WFD “Fitness check” : Living Rivers Europe writes to Water Directors

Living Rivers Europe coaltion (European Anglers Alliance, EEB, ERN, Wetlands International et WWF) sent to the Water Directors, before the meeting in Vienna 29 and 30 November, a letter to express there grave concerns over the process and the  content of the work of the Consultation Group on the future of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). LRE strongly urge Water Directors not to endorse the document on ‘the future of the WFD’ .

Read the letter

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Vehicle tyres and synthetic clothes are two of the leading causes of household microplastic pollution (FoE)

Vehicle tyres and synthetic clothes are two of the leading causes of household microplastic pollution, a report from Friends of the Earth UK has found. 

The UK study estimated that just four main sources delivered between 9,000 and 32,000 tonnes of microplastics into waterways every year.

The two worst causes were tyre abrasion and the washing of synthetic clothes, such as fleeces.

When people wash clothes made from synthetic material it passes through the sewage system because there are no systems to recover these tiny plastic fibres. They eventually end up in rivers or the marine environment. In parts of Europe it is estimated that two-thirds of clothing are made from synthetic materials.

Recent studies have shown that plastic ends up in the human body. 

This study, which was carried out by Eunomia for Friends of the Earth UK, reveals that household plastic waste is roughly on par with large plastic waste, such as bottles, as around 26,000 tonnes of that also enters UK waterways each year.

The four main sources of microplastic waste, according to the report which was reported on today in the Guardian, were as follows:

  • Vehicle tyres: plastic microfibers are created when abrasion on the road surface creates tiny fragments which wash into streams and rivers;
  • Clothing: the washing of synthetic clothing separates tiny specs of plastic which make their way through the water treatment system;
  • Plastic pellets used to manufacture plastic items: These tiny cast off from manifactured items make their way to waterways;
  • Paints on buildings and road markings: Weather and flake-off results in tonnes of these tiny fragments ending up in surface water every year.

Earlier this year Eunomia also produced a report for the European Commission on microplastics, particularly those created by wear and tear.

They concluded that the largest reductions could be made at source. They called for new measures to limit the release of manufacturing pellets, to remove the worst performing tyres from the market and to analyse the synthetic clothing that emits the most microfibers when washed and take measures to limit their access to the market.

Water Framework Directive fitness check : the threat of weakening the law becomes real

The #ProtectWater campaign call exceeded 100,000 signatures in less than a month. Congratulation !! But that’s not enough for the European Commission!

The announced threat of a weakening of the Framework Directive is coming to fruition. Member States have been preparing a paper on the future of the WFD which is explicit on the need to change the WFD. 29 November in Vienna, the Water Directors are aiming to adopt by a consensus this document announcing a weakening of the law.

Remain mobilized and of course if you have not done yet sign the public consultation

#ProtectWater : 100 000 signatures and new visuals

The #ProtectWater campaign call exceeded 100,000 signatures in less than a month. Congratulation !! But it is not enough !

For the second phase of the campaign, we launched new visuals to engage the public.

The threat of seeing our emblematic species disappear if the WFD is changed or weakened is the theme for the month of November.

Follow us on Facebook and sign the public consultation

Launch of the « ProtectWater » campaign

European rivers and lakes are under attack ! Act now to protect them ! Participate in the European Commission’s public consultation !

This is the appeal of the online campaign #ProtectWater, lunched today by WWF, the European Environmental Bureau, European Anglers Alliance, European Rivers Network and Wetlands International, who together form the Living Rivers Europe coalition.

During the first step, the campaign uses provocative scenarios and imagery around the future of beer to encourage citizens in Europe and beyond to participate in the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), which is running until 4 March 2019.

This consultation is the only opportunity for the general public to have its say during the evaluation of the law, and the campaign provides an easy tool for citizens to express their support to keep this law strong and effective.

Read presse release

Campaign page and link to participate to the public consultation

#ProtectWater #ProtectBeer

New report : Bringing life back to Europe’s waters, the EU water law in action (LRE/ERN)

The WFD is one of the most ambitious, holistic pieces of EU environmental legislation ever to pass.
The new report by WWF, EEB, the European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network shows, where political will exists, the WFD provides an effective framework for addressing the main pressures facing rivers, lakes, wetlands, streams and groundwater.

