Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay
In their feedback within the official EU Call for Evidence, the IGB researchers underline that the fundamental basis for water resilience is, first of all, the resilience of freshwater ecosystems. These are the basis for all other plans and actions. Without resilient aquatic ecosystems, no overall water resilience will be achievable. That is why the specific objective of this initiative, “Restore and protect the water cycle”, plays a major role.
While initiatives for sustainable freshwater use and protection such as the EWRS are to be welcomed in general, the scientists emphasise that suitable European legislation already exists, especially the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives. The real problem is not the lack of legislation or initiatives, but a huge European-wide implementation and enforcement deficit despite the legally binding character. According to the IGB scientists, that is why within the described action areas, “Governance and implementation” is crucial due to the major implementation and enforcement deficit. After many years of detailed diagnosis, the focus should now be on tackling the specific practical problems.
Additionally, the scientists underline that Europe will only be able to solve its water issues and become water-resilient if all policy fields mandatorily contribute to this overarching goal. The interests of e.g. the agriculture, industry, transport, or energy sector have been very influential and often overruled environmental and water policy. Water management affects several policy areas in parallel, which is why water law alone is not sufficient to solve the problems. Water resilience issues must be considered and assessed in all relevant EU policies. Political support or prioritisation of ecologically very harmful water uses need to be stopped, and misguided incentives such as some instruments in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should be urgently reassessed by legislators.
The full IGB Feedback can be downloaded below this text.
