achieving ecological objectives实现生态目标.pdfVIP

Laws 2012, 1, 39-63; doi:10.3390/laws1010039 OPEN ACCESS laws ISSN 2075-471X /journal/laws/ Article Achieving Ecological Objectives Henrik Josefsson Faculty of Law, University of Uppsala, Box 256, 75105 Uppsala, Sweden; E-Mail: henrik.josefsson@jur.uu.se; Tel.: +46-18-4712008 Received: 3 April 2012; in revised form: 15 May 2012 / Accepted: 14 June 2012 / Published: 2 July 2012 Abstract: The legal objective for surface water in the EU is ‘good ecological status’, as established by the Water Framework Directive, with a timeframe of 15, 21 or 27 years. To reach this objective, suitable legal instruments are needed, and quality standards are among the instruments intended to improve the ecological status. However, both the Directive and quality standards are founded on reductionism, risking an over-application of over-simplified concepts, probably reducing biological diversity. A realistic and more appropriate timeframe for river basin rehabilitation would be around 100 years, emphasizing several concerns, such as the importance of encompassing the entire life history of species, the shift in human perceptions, the systemic unity of humans and ecosystems, environmental irreducibility, site-specific reference points, and the divergence of the assessment of water quality and the general ecological status of a river basin. From a legal standpoint, a century emphasizes a