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It is widely known that governance is central to the successful implementation of sustainable development policies and measures. Yet, there is a paucity of research which explore the links between governance and sustainability. This paper attempts to address this research need by providing an analysis of the role of governance in enabling – and to some extent – fostering a transition towards sustainable societies. A set of indicators for assessing the capacity for and willingness and commitment to transition to a more sustainable society is presented, enabling identification of direction of change. This paper presents the results of a study, in the context of which sustainability governance has been comparatively investigated in a sample of European countries with, by methodological purpose, very different economic, environmental, political and social conditions (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland). Lessons learnt and examples of good practice – which may be replicable elsewhere-are outlined. For instance, it is discussed that limited knowledge about sustainable development amongst municipal development planners and decision-makers, deficiencies in policy integration, intersectoral cooperation, municipality and stakeholder cooperation and urban management practices are major reasons for weak governance practices in sustainable development. Furthermore, some recommendations on the role of sustainability governance are made, so as to allow the integration of the principles of governance into sustainability practice and hence provide a more general basis upon which a transition towards sustainable societies may become a reality in different types of European countries and societies. The scientific value of this paper lies in identifying opportunities for integrating principles of governance into sustainability practice, as well as outlining the basis for sustainability transitions, providing a general picture of required policy measures. The paper offers a unique comparative analysis of sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea countries, outlining some of the challenges in sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term monitoring data from catchments with relatively uniform land use is important in order to cover management needs such as implementation of various EU Directives. This paper in a uniform fashion examines the temporal trends in nitrogen (N) concentrations and losses from agricultural catchments in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Thirty-five (35) catchments (range 0.1–33 km 2 ) in Norway (9), Denmark (5), Sweden (8), Finland (4), Estonia (3), Latvia (3) and Lithuania (3) were selected for this study. The longest time series were 23 years (1988–2010), while the shortest one was 10 years (2002–2011). The monthly nitrogen concentration and loss data series were tested for statistical trends ( p < 0.05; two-sided test) using the partial Mann–Kendall (PMK) test with stream discharge as an explanatory variable. The study results show a large variation in nitrogen concentrations and losses among the studied catchments, with a large interannual variability in all catchments. For nitrogen losses, 11 statistically significant trends were detected. Nine of these were downward (four out of five Danish catchments; four out of eight in Sweden; one out of three in Finland). Upward trends were detected in two catchments (one in Estonia and one in Latvia). For nitrogen concentrations, 13 statistically significant trends were detected. 10 of these were downward. Among the 11 catchments that showed trends in nitrogen losses, nine catchments also showed statistically significant trends in the in-stream concentration series. In addition, three more Swedish catchments showed downward trends in the concentration series, and one Estonian catchment showed an upward trend. These results indicate that targeted strategies towards reduced nitrogen losses from agricultural land (as in the case of Denmark and Sweden) may significantly improve nutrient surface water quality in small agricultural catchments [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have enjoyed historic and economic ties with their Nordic neighbors in the Baltic Sea region. While the period since 1991 has been one of increased integration with the European Union, trade linkages with Finland and Sweden are particularly strong for Estonia and Latvia, respectively. This study addresses these connections by applying time-series econometric techniques, with the goal of highlighting where regional connections are strongest. Strong Nordic-Baltic linkages, while providing evidence that historical factors are still important, might also suggest that integration with the rest of the EU is relatively weak. Using quarterly data from 1994 to 2014 for Baltic, Nordic, and other partner countries, business cycles are modeled for output, consumption, and investment. Common regional cycles are also extracted via Principal Components Analysis for the three Baltic countries and for the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Cross-correlation functions are then generated for various cycle pairs to assess whether any are "synchronized." One key finding is that the Nordic region has two possible consumption cycles that behave in very different ways, suggesting that this region does not behave as a coherent whole. Norway and Denmark drive one cycle, while Sweden and Finland drive the other. Another key result is that each Baltic country behaves differently from one another. While regional differences are quite large-making it harder to describe this as a single "region" at all-Estonia does show significant connections to Finland, its historic and linguistic neighbor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article closely examines the development of the trade in timber between Norway and the Baltic region with Britain in the period 1780–1830. It looks also at the scale of the trade and its role in the economic development of the countries involved, as well as how it became a global trade. Moreover, it discusses the balance of power between what is commonly understood as centres and peripheries at the time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]