This report published for the EU Water Conference on 20 and 21 September in Vienna where it will set the course for the future of European water protection as decision-makers come together to take stock of Member States’ progress in sustainable water management and implementing the EU’s water legislation, and discuss whether the existing EU legislation is still “fit for purpose”. It is a critical time in the current “fitness check” process for the Commission to gather views from Member States, their agencies and a variety of stakeholders.

Download the report

Brussels – 20 September 2018 , Media Release from WWF

“Bring life back to Europe’s rivers and lakes”, WWF urges Member States ahead of critical water conference in Vienna

 As EU Member States, the European Commission and other stakeholders gather in Vienna today, WWF calls for their clear commitment to saving Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands, and for a full implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the most important legal instrument for protecting Europe’s freshwater bodies.

The EU Water Conference on 20 and 21 September will set the course for the future of European water protection as decision-makers come together to take stock of Member States’ progress in sustainable water management and implementing the EU’s water legislation, and discuss whether the existing EU legislation is still “fit for purpose”. It is a critical time in the current “fitness check” process for the Commission to gather views from Member States, their agencies and a variety of stakeholders.

For WWF, it is clear that the current EU water law is ambitious and effective, and are disheartened by Member States’ lack of political will to make it work on the ground. An amendment to the law as a result of the fitness check process would simply allow Member States to side-step their legal obligation to bring all European waters into good condition by 2027 at the latest and to protect them from deterioration.

“A weakening of the legislation would be a declaration of bankruptcy of European environmental policy,” said Martina Mlinaric, Senior Water Policy Officer at WWF’s European Policy Office said. “Having missed the original objective of bringing all European waters to good health by 2015, Member States are now feeling the pressure, but, instead of doubling their efforts, many governments are now desperately searching for an easy way out of their commitments and are using the fitness check process to achieve that.”

As part of its fitness check, the European Commission will soon launch a public consultation, asking both European citizens and experts to provide their own opinions and assessment of the EU water law. The results of this consultation will contribute directly to the European Commission’s assessment of the legislation.

“An objective and transparent evaluation involving the public is critical. We therefore urge all stakeholders and European citizens to stand up for our rivers and lakes and make their voices heard” said Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office. “As WWF, our message to Member States and the European Commission is simple:  Bring life back to Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands – defend the EU water law!”

The WFD is one of the most ambitious, holistic pieces of EU environmental legislation ever to pass and, as a new report by WWF, EEB, the European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network shows [1], where political will exists, the WFD provides an effective framework for addressing the main pressures facing rivers, lakes, wetlands, streams and groundwater. Nevertheless, with only a measly 40% of EU waters currently healthy [2], it is clear that Member States need to seriously step up their game if they are ever to reach the final 2027 good status objective. So far, Member States’ ambition and efforts have been minimal at best, evident through their largely ineffective river basin management plans, programmes of measures, insufficient funding allocation, and excessive use (and misuse!) of the various types of exemptions provided within the law.

There have been meetings between Member States to discuss the future of the EU water law, all of which have taken place outside of the official process [3]. Some of these took place before the Commission’s official fitness check had even started, let alone concluded. This is despite the fact that, since the legislation came into effect, there has been an official, transparent process to support Member States with implementing this law, including NGOs and other stakeholders.

________________________

[1] Bringing life back to Europe’s waters: The EU water law in action, 2018, WWF, EEB, European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network (available to download here as of 20 September: http://www.wwf.eu/media_centre/publications/)

[2] European waters – assessment of status and pressures, 2018, EEA

[3] Whilst Member States are free to discuss what they want, these meetings deviate significantly from the established Common Implementation Strategy process, which was designed to involve all Member States, the Commission and relevant stakeholders (such as industry and environmental NGOs), and ultimately support Member States with implementing the Directive. As part of this process, all topics related to EU water legislation must be tackled by the Strategic Coordination Group, which is comprised of relevant stakeholders (including WWF), Member States and the Commission. However, Member States have been taking topics out of this group and discussing them in their own meetings. These meetings also undermine the official fitness check process that the Commission has only recently started, and will clearly establish whether the Directive has delivered or not (and, if not, why not).

European waters getting cleaner, but big challenges remain (PR/ EEA)

Press release from European Environement Agency, 3 July 2018

“Despite progress in improving the quality of Europe’s lakes, rivers, coastal waters and groundwater sources, pollution, structures like dams, and over-abstraction remain top threats to their long-term health. A vast majority of Europe’s water bodies still fail to meet the European Union’s minimum target for ‘good status’, according to a European Environment Agency ‘state of water’ report published today.

