Implementing Multi‐level Governance? The Legal Basis and Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive for Forestry in Sweden

The European Commission Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to achieve ‘good status’ for all waters by 2015. This study reviews implementation mechanisms with regard to forestry in Sweden, a country with a large proportion of forest land, where forest practices will be important for limiting nutrient and particle runoff that impact the water status. Taking a multi‐level governance perspective, this study reviews the legislative requirements at the EU level, legal and policy implementation at the Swedish level and, finally, local implementation in the forest industry. The study illustrates the national specific interpretation of the WFD as well as the way in which existing practices and measures influence WFD implementation. These include for example the Swedish practice to integrate environmental values in forestry via ‘considerations’, supported also by the use of forest certification measures (a voluntary private sector initiative through which environmental consideration is controlled by third‐party auditors). The study thereby exemplifies the large role of private and overlapping authorities and jurisdictions in Swedish forest‐water governance.