CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Leventon, Julia |
|---|---|
| Title | "We Don't Eat Fish" Science, Policy and EU Governance: The Implementation of Arsenic Limits for Drinking Water in a Hungarian Case Study |
| Summary | This thesis examines the causes of Hungarian non-implementation of EU legislation for controlling arsenic in drinking water. Natural concentrations of arsenic are found in groundwater and soil systems throughout the world. Where these groundwater resources are used as a source of drinking water, people are exposed to arsenic, presenting a threat to human health. In order to prevent these health impacts, the EU sets a limit of 10 ppb (μg/l) arsenic in drinking water. The limit is adopted by all member states. Hungary heavily relies on drinking water sourced from high-arsenic groundwater. However, despite adopting the EU limits, much of the water delivered exceeds 10 ppb, putting approximately one quarter of the population at risk from arsenic-related health problems. This thesis seeks to explain this governance failure. The results show that governance failures are created when policy actors do not adjust their beliefs to match those incorporated into the policies and institutional structures of the EU. Resistance to institutional adoption results from the persistence of actor beliefs incorporated under previous governance institutions, and because of the lack of information or resources available to facilitate belief change. In particular, a lack of scientific justification behind the 10 ppb limit prevents the availability of such information. These findings expand upon current understandings of structure-agency interactions of institutions in EU governance systems, and the role this plays in policy implementation. Recommendations are made for further research to improve current understandings of governance failures in the EU. Recommendations are also made for the improvement of policy implementation, including the rectification of scientific errors incorporated into policy, and the way in which policy rationale is communicated to policy actors. |
| Supervisor | Antypas, Alexios |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/leventon_julia.pdf |
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