Cross-scale governance and the analysis of policy implementation for water management, with particular regard to climate adaptation, industrial pollution and impacts of agriculture

The paper presents results from the SCENES FP6 project, examining the nature of decision making for water management at different governance scales and how information (such as rules) is transmitted between those scales, with particular reference to interpreting good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive, climate change adaptation, tackling industrial pollution and using rural development to enhance water outcomes. The paper also examines lessons from wider sources of information such as legal analysis of transposition of EU law at national level and the rulings of the European Court of Justice. The paper concludes by considering the importance of cross-scale analysis in assessing policy effectiveness and argues for further analysis drawing on cross-scale research derived from ecosystems analysis.