 Image © EEA/Peter Kristensen

We must increase efforts to ensure our waters are as clean and resilient as they should be — our own well-being and the health of our vital water and marine ecosystems depend on it. This is critical to the long-term sustainability of our waters and in meeting our long-term goals of living well within the limits of our planet.

Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director

EU Member States have made marked efforts to improve water quality, by improving wastewater treatment and lowering the runoff of pollutants from farmland, according to the EEA report ‘European waters — assessment of status and pressures 2018’. Measures have also been taken to make barriers passable to migrating fish and restore degraded aquatic ecosystems.

While Europe’s ground water bodies, like aquifers, are in good health in most cases, only 40% of monitored lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters achieved the  the EU Water Framework Directive’s minimum ‘good’ or ‘high’ ecological status during the 2010-2015 monitoring period, according to the report. The last EEA assessment in 2012 found a similar level of water bodies meeting ‘good’ or ‘high’ ecological status. The EEA assessment also looked at the quantitative state and over-abstraction of Europe’s groundwater and the overall chemical status of water bodies.

The EEA report gives an updated health check on over 130,000 surface and groundwater bodies monitored by EU Member States, based on the data collected and reported from more than 160 so-called River Basin Management Plans covering the period 2010 to 2015.

‘Thanks to the implementation of European water legislation in the Member States, the quality of Europe’s freshwater is gradually improving, but much more needs to be done before all lakes, rivers, coastal waters and groundwater bodies are in good status. Tackling pollution from agriculture, industry and households requires joint efforts from all water users throughout Europe,’ said Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

‘We must increase efforts to ensure our waters are as clean and resilient as they should be — our own well-being and the health of our vital water and marine ecosystems depend on it. This is critical to the long-term sustainability of our waters and in meeting our long-term goals of living well within the limits of our planet,’ said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.

The EEA water assessment is the second since 2012. Knowledge of Europe’s waters has grown significantly since then, providing a better understanding of the status, the problems that lead to failure in achieving ‘good status’ and the measures implemented to generate improvement. The EEA report complements a forthcoming European Commission report, which will assess to what extent the Member States comply with the Water Framework Directive. This Directive sets out a framework on how to assess, manage, protect and improve water quality across the EU. It requires Member States to produce River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) as well as a Programme of Measures to improve water quality.

Percentage of surface water bodies in less than good ecological status by River Basin Districts 

Note: Percentage based on known ecological status or potential (without unknown status).  Caution is needed when comparing results between Member States, as the results can be significantly affected by the methodology applied by individual Member States.

Other key findings

  • Compared to surface waters, groundwater sources generally have the best status. Good chemical status has been achieved for 74% of the groundwater area, while 89 % of the area achieved good quantitative status. The reasons for not meeting the minimum targets were mostly due to contamination of water sites by nitrates from agricultural run-off, salt intrusion, and the seeping of hazardous chemicals from contaminated sites (e.g. industrial sites, mining areas or waste storage).
  • Northern Scandinavia, northern United Kingdom (Scotland) and Estonia, as well as Slovakia, Romania, and several river basin districts in the Mediterranean region show a high proportion of surface water bodies in high or good ecological status. In contrast, many of the central European river basin districts, with higher population density and more intensive agriculture, show the highest proportion of water bodies failing to achieve good ecological status.
  • Only 38% of monitored lakes, rivers and other surface water bodies are in good chemical status — with concentrations of pollutants not exceeding environmental quality EU-wide standards.
  • In most Member States, a few substances account for poor chemical status, the most common being mercury. Once widely used in thermometers, batteries, and paints, mercury continues to be found in water samples, followed by cadmium, which is used in phosphate fertilisers and in metal production.
  • The Water Framework Directive and RBMPs have significantly improved water management across the EU. Many Member States have invested in better ecological and chemical monitoring programmes, with more monitoring sites, more quality elements assessed and more chemicals analysed. This has led to increased availability of information and provides a much better understanding of status and pressures. The Water Framework Directive has also generated a substantial effort across EU Member States to reduce sources of pollution from agriculture, industry and households, as well as in a more natural flow of rivers and the removal of obstacles to fish migration, generating benefits for nature and protection against floods.

