In accordance with the contemporary sustainable water resources use policy in the European Union, it is important to assess the impact of the agricultural sector - one of the most important sources of pollution - upon the implementation of the objectives stipulated by the Water Framework Directive. The research therefore aims at analyzing the influence of the agricultural sector on the pollution of the Nemunas river basin. It was the transboundary pollution that forced the research to cover both Lithuanian and Belorussian territories. The paper analyzes legal aspects of the strategic management of water resources, estimates the livestock density and dynamics thereof, and identifies the most polluted territories in Lithuania and Belarus. Research results indicate that more intensive animal farming is maintained in the Belarusian part of the Nemunas catchment and has the tendency to increase. At the other end of spectrum, LSU per hectare is two times lower and has the tendency to decrease in Lithuania.
Keywords: livestock farming, Nemunas catchment, water pollution.
JEL codes: Q530, Q150.
Kriščiukaitienė, I.; Namiotko, V.; Baležentis, T.; Pakhomau, A. Livestock farming in the Nemunas river basin: the recent trends and the impact on the water bodies // Vadybos mokslas ir studijos - kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai = Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development / Aleksandro Stulginskio universitetas. Lietuvos agrarinės ekonomikos institutas. 2012, nr. 3 (32), p. 81-88, ISSN 1822-6760 (EBSCO host: Business Source Complete; Ulrich’s; IndexCopernicus).
