| dc.description.abstract | Because of a growing population and industrialization, total pollution levels
in many water-courses around the world have increased considerably for hundreds, if
not thousands, of years. In the last few decades, however, the trend of increasing water
pollution has been turned in many industrialized countries, delinking economic growth
from environmental pollution. This is in essence one aspect of what many
environmental economists call an ‘environmental Kuznets curve’. The research
question of this project is why there is such a pattern to water quality in many
countries? Much previous literature on the topic studies only the positive impact of
environmental legislation. This study, focusing upon the case of the river Göta in
Sweden, undertakes a more thorough analysis, including other crucial factors as well
such as industrial transformation and decline, as well as stakeholder associations. The
project utilizes a very long series of data on the water quality in the river Göta, covering
more than 100 years of data for crucial indicators, in order to establish what factors
were contributing to reducing levels of pollution. Analyzing the driving factors of this
‘Environmental Kuznets Curve’ can give us crucial insights into how a sustainable
development might be achieved in the future. | sv |