EU water quality target

Achieving good status involves meeting certain standards for the ecology, chemistry and quantity of waters. Ecological status is the best overall indicator of how healthy a body of water is. It takes into account how pollution, habitat degradation, climate change, and other pressures like the number of man-made dams impact the quality of the water.

The top pressures responsible hindering progress  in meeting the EU targets include barriers like dams, land reclamation, and channelization, which change the flow of rivers or streams; diffuse source pollution like farm run-off; and point source pollution such as waste water discharge from sewers. The main impacts on surface water bodies are nutrient enrichment, chemical pollution and altered habitats due to morphological changes.

Monitoring and reporting are the main tools used to classify the health of EU waters. EU Member States define the status based on a scale from high, good, and moderate to poor and bad status for surface waters and two classes, good or poor, for groundwater. Monitoring is meant to track the effectiveness of measures to clean up water bodies and achieve the EU’s ‘good status’ target.

EU Member States are currently in their second monitoring and reporting cycle (2015-2021) under the EU Water Framework Directive. This round includes 89,000 rivers, 18,000 lakes, 13,000 groundwater sites, and 3,600 coastal and estuary waters. Reporting from Greece, Ireland, Lithuania and from parts of Spain could not be included in the report.”

 

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WFD Fitness Check ! Be ready !

The Water Framework Directive (WFD), which has made great works in protecting and restoring our rivers, lakes and groundwaters, is under fitness check by the European Commission.

To make our voices heard, and protect our rivers, get ready to participate at the public consultation which will be launched in september or october 2018.

We must show that people care about our rivers and don’t want this ambitious and important policy for our living well to be weakened. To protect our lakes and rivers we need to protect the WFD

Sign up (on our Big Jump website) to get informed of the launch of the public consultation. www.bigjump.org/en/participant-form/

Read more www.ern.org/en/living-rivers-europe

We need your help to upgrade our statement to our governments : we need to preserve the ambition of the WFD.

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Living Rivers Europe – Press Release on Word Fish Migration Day : Dams have had their day – EU governments must ramp up ambition on their removal

Dams have had their day: EU governments must ramp up ambition on their removal

Brussels – 19 April 2018

World Fish Migration Day – which takes place on 21 April – is a day to celebrate the incredible journey migratory fish undertake to mate. But many never reach their final destination due to tens of thousands of large and small dams, which have been wrecking Europe’s rivers and blocking fish migration routes for generations. And if that weren’t enough, plans for thousands of additional dams are still in the pipeline.

Sergiy Moroz, Senior Policy Officer for Water and Biodiversity at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said: “Fragmenting rivers with dams, barrages and other infrastructure is a key reason for the significant losses of fish and other freshwater species across Europe, as well as for the poor state of many of our water bodies [1]. Removing old or obsolete dams helps to restore a river’s connectivity, bringing hope for migratory fish species, such as salmon, eel and sturgeon. This is also one effective way for Member States to meet their legal commitments under the EU Water Framework Directive.”

Despite the destructive effect they have had on our rivers, thousands of hydropower dams are projected to be built all across Europe. Eastern Europe and the Balkans, which hold some of Europe’s most pristine and last few remaining free flowing rivers, are especially vulnerable. However, there has also been a worrying surge in hydropower in parts of Central and Western Europe, where rivers have been heavily modified and degraded for centuries – in Austria alone, around 200 additional hydropower plants are projected to be built.

And there are even plans to resuscitate projects that have been repeatedly declared dead. For instance, the Acheloos River in Greece has been the site of a battle against a water transfer project dating back to the 1980s, which would involve the construction of four dams. The destructive scheme has been blocked through six court rulings, most recently thanks to the Water Framework Directive [2], but the Greek government still hopes to complete the construction of the partly-built Sykia dam – the key point for the completion of the project.

“Dams have had their day in Europe – we must now focus on bringing life back to our rivers”, said Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office, “It is crucial that EU governments now fully commit to their legal obligations under the Water Framework Directive. It’s time for them to shape up, start taking dam removal seriously, and put a firm stop to any damaging projects that are in the pipeline.”

