ABSTRACT
Evidence on how public participation affects the quality of political decisions in environmental governance, and in water governance in particular, remains under-elaborated and fragmented. In order to observe causal mechanisms at work as clearly as possible, we employ a comparative, nested case study design to examine European Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation in three countries. The WFD's substantive goal is to achieve 'good water status'. Based on the output and outcome assessment, as well as a content analysis of interviews and supplementary documentary material, people compiled comprehensive comparable case descriptions, aggregating relevant factors from process design to implementation. The case study accounts produced during the analysis were read and coded by three independent coders experienced in the application of the coding scheme. Significant pressures on water bodies were divided into the broad categories of water abstraction, hydromorphological alterations, and diffuse and point source pollution.
