Legal Regulation, Resilience and the Complexity of the Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea Region

In this paper I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of applying the concept of resilience in social- ecological systems to law, in particular to the legal regulations on eutrophication. The purpose is to review and present some perspectives regarding to what extent and in what ways such a concept could change our understanding of how to control and reduce eutrophication – which thus also have implications for the legal methods and measures needed to adapt to continuous environmental change – as well as discuss the potential conflicts with the inherent features of the rule of law. To accomplish a good environmental status and sustainable development regarding complex environmental problems in any ecosystem, these perspectives on the legal analysis will help to understand what role law should play in environmental governance