Dam removals have slowly started to pick up the pace in Europe, and the Water Framework Directive’s ambitious goals, timeline, and visionary approach to water management have been instrumental. It is estimated that around 4,500 obstacles of varying sizes have so far been removed in Europe [3] and, just last year, the French government announced the largest dam removal in Europe to date [4]. Work also began last week on removing the Yecla de Yeltes dam in Spain [5] and the demolition of a number of obstacles in Finland, Spain and the Netherlands are also on the cards.

“These removals are a step towards bringing Europe’s rivers back to life, but there is still a long way to go”, said Mark Owen of the European Anglers Alliance “Dams have dire consequences for migratory fish species, and they also degrade the biodiversity in and around these rivers. We need fewer obstacles and more free flowing rivers, otherwise the EU will never be able to halt biodiversity loss by 2020, as required by its own biodiversity strategy [6].”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Notes to the editors:

[1] The State of Nature in the EU, European Commission, 2015

[2] The Water Framework Directive was the basis for the latest ruling from the Greek Supreme Court on the Acheloos water transfer project in 2014

[3] ‘INTERVIEW with Dam Removal Europe’, Sustain Europe, 2018, http://www.sustaineurope.com/interview-with-dam-removal-europe-20180224.html

[4] ‘River revolution in Europe as France launches largest dam removal project on the continent’, WWF, 2017, http://www.wwf.eu/?uNewsID=317032

[5] ‘La CHD inicia el derribo de la presa de Yecla de Yeltes’, Salamanca RTV al día, 2018, http://salamancartvaldia.es/not/177064/chd-inicia-demolicion-presa-yecla-yeltes/

[6] EU Biodiversity Strategy, European Commission, 2011
> Link to Living Rivers Europe’s position paper

>About the Water Framework Directive

  1. The Water Framework Directive is one of the EU’s most progressive pieces of environmental legislation. It requires the protection, enhancement and restoration of our rivers, wetlands, lakes and coastal waters, but Member States are currently failing make it work on the ground;
  2. Under the Water Framework Directive, EU governments have committed to ensure no deterioration and achieve good status for the vast majority of all water bodies by 2015, and at the very latest by 2027;
  3. Where implemented, the Water Framework Directive has proved to be effective in achieving its goals of good water status and non-deterioration, successfully balancing environmental, social and economic requirements.

 

For more information please contact:

 

Sophie Bauer, Communications Officer (Freshwater), WWF European Policy Office

sbauer@wwf.eu

+32 471 05 25 11

Download the Press Release in pdf

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Living Rivers Europe – Press Release on Word Water Day : stop damming of the Mura River

77,000+ citizens call on Slovenian government to stop damming of the Mura River

Brussels – 22 March 2018

On World Water Day, Living Rivers Europe – a coalition of five environmental and angling organisations – is calling for Slovenia to abandon plans to erect eight hydropower dams across the Mura River, which would transform this healthy free-flowing river into eight lifeless reservoirs. Living Rivers Europe is the European Anglers Alliance, the European Environmental Bureau, the European Rivers Network, Wetlands International and WWF, who together represent a movement of over 40 million people across Europe.

The planned dams violate both Slovenian and EU water and nature conservation laws and will wreck the Mura River, blocking fish migration routes and the flow of sediment – threatening fish populations as well as wildlife that depend on the river. The river also provides invaluable services to local communities. Not only is it the most important source of drinking water, it also provides natural flood protection and is a valuable recreational area.

“In addition to the environmental and economic consequences, moving forward with these planned dams goes against the Slovenian government’s commitment to ensure international protection of the future Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which will combine the cluster of thirteen protected areas along the Mura-Drava-Danube region”, said Cy Griffin, European Programme Manager at Wetlands International.

In a campaign driven by WWF together with other environmental NGOs, 77,310 people signed a petition calling for the damming of the Mura River to be halted. The signatures will be handed to the Slovenian government today – if these harmful plans are not scrapped, a formal complaint will then be issued to the European Commission outlining how they violate both the Water Framework Directive and Natura 2000.

The case of the Mura River is not an isolated one. All across Europe, rivers and other freshwater ecosystems are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Out of all the ecosystem types, freshwater ecosystems are continuing to experience the most significant deterioration, as both European Environment Agency [1] and WWF’s own research show. Indeed, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report, the abundance of freshwater species worldwide has shrunk by 81% since the 1970s [2]. Agricultural pollution, over-abstraction of water, the construction of hydropower dams, flood defences and navigation all alter the natural state of rivers through physical modification, such as water pumping, channelizing, dredging, and gravel and sand extraction, with disastrous consequences for the environment.

