Integrating Swedish water resource management: a multi-level governance trilemma

This paper analyses proposals for new multi-level governance of Swedish water resources to implement the EU Water Framework Directive. The question is, do they satisfy the criteria for ecologically rational and democratically legitimate governance? The core of the analysis concerns an administrative 'trilemma' encountered in designing ecologically effective and democratically acceptable multi-level governance. This trilemma is characterised by tensions between effectiveness, participation and legitimacy, all core values of 'good governance'. The Swedish proposal constitutes an effort to achieve cost-effective implementation of the EU Directive through an ecosystem-based multi-level organisation. It also seeks to bring about democratically legitimate governance through stakeholder networks and negotiations at the sub-catchment level, and governance 'partnerships' among local governments and organised interests. In particular, the assessment addresses issues of integrating such 'super-local' and local alternatives within the larger web of multi-level water resource governance. Although intended to escape the 'trilemma', the proposed combination of formal government and informal governance is found wanting in terms of effectiveness as well as participation and legitimacy.     

Filter-based treatment of leachate from an industrial landfill containing shredder residues of end-of-life vehicles and white goods

A pilot plant was set up to treat leachate from an industrial landfill containing shredder residues of end-of-life vehicles and white goods. The treatment plant consisted of aeration and sedimentation steps for pre-treatment, and a filter. The plant was designed to simultaneously remove various types of pollutants. The efficiencies of pre-treatment and of the main treatment step were investigated over a period of 3 years at the landfill site. By continuous aeration of the leachate the concentrations of Fe and Mn were reduced by 55% and 49%, respectively. By prolonged sedimentation suspended solid content was noticeably reduced (72%). In the filter, consisting of a mixture of peat and carbon-containing ash as a treatment medium, very high reduction of polar organic compounds, e.g. phenol (74%), o-and p-cresol (91%), and 2,4-dimethylphenol (73%), high average reduction of metals, e.g. Pb (78%), Fe (74%), Cu (73%), Mn (56%), Sn (55%), and Zn (47%), and good average reduction of DOC (26%), Tot-N (23%) and NH₄-N (46%) were achieved. Sixty non-polar compounds in the leachate, identified by GC–MS screening, occurred at trace level. Most of them were considerably reduced in the filter.     

Report: waste refinery in the municipality of Bor?s.

This paper briefly describes waste treatment trends in Sweden and describes an example of state-of-the-art treatment in a local integrated waste treatment system (Bor?s). The focus is on treatment of household waste, to illustrate what can be done to establish a sustainable waste treatment system with high recovery of materials and energy. The various processes have resulted in a low amount of landfilled household waste, and high proportions of recovered energy and materials. Heat, electricity, vehicle fuel and fertilizers, metals and construction materials are recovered from the local waste in Bor?s, with less than 4% of domestic waste being sent to landfill.     

Precautionary attitudes and the acceptance of a local nuclear waste repository

There has been little previous research on public attitudes about precaution and their significance for risk opinions and attitudes. The present case of application is that of the siting of a repository for spent nuclear fuel, a controversial issue in most countries. Data from a representative sample of the Swedish population were collected with a mailed questionnaire, which covered risk perceptions and attitudes towards nuclear waste. A reliable unidimensional scale measuring precautionary attitudes was constructed. It was found that women were more likely to accept items expressing a precautionary attitude than were men. Precaution was related, as expected, to epistemic distrust and size of negative consequences if an accident should occur in the handling and storing of spent nuclear fuel. Epistemic trust and size of consequences contributed about equally strongly to the variance of precautionary attitude. Adding the scale to a set of explanatory variables in models of attitudes and voting intentions with regard to a repository resulted in a significantly improved power of the models. Emotional reactions emerged as important explanatory variables in accounting for precautionary attitudes, political ideology to a smaller extent. The results based on intra-sample variability were mirrored at the level of between-sample variation. Results from the two samples from municipalities where a siting was under evaluation (Oskarshamn and Östhammar) showed that respondents there were much more positive to a repository and at the same time less likely to accept pro-PP statements.     

Bimodal orientation and the occurrence of temporary reverse bird migration during autumn in south Scandinavia

Extensive ringing data from a coastal site (Falsterbo Bird Observatory) in southwesternmost Sweden were used to investigate the occurrence of reverse autumn migration among 20 passerine bird species of widely different migration categories. The data demonstrate that reverse migration is a widespread and regular phenomenon among nocturnal as well as diurnal migrants and among irruptive migrants, temperate zone migrants, and long-distance migrants destined for tropical winter quarters. The reoriented movements were directed approximately opposite to the normal migration direction, i.e. between NNW and ENE from the coast and towards inland. Median distances of reverse movements varied between 9 and 65 km. Some individuals of irruptive and partial migrants settled to winter in the reverse direction. Bird species with relatively small fat reserves at capture were more likely to perform reverse migratory movements than species with larger fat deposits. In two species birds performing forward migration were significantly heavier within 10 days after capture than individuals performing reverse movements. The reoriented movements probably are of adaptive significance for birds confronted with the sea and pre-disposed to refuelling during migration. A bimodal orientation mechanism will bring the birds from an area with high competition for food and high predation risk to more suitable resting and feeding grounds before resuming migration in the forward direction and crossing the barrier. Received: 11 July 1995/Accepted after revision: 19 November 1995     

Pooled Analysis of Two Swedish Case-Control Studies on the Use of Mobile and Cordless Telephones and the Risk of Brain Tumours Diagnosed During 1997–2003

Here we present the pooled analysis of 2 case–control studies on the association of brain tumours with mobile phone use. Use of analogue cellular phones increased the risk for acoustic neuroma by 5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2-9% per 100 hrs of use. The risk increased for astrocytoma grade III—IV with latency period with highest estimates using >10-year time period from first use of these phone types. The risk increased per one year of use of analogue phones by 10%, 95% CI = 6-14%, digital phones by 11%, 95% CI = 6-16%, and cordless phones by 8%, 95% CI = 5-12%. For all studied phone types OR for brain tumours, mainly acoustic neuroma and malignant brain tumours, increased with latency period, especially for astrocytoma grade III—IV.