Enhanced Transboundary Governance Capacity Needed to Achieve Policy Goals for Harmful Algal Blooms
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is at risk from environmental contaminants, with the western basin of Lake Erie plagued by harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although science and technology are essential to inform policy, we contend that effective gove
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Contents 1 2 3 4 5
Introduction The Context Transboundary Governance Capacity: The Importance of Institutions History of the Binational Management Regime for Addressing HABs Institutional Effectiveness of the Binational Management Regime for Addressing HABs 6 Conclusions References
Abstract The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is at risk from environmental contaminants, with the western basin of Lake Erie plagued by harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although science and technology are essential to inform policy, we contend that effective governance is required to achieve policy goals. We analyze the binational management framework for addressing HABs in the western basin using a transboundary governance capacity (TGC) lens and, specifically, the attribute of institutional capacity, to assess its effectiveness. Although the management framework has some level of legitimacy and, in the case of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, resiliency, there are little compliance and functional intensity in place. This is remarkable, given the importance of effective governance to solving urgent Great Lakes water quality issues such as HABs. A comprehensive binational approach at the federal level is not likely; therefore,
I. F. Creed (*) University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada e-mail: [email protected] K. B. Friedman University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, USA e-mail: [email protected] Jill Crossman, Chris Weisener (eds.), Contaminants of the Great Lakes, Hdb Env Chem, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_492, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
I. F. Creed and K. B. Friedman
we urge officials in both Canada and the United States to strengthen TGC as it relates to HABs at the sub-federal level through a compact or other binational mechanism. Keywords Harmful algal blooms, Institutions, Lake Erie, Phosphorus, Transboundary governance
1 Introduction The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is at risk from environmental contaminants including nutrients, metals, organics, and plastics [1, 2]. Science and technology are essential to inform policies and practices designed to ensure the future sustainability of the Great Lakes, but science and technology alone will not be enough. As Dr. John P. Holdren at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government said, “I’m a great believer in science and technology, but the notion that science and technology will ride to the rescue is a pernicious one” [3]. Here we consider the governance structures in place, if they are adequate, to effectively translate science into action. We focus on one ecological impact of environmental contaminants – harmful algal blooms (HABs) – as a case study. But the framework used can be applied to study governance challenges of other environmental contaminants impacting the Great Lakes. HABs are a significant threat to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin ecosystem and to citizen health. Nowhere is this more prevalent than the western basin of Lake Erie. Although largely absent from this basin throug
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