Water erosion and phosphorus problems in an agricultural catchment: lessons from implementation of the EU water framework directive

A case study was carried out in central Sweden on local initiatives for a river basin in accordance with the European Water Framework Directive. The catchment has erosion problems and the recipient waters suffer from eutrophication. Collective learning and successively more collaborative measures were introduced. According to stakeholders, the following measures were considered feasible and ranked in order of importance: improved soil fertility (improved organic concentration) > measures at or in the stream > measures in the lake itself > improvements to single household wastewater treatment systems. Personal contacts and dialogue at an early stage between stakeholders in order to motivate actions were found to be necessary for progress in the work. Local demonstration areas and information were found to be important in the collaborative learning process according to interviews with the farmers. They indicated more interest and willingness to change behaviour than was demonstrated from real actions during 2 years when several economic subsides were introduced. Sustained financial backing is crucial and funding must be secured to implement the actions decided upon. Implementation required improved contact between local authority employees, politicians, householders and farmers within the catchment area, and in addition, introduced social values as a factor defining the environmental goal to be reached for the lake.