ABSTRACT
In the late 1990s the United Kingdom launched an ambitious programme of territorial devolution to regional authorities 1 in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This radical reform was seen as a means of addressing growing demands for greater autonomy at the regional level, without resorting to federalization (Hogwood 2004: 4). Together, the Scotland Act (1998), the Government of Wales Act (1998, 2006) and the Northern Ireland Act (1998) provided the statutory basis for legislative devolution in selected policy areas, including new or enhanced regional competencies in environmental policy. While the new powers were designed primarily to be exercised in the domestic arena, they also drew the devolved authorities more closely into the multilevel governance structures associated with European Union (EU) policy-making.
