Review of recommendations in agriculture-related water policy and policy research

The report identifies 175 policy recommendations across 18 categories, finding that governance (31%) is the most frequent focus, followed by financing and methods/tools. While the European Commission and HELCOM focus heavily on governance and monitoring, BONUS projects contribute more to financing and innovative policy design. The study notes a significant lack of recommendations addressing global issues like climate change and biodiversity, despite their presence in the documents' background sections.

• A total of 175 land-based agriculture-related water policy recommendations were identified, with 83 coming from BONUS projects, 51 from HELCOM, and 42 from EU Nitrates Directive (ND) and Water Framework Directive (WFD) reports.
• Governance is the most prevalent category of recommendation, accounting for 30.7% (54 recommendations) of the total, followed by financing and costs (18) and methods and tools (17).
• Recommendations regarding biodiversity considerations and enforcement were entirely absent from all analyzed sources.
• Climate change considerations are rarely integrated into policy recommendations, appearing only twice across all sources, despite being mentioned as background facts in report introductions.
• BONUS projects focus heavily on financing and innovative policy instruments, specifically advocating for outcome- or result-based payments to increase farmer participation in agri-environmental schemes.
• EU and HELCOM recommendations emphasize governance through the development of action plans, the harmonization of standards for nutrient content in manure, and the improvement of surface water monitoring.
• The report identifies a systemic lack of clarity regarding the addressee of policy recommendations, which are typically phrased in the third person and target general public authorities rather than specific institutions.

APA

Peterson, K., Tiik, J. M., & Kuldna, P. (2019). Review of recommendations in agriculture-related water policy and policy research. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/waterdrive-o4.1.-part-i--report-on-agri-water-policy-recommendations-june-2019.pdf

Chicago

Peterson, Kaja, Johanna Maarja Tiik, and Piret Kuldna. Review of recommendations in agriculture-related water policy and policy research. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/waterdrive-o4.1.-part-i--report-on-agri-water-policy-recommendations-june-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Peterson |first1=Kaja |last2=Tiik |first2=Johanna Maarja |last3=Kuldna |first3=Piret |title=Review of recommendations in agriculture-related water policy and policy research |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=June 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/waterdrive-o4.1.-part-i--report-on-agri-water-policy-recommendations-june-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peterson2019review, author = {Peterson, Kaja and Tiik, Johanna Maarja and Kuldna, Piret}, title = {{Review of recommendations in agriculture-related water policy and policy research}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/waterdrive-o4.1.-part-i--report-on-agri-water-policy-recommendations-june-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }