4. Integrated solutions for European significant water management issues

DRAFT Key messages (to be revised after Eionet consultation)

• A broad range of technical and management measures are already available to tackle European significant water management issues; the measures required can be mobilised through better implementation of the existing legislative framework on water (basic measures under WFD) and the introduction of supplementary measures that further reduce key pressures.
• The implementation of measures though can be further enhanced and accelerated if a number of cross-cutting challenges are addressed EU-wide, namely the need for better coordination of different EU environmental strategies and policies, for more coherence of sectoral strategies with water policy objectives, optimization of funding of measures as well as acknowledgement and support of measures that deliver multiple benefits.

EU strategies, policy targets and management responses:

• Key management challenges for European waters are addressed by targets of EU strategies and policy initiatives, which are further operationalized in management responses of different water and environmental directives. Management responses to tackle key water management issues need to become more coherent and harmonized and this is one of the ambitions of new EU strategies and goals in the context of the European Green Deal. To achieve this, to promote cross-cutting solutions and to mobilize resources, clear links need to be established between EU strategy targets and binding requirements for implementing environmental Directives on the ground.
• More coherence and harmonization of different policies to reach targets and goals of the EU strategies can be achieved by harmonization of programmes of measures, enhancing the use of multi-benefit measures, focusing more on ecosystem-based management and using catchment-based approaches.

Coherence of sectoral strategies with water policy objectives:

• We need to ensure that water using sectors, such as agriculture, energy, mining, aquaculture, and navigation, adopt management practices that can keep water ecosystems healthy and resilient.
• Several sustainable sectoral strategies already exist, which promote the growth of economic sectors and, at the same time, provide a roadmap for reducing the pressures and impacts of the sector’s activities on water resources.
• Sometimes sustainable management solutions are not yet mandatory for the entire sector, but they can be used as blueprint for rolling out sustainable action plans.

Funding of measures:

• To implement the measures and actions needed to tackle European significant water management issues, additional funding needs to be mobilized from all available sources at local, regional, national and European levels.
• Environmental funds targeting the WFD are limited, therefore implementation success depends on using financial instruments in other policies including sectoral ones (e.g. agricultural policy, fisheries policy, biodiversity policy).
• Public funds alone (EU, national and local) will not be sufficient to support the large number of measures needed for the achievement of WFD goals. Countries need to find new financing sources. Innovative financing mechanisms, e.g. including the participation of industry, are needed and some have already been set up in European countries.

Measures with multiple benefits:

• Several water management measures deliver multiple benefits such as waste water treatment, buffer strips, extensification of land use, river continuity measures or natural water retention measures.
• Multi-benefit measures are one approach to coordinating management responses to meet the objectives of different EU policies that target water ecosystems.