Pirkko Ruohonen Lerner debates water protection and sustainable management in Europe

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Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/eudebates Water is not just a commercial product, but also a common good and a limited resource that needs to be protected and used in a sustainable way, in terms of both quality and quantity. It is, however, under pressure from various sectors, such as agriculture, industry, tourism, transport and energy. In 2012, the Commission launched the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources, a long-term strategy that aims to ensure the availability of a sufficient level of quality water for all legitimate uses by better implementing current EU water policy, integrating water policy objectives into other policy areas and filling gaps in the current framework. It envisages the establishment by the Member States of water accounts and water efficiency targets, as well as the development of EU standards for water reuse. EU policy has established two main legal frameworks for the protection and management of our freshwater and marine resources in an ecosystem-based, holistic approach: the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A. Water Framework Directive and specific supporting water directives The EU Water Framework Directive establishes a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater. It aims to prevent and reduce pollution, promote sustainable water use, protect and improve the aquatic environment and mitigate the effects of floods and droughts. The overall objective is to achieve good environmental status for all waters. Member States are therefore requested to draw up river basin management plans based on natural geographical river basins, as well as specific programmes of measures to achieve the objectives. The Nitrates Directive aims to protect waters from nitrates from agricultural sources. A complementary regulation requires Member States to send a report to the Commission every four years, providing details of codes of good agricultural practice, designated nitrate vulnerable zones, water monitoring and a summary of action programmes. Both the directive and the regulation aim to safeguard drinking water and prevent damage from eutrophication. The EU Floods Directive aims to reduce and manage the risks posed by floods to human health, the environment, infrastructure and property. B. EU coastal and marine policy The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the environmental pillar of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), which was set up with a view to enhancing the sustainable development of its maritime economy while better protecting its marine environment. The objective of the MSFD was to reach ‘good environmental status’ (GES) of the EU’s marine waters by 2020, to continue its protection and preservation, and to prevent subsequent deterioration. It establishes European marine regions (the Baltic Sea, the North-east Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea) and sub-regions within the geographical boundaries of the existing Regional Sea Conventions. C. International agreements on regional waters The protection of marine waters in Europe is governed by four international cooperation structures, known as Regional Sea Conventions, between the Member States and neighbouring countries sharing common waters: the OSPAR Convention of 1992 (based on the earlier Oslo and Paris conventions) for the North-East Atlantic; the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM) of 1992 on the Baltic Sea Area; the Barcelona Convention (UNEP-MAP) of 1995 for the Mediterranean; and the Bucharest Convention of 1992 for the Black Sea. EU river waters are protected by international conventions, such as the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), the 1996 Danube River Protection Convention, the 1999 Convention on the Protection of the Oder against Pollution and the 1999 Convention for the Protection of the Rhine. Interregional environmental cooperation focused on marine waters or river basins has led to the creation of several macro-regional strategies in the EU: the 2009 Baltic Sea region strategy (the first comprehensive EU strategy designed for a macro-region); the 2011 strategy for the Danube Region, and the 2014 strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region. Stay connected with us! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eudebates.tv/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/eudebates Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eudebates.tv/ #eudebates the unique initiative aiming to promote debate, dialogue, knowledge, participation and communication among citizens. #water #river #sea #pollution #planet #environment #Fisheries #Oceans #climatechange #émissions #climate #climatecrisis #weather #debates #Climate #LIFE #Environment

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Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lN10JmNKnw

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