Participatory Deliberation, Risk Governance and Management of the Marine Region in the European Union

Abstract

In Europe, marine environmental risks are governed in a complex multi-level system. The role that the marine region could or should play as a level of risk governance has attracted growing attention of late. In this context, reference has been made to the regional sea as one level at which participatory processes in the future governing of European Union's (EU) marine environment and resources are required. The paper unfolds the particular challenges that one faces when trying to implement stakeholder and citizen participatory deliberation at marine region level. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive is highlighted as a key European environmental policy initiative and participatory deliberation at regional sea level is underlined as a requirement for the Directive's successful implementation. The paper's account of participatory deliberation is informed by perspectives of inclusive risk governance and reflexive governance. The discussion of the challenges draws on the distinction between horizontal and vertical risk governance. The paper's main argument is that frequently encountered problems of participatory deliberation are exacerbated when deliberation is to be carried out at the regional sea level, i.e. at a large trans-boundary scale. These problems include the ‘inclusivity-effectiveness dilemma’, a fragmentation of participation efforts and a loose connection to actual decision-making.

Key Words:

• Marine regions
• risk governance
• environmental risk
• participation
• deliberation

Acknowledgements

This paper draws on results that were achieved in research that received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 217246 made with the joint Baltic Sea research and development programme BONUS, as well as from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Swedish Research Council FORMAS, the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Academy of Finland. We wish to express our gratitude to these institutions for enabling us to conduct this research and to the two reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments to an earlier version of the paper.

Notes

1 The MSFD identifies four marine regions in Europe: the Baltic, the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Determined by fisheries policy Council Decision 2004/585/EC provides that a RAC shall be established in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, North-Western waters, South-Western waters and in the Mediterranean Sea. While five of the seven RACs cover these specific sea areas and are intended to add a source of regionally sensitive advice to the CFP (Long, 2010), the other two are based on a specific type of fisheries. The European Commission has only recently proposed to set up a RAC for the Black Sea (COM, 2011b, p. 10).

2 http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/maritime_affairs_and_fisheries/fisheries_resources_and_environment/l28164_en.htm (accessed 12 February 2013).

3 The RACs are composed of organizations representing the fisheries sector (fishermen, vessel owners, processors, traders, fish farmers and women's fisheries groups) and so-called ‘other interest groups’ affected by the CFP, groups with environmental, conservation, consumer or other concerns. EC regulation devises that in both the General Assembly and the Executive Committee of the RACs a majority (two thirds) of the seats shall be allotted to representatives of the fisheries sector and only one-third to representatives of other interest groups (EC, 2004, Art. 5(3)).

4 http://projectpisces.eu/ (accessed 12 February 2013).

5 Here, the advice should ideally be coordinated with the position(s) of the relevant RAC(s).

6 There are four European Regional Sea Conventions: the OSPAR Convention in the North-East Atlantic; the Helsinki Convention in the Baltic; the Barcelona Convention in the Mediterranean; and the Bucharest Convention in the Black Sea; the European Community is party to the first three Conventions and aims to accede to the fourth.

7 http://ecc.european-citizens-consultations.eu/71.0.html (accessed 12 February 2013).

8 The ECC were inspired by these two formats of citizens exchange across Europe: the European Song Contest and the Football Champions League; http://ecc.european-citizens-consultations.eu/71.0.html (accessed 12 February 2013).