ABSTRACT
Subsidiarity is an important principle of European law which allows the central government to deal with a situation if it cannot be done effectively at much lower levels. In the natural resources sector, the subsidiarity principle is entrenched in Article 3 of the Water Framework Directive whereby a Member State needs to identify an appropriate competent authority in a river basin district within its territory. Interestingly, other federal states have tried to improve their water sector by indirectly incorporating the spirit of the subsidiarity principle in their legislative framework. This chapter analyses how the principle of subsidiarity allocates decision-making power to achieving the sustainable management of natural resources. Towards this end, an in-depth document analysis is used to understand the principles further through analysis of literature and legislations. Reference will also be made to the practice of subsidiarity in Europe, as it is legally binding under the Treaty of European Union and in the federal states, including America, Australia and Malaysia. The findings indicate that despite similar aims of allocating decision-making power to the most efficient level of government, the applications of the subsidiarity principle in Europe and in federal states have different problems and impacts on many sectors. This is mainly due to the different purpose of establishing a union and a federal state. Despite the differences, subsidiarity remains a very useful principle in ensuring inclusive natural resources governance whether in a union or a federation.
