• A Blueprint to safeguard
Europe’s waters
• Comparative Study on
Pressures and Measures
Lourdes Alvarellos
European Commission
DG Environment, D.1 Water
2012 State of water stakeholder
and Eionet Workshop
29-30 March 2012
water.europa.eu
What is the Blueprint?
• The Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources will
present the policy response to the challenges presented in
the State of Water Report,
 long-term aim: to ensure sufficient availability of good
quality water for sustainable and equitable water use
• Closely linked to EU 2020 Strategy and Resource Efficiency
Roadmap
Why a Blueprint?
• Improving the implementation of current EU
water policy
• Fostering the integration of water and other
policies
• When necessary, seeking the completion of the
current policy framework
Synthesis of policy recommendations
building on on-going assessments
Impact Assessment
Report
on 2009
Report
2009
Report onon
2009
River Basin
River Basin
River
Basin
Management
Management
Plans
Management
Plans
Plans
« Fitness Check»
Review
Review
Review
EU water
Water Scarcity
Water
Scarcity
Water
Scarcity
policy
& Droughts
&
Droughts
Strategy
instruments
&Strategy
Droughts Strategy
Climate
Change
Climate Change
Vulnerability
Vulnerability
&
&Adaptation
Adaptation
Outlook of
sustainability and
vulnerability of
EU water
resources
Policy
Options
Nov 2012
Blueprint
To
Safeguard
EU Waters
Assessment of RBMPs
Commission’s report
November 2012
WFD timetable
Transposition into national law
Administrative arrangements
Environmental analysis:
Analysis of characteristics
Assessment of human impacts
Economic analysis of water use
Monitoring programmes
Public Participation starts
Significant water management issues
Draft river basin management plans
Final river basin management plans
Measures implemented at the latest
Implementation, adjustment
Dec 2003
Dec 2003
Dec 2004
Dec 2006
Dec 2006
Dec 2007
Dec 2008
Dec 2009
Dec 2012
2015 till 2027
Commission‘s 3rd implementation report
•
To be published in November 2012 - integral part of the
Blueprint
•
Communication on the implementation of WFD
Analysis based on WFD main principles
•
Commission Staff Working Document
Analysis based on 17 topics of assessment
More detailed information on the assessment of RBMPs
Annexes by MS (fiches)
Assessment RBMP: some general preliminary findings
•
A lot of effort put into
preparation of the plans
•
High uptake of the common
framework and common
language on water management
provided by the WFD
•
Integration of ecological
perspective into water
management
•
Enhancement of international
cooperation
•
Public participation, stakeholder
involvement
•
Impressive improvement in the
knowledge base
•
All plans not submitted in 4
Member States
•
Low ambition in many of the
plans (extensive use of
exemptions)
•
Lack of concrete measures and
expected achievements
•
Lack of comparability in some
issues (e.g. chemical status!)
•
Dressing “business-as-usual”
as WFD
8
Review Water Scarcity and Droughts policy
•
Communication 2007 and
follow-up:
• Council conclusions - review
& further develop WS&D policy
by 2012
• EP report – new initiatives
including pilot projects
preparatory actions
• Annual follow up reports
• GAP Analysis
• Overview of problem & existing
measures
• Identification of gaps
• Proposal of new measures
• Assessment of impact of new
measures
• In-depth studies on:
•
•
•
•
Water Supply Infrastructure
Buildings
Agriculture
Indicators for water stress and
water efficiency
Climate Change Vulnerability & Adaptation
• Thorough assessment of drivers of
vulnerability and potential
adaptation measures at EU level in
the ClimWatAdapt project
 Combination of different scenarios:
socio-economic
regional
climate
• On-going in-depth assessment
of effectiveness of specific
measures (natural water retention,
water efficiency)
Fitness Check of EU Freshwater Policy (1)
•
Part of European Commission Smart Regulation policy
•
Objective: Assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency
of the EU freshwater policy
•
Process: scoping study, stakeholder and public consultation
•
Scope
•
•
•
•
•
Water Framework Directive
o Groundwater Directive
o Directive on Environmental Quality Standards (EQS)
Urban Waste Water Directive
Nitrates Directive
Floods Directive
+ quantitative and adaptive water management issues, for which there
is currently no legislation at EU level
Fitness Check of EU Freshwater Policy (2)
•
Most important issues:
• Improvements in implementation of EU water policy are required
• Need for a stronger legal basis for tackling the problems of water scarcity
and droughts
• Ecosystem services not systematically addressed within water policy
• More coherence needed with the CAP, regional, renewable energy and
transport policies
• Potential to enhance coherence with chemical, pesticides, pharmaceuticals
policies on issues such as risk assessment methods
• Improved analysis of the costs and benefits of water protection measures
is needed
Baseline, scenarios and indicative targets
water resource balances
use of water by the different economic
activities, and impacts
baseline scenario /
sensitivity analysis
measures affecting water availability
and water use
