. : 237-245.
The Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes are two transboundary watersheds that are at risk from similar environmental stressors including nutrient enrichment, hydrologic modifications, chemicals of emerging concern, and the overarching stressor of climate change. Although located in different geographical regions of the world, both watersheds are governed in a multilevel governance setting with many layers of decision makers including global, national, governmental, regional, municipal, and community levels. Despite governance innovations, such as the Helsinki Convention in 1974 and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972 and their updated versions, both transboundary waters are under increasing stress from eutrophication. There are provisions in both the Helsinki Convention and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement for nutrient abatement measures, yet algal blooms abound in both waters, especially after precipitation events. This paper looks at the governance processes in both transboundary ecosystems, with the aim of highlighting governance barriers to eutrophication mitigation using four analytical lenses. A comparison of the two systems and the governance barriers shows that similar and unique challenges are faced in both regions, and the choice of analytical lens affects the perception of barriers and implementation actions. This is useful for policymakers in planning intervention strategies to tackle the stressor of nutrient enrichment in both regions.
Savitri Jetoo. Barriers to Effective Eutrophication Governance: A Comparison of the Baltic Sea and North American Great Lakes. Water 2018, 10, 400 .
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo. Barriers to Effective Eutrophication Governance: A Comparison of the Baltic Sea and North American Great Lakes. Water. 2018; 10 (4):400.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo. 2018. "Barriers to Effective Eutrophication Governance: A Comparison of the Baltic Sea and North American Great Lakes." Water 10, no. 4: 400.
The transboundary nature of stressors impacting shared water bodies has been traditionally recognized in agreements between nation states. Several developments have led to new layers of cross border environmental actors, including regional and city level interactions. This proliferation of non-state actors is witnessed in two large water bodies, the Baltic Sea and the North American Great Lakes. In both regions, transboundary water governance was led by nation states in agreements to improve heavily contaminated waters, the Helsinki Convention (1974) and the North American Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1972), respectively. Whilst there has been much research on transnational regional networks, especially in Europe, there has been less theoretical work done on transnational municipal transboundary water networks due to the delay of recognition of the legitimacy of these local government actors. This paper aims to examine the role of the transnational municipal networks in transboundary water governance by looking at the case studies of the Union of Baltic cities in the Baltic Sea region and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in the North American Great Lakes Basin. It does this by assessing the role of these transnational municipal networks in bridging water governance gaps in these regions.
Savitri Jetoo. The Role of Transnational Municipal Networks in Transboundary Water Governance. Water 2017, 9, 40 .
AMA StyleSavitri Jetoo. The Role of Transnational Municipal Networks in Transboundary Water Governance. Water. 2017; 9 (1):40.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSavitri Jetoo. 2017. "The Role of Transnational Municipal Networks in Transboundary Water Governance." Water 9, no. 1: 40.