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In accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), Norway has made the river basin the basis for coordination of sectoral policies. New units of River Basin Districts and Sub-Districts have been introduced. In each district, the joint water management plan and program of measures is formulated by cross-sector and multi-level networks. This network structure is added to and clearly subordinated to the primary structure following the sectoral principle and hierarchical steering. Therefore, the WFD objectives of good environmental status of all waters must be integrated into the goal structure and policy priorities of different sector authorities and levels of government. This paper examines whether and, if so, how the activities within the secondary structure of water governance influence the policies and practices of the agricultural sector regarding diffuse water pollution mitigation. The analyses of sector policy documents and water management plans reveal that even though the WFD's aim of good ecological status of water is integrated into the objectives of the agricultural environmental program, only minor changes have been made in instrument targets and settings. Economic incentives and voluntary measures still dominate. This leads to the conclusion that the corporatist governance mode of the agriculture sector dominates the sector's choice of policy objectives and instruments. ; The survey and interview data presented in this article was collected as a part of the research project «Water Pollution Abatement in a system of Multi Level Governance. A Study of Norway's Implementation of EUs Water Framework Directive» (WAPABAT). This project was funded by the Research Council of Norway under Grant number 196407/S30; and The Norwegian Environment Agency (no grant number). ; publishedVersion

In 2010 Norway introduc ed local management of national parks and other large protected areas . B oards comprised of local politicians are delegated extended powers in the management of the protected areas. This paper examines how this system of local management deals with the conflicting dimensions of local interests versus national obligations and conservation versus use . The study is based on data from surveys to protected area board members and other actors involved, and on case studies in two protected area. Th e main finding is that the boards, accountable to central government bu t comprised by politicians accountable to the local voters, aim to balance local interests and national obligations, and conservation and use. Popular involvement and anchorage is, however, weak, due to lack of mobilization and transparency. Furthermore, f ormal restrictions hindering the boards to deal with local economic development could make the boards less attractive for the local political leadership. ; acceptedVersion

This paper is an examination of Norway's national strategy for developing local environmental policies and institutions from the late 1980s to the present, and how this strategy has been influenced by changes in the dynamic between central government and local political institutions. It is argued that the strategy has changed during the period of study, shifting from a strong emphasis on the development of local institutions to an emphasis on the delegation of responsibilities from central government to local governing bodies. This new policy of delegation has been advanced at a time when municipalities are suffering from a weakened institutional capacity for environmental policy-making because of changes in the country's overall regulatory approach. The authors argue that this approach, which first and foremost has been motivated by national, macroeconomic objectives and the role of local government in service production, is inconsistent with the government's ambitions of a more important role for local government in environmental policy. The nature of environmental challenges, which often cut across political and administrative borders and often involve conflicts between different levels of government, suggests that local institutions are crucially important within the environmental policy domain.

In order to meet the challenges of an increasingly fragmented public sector and severe wicked problems, network structures have become an important part of contemporary public administration. Thus, managing networks is a central concern for public managers. The article focuses on networks being established in Norway in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive. The mandatory networks consist of actors representing different levels of government and several policy sectors, having highly asymmetric interests, interdependencies, and power relations. Based on comprehensive survey material, the article illuminates how the important role of network management on multi-level coordination is conditioned by complexity. Rather surprisingly, the more complex networks score better on coordination, and the most promising management strategy seems to depend upon institutional complexity. Direct and connecting strategies seem to be required in the most complex settings, while in less complex settings, indirect facilitative strategies are more effective to achieve coordination. Adapted from the source document.

In order to meet the challenges of an increasingly fragmented public sector and severe wicked problems, network structures have become an important part of contemporary public administration. Thus, managing networks is a central concern for public managers. The article focuses on networks being established in Norway in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive. The mandatory networks consist of actors representing different levels of government and several policy sectors, having highly asymmetric interests, interdependencies, and power relations. Based on comprehensive survey material, the article illuminates how the important role of network management on multi-level coordination is conditioned by complexity. Rather surprisingly, the more complex networks score better on coordination, and the most promising management strategy seems to depend upon institutional complexity. Direct and connecting strategies seem to be required in the most complex settings, while in less complex settings, indirect facilitative strategies are more effective to achieve coordination. ; This is the accepted version of the following article: Hovik, S. & Hanssen, G. S. (2015). The impact of network management and complexity on multi-level coordination. Public Administration, 93(2), 506-523., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12135.

This paper examines participation in water management, more specifically in implementing the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Norway. Attainment of the goals of the WFD depends on new ways of coordinating the activities, knowledge and resources of many sectors and levels of government, including the private sector. The WFD explicitly emphasizes broad stakeholder involvement and public participation. The new network arena of River Basin District Water Boards at the regional level and Sub-District Boards at the sub-regional level, cut across existing municipal, regional and national borders. In each River Basin District, broad reference groups are established. Through surveys and qualitative case studies, we examine how this norm of participation is operationalized in the River Basin Districts, and how different actors evaluate it. We find that the reference grou ps have mobilized many actors from civil society and the private sector, but they do not report having influe nce. The role of the reference group is unclear. ; Artikkelen er skrevet i forskningsprosjektet «Water Pollution Abatement in a System of Multi-level Governance: A study of Norway's implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WAPABAT), finansiert av MILJØ2015-programmet i Norges forskningsråd.

To handle the challenge of complex cross-sector and multilevel coordination in the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive, Norway has established multilevel governance networks. Observers have pointed to a risk of such governance arrangements being dominated by experts. This article studies the highly complex multilevel governance networks of water management in Norway, and unveils the importance of political anchorage of such governance networks at local and regional levels. The study finds evidence that political anchorage matters for further network achievements. Because the water governance networks are subordinated to the hierarchy of government, they need to 'talk to' the system of hierarchical government in order to be effective. In this regard, it seems crucial that networks are politically anchored. Furthermore, the study unveils the important role of political leadership and network managers in ensuring political anchorage. ; This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Hovik, S., & Hanssen, G. S. (2016). Implementing the EU Water Framework Directive in Norway: Bridging the Gap Between Water Management Networks and Elected Councils?. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 1-21. [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1523908X.2016.1149049.