“Our rivers are dying right under our eyes. As Living Rivers Europe, we aim to restore and protect rivers such as Mura for wildlife and for people. Unless we act now, our rivers and the crucial services they provide will continue to deteriorate”, said Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office, “Back in 2000, EU Member States committed to protect and restore freshwater habitats in Europe through the adoption of the EU Water Framework Directive. Slovenia needs to live up to its legal commitments and scrap these destructive dams. Other countries should also focus on reviving the ambition set out in these visionary laws rather than on trying to side-step them.”

Living Rivers Europe believes that the Water Framework Directive is the only way to turn back the clock on the destruction of Europe’s waters. The Directive has been in effect for 18 years now, and has resulted in some improvements in the status of the EU’s water bodies. However, Member States have been reluctant to make this ambitious legislation work on the ground, bowing instead to economic pressures from industry and farmers. This resulted in the Directive’s goal of achieving good status for the vast majority of Europe’s waters by 2015 being missed by a long shot, with the latest data suggesting that not even half of all rivers, lakes and wetlands in Europe are currently healthy.

“The Water Framework Directive is currently undergoing its scheduled review. Some Member States may see this review period as an opportunity to weaken the Directive’s high standards on freshwater protection, to the detriment of people and nature”, said Mark Owen of the European Anglers Alliance, “The European Anglers Alliance, together with its partners from Living Rivers Europe, will be there every step of the way during this crucial review period to ensure that it is used to strengthen implementation of the Directive, rather than weaken its standards.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Notes to the editors:
[1] The State of Nature in the EU, European Commission, 2015
[2] Living Planet Report, WWF, 2016
> Link to WWF’s campaign to save the Mura River
> Link to Living Rivers Europe’s position paper

> About freshwater ecosystems in Europe and the Water Framework Directive

  • Healthy freshwater ecosystems are crucial for people, nature and economies: not only do they supply and purify our water; they also help us adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change by storing carbon and ensuring better flood control. The majority of economic sectors and industries, including food production, are also reliant on freshwater ecosystems and many people’s livelihoods depend on freshwater fish populations;
  • Living Rivers Europe considers the Water Framework Directive to be one of the EU’s most progressive pieces of environmental legislation. It requires the protection, enhancement and restoration of our rivers, wetlands, lakes and coastal waters, but Member States are currently failing make it work on the ground;
  • Under the Water Framework Directive, EU governments have committed to ensure no deterioration and achieve good status for the vast majority of all water bodies by 2015, and at the very latest by 2027;
  • Where implemented, the Water Framework Directive has proved to be effective in achieving its goals of good water status and non-deterioration, successfully balancing environmental, social and economic requirements.
  • The economic potential of full implementation of the Directive is significant: if Europe had met its 2015 deadline, the expected total yearly benefits could have reached €20 billion per year on average. [1]

> Living Rivers Europe’s key asks:

1. Improved implementation and enforcement of the Water

  • Framework Directive, including:More ambitious River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs);
  • Ensuring that all exemptions from the Water Framework Directive’s objectives are applied restrictively and in exceptional cases only in order to uphold the purpose and effect of the Directive;
  • Increased use of nature-based solutions for tackling the impacts of floods and drought;
  • Ensuring that payment for water is based on fair pricing and that those who pollute it also have to pay;
  • Ensuring that the remaining free-flowing and unaltered stretches of rivers in Europe are effectively protected and that their biodiversity and ecological values are not compromised by hydropower and inland navigation development.

2. Effective integration of water management aspects into relevant sectoral policies, particularly agriculture, energy and transport.

3. The Water Framework Directive is currently undergoing its scheduled review (in the form of a fitness check): in order to meet the ultimate 2027 deadline, the review should be used to strengthen implementation of the Directive, rather than weaken its standards.

For more information please contact:

Sophie Bauer, Communications Officer (Freshwater), WWF European Policy Office
sbauer@wwf.eu
+32 471 05 25 11

[1] Mattheiß V., De Paoli G. and Strosser P. (ACTeon) (2012) Comparative study of pressures and measures in the major river basin plans in the EU, Task 4 b: Costs & Benefits of WFD implementation (EU project), p. 35, 46.

Download the Press Release in pdf