optimisation model
Environmental
Constraints
(E-flows)
climate, land-use, demographic and
socio-economic scenarios
linked to achievement
Good Ecological Status
(WFD)
indicative
targets at EU
level for
reducing the
vulnerability of
water
resources
• (natural) retention,
• efficiency,
• re-use
From Objectives to Policy Options
Adressing
Water Stress
Target
Setting
Resilience to
Extreme Events
Unlocking
measures
Achievement
Good Ecological Status
Improving
Implementation
Policy Options (1): Targets
• Targets for efficient water resources allocation
including the basic needs for nature
(environmental flows) and sectoral allocation
• Drought management instruments
• Support better management of water resources
in third countries
Policy Options (2): Unlocking Measures
• Support to land-use measures (natural water retention)
• Improve water efficiency in building and water using
appliances
• Address leakage in water infrastructure
• EU standards for waste water re-use
• Tackle metering / illegal abstraction
• Water pricing levels and structure to provide sufficient
incentives to increase water efficiency
• Costs and benefits of inaction and of water related
measures to be properly understood and quantified
Policy Options (3): Governance and
Knowledge base
• Improve coordination in river basin shared
between different administrative entities within
Member States, between Member States and with
third countries
• Improve knowledge provision and accessibility
Next Steps
• 12-weeks public consultation on Policy
Options (15 March to 7 June)
• April: Publication Fitness Check
• Discussion of policy options at 3rd EU Water
Conference on 24-25 May
• November: Publication Blueprint
Comparative Study on
Pressures & Measures
Comparative Study on Pressures & Measures
• Top down assessment of RBMPs
• In-depth analysis of certain identified subjects, including
•
•
•
•
Governance
Development of methodologies
Integration of other policies
Economic aspects
• To analyse and compare the collected information in order
to provide conclusions at European level
• Outcome of assessment: will support 2012 Blueprint to
Safeguard Europe’s Waters
TASK 1 - Governance and Legal Aspects
TASK 1
1a – Administrative Arrangements
1b – International coordination
mechanisms
1c – Enforcement, control, inspection and
sanction systems
1d – Analysis of nature of RBMPs
Information sources





MS RBM Plans and COM assessments
WISE reporting
MS – legislation literature
MS – SCG members
EEA
Milestones
Final report 30 April
TASK 2 – Methodologies for ecological status classification and
specific pollutants
TASK 2
To examine and analyse
methods (used by MS) to assess
and classify the ES of SWB and if
appropriate to achieve a
comparable assessment across
Europe
Information sources
 RBMPs Reporting
2a – Comparison of Typologies
 2a: EEA, JRC (support)
2b – Intercalibration – scientific
peer review
 2b: JRC (Technical IC report), Peer review
 2c:
2c – Comparison of specific
pollutants and EQSs
2d – Reality check of the results
obtained in assessing ES across
EU (comparison of ES on
transboundary WB)
Milestones
WG A Report on specific pollutants
European Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry
(releases of substances to the aquatic environment)
All relevant matrices (water, sediment, biota) and
all water categories
 2d: Selected data sets from MS (special
request)
 Technical Report 30
April
 Intercalibration final
report 15 July
 Final report on specific
pollutants, analyses of
potential implications
for ecological status
assessment,
comparability and best
practices 30 April
TASK 3 - Integration
TASK 3
- Horizontal task: storylines connecting
pressures, measures and status 2009,
2015
- Integration of sectoral policy in WFD
PoMs
Information sources
 WISE (RBMPs screening)
 Expert meetings
 Consultation with MS
 PSIR (measuresimpacts-measures-status)
30 April
 Expert workshop on 21
March in Brussels – on
measures agriculture,
hydromorphology and
drinking water
 Effectiveness of
selected measures (3a,
3b, 3c, 3e) 31 March
3a – Agriculture
3b – Hydromorphological alterations
3c – Drinking Water Protection Resources
3d – Water abstraction and water use
(quantitative issues DMPs and e-flows)
3e – Mining
Thematic assessment on GW
quantitative status
Milestones
 3c:
EUREAU
 Questionnaire to MS
 3d: Expert Group WS&D &
Technical papers
 Catalogue of measures
(3a, 3b, 3c, 3e) on
database 31 October
 Thematic assessment on
GW quantitative status
15 June
TASK 4 - Innovation and development of technology
TASK 4
Information sources
Milestones
 Report on initiatives July 2012
4a – Innovation and development of
technology
(opportunities for urban, rural and
industrial water management
sectors)
4b – Costs and benefits
Knowledge base on the economic
dimensions and economic impact of
WFD (first cycle)
 RBMPs
 RBMP accompanying
technical reports
 WISE
 Existing studies in MS
 Research reports
 Thematic studies (EEA,
COM…)
 Expert group meetings
 Assessment of costs & benefits of
WFD
 Assessment of current financing of
RBMPs
 Guidance note on how to assess
and report costs & benefits of water
related measures
 Knowledge gaps on costs &
benefits of water management