Working title: Water and agriculture. 1
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Contents. 2
Foreword/Preface (Only in exceptional cases and in agreement with COM). 5
Acknowledgements. 6
Key messages. 7
Executive summary. 8
1 Introduction. 10
1.1 Towards good status in Europe’s river basins. 10
1.2 Global change and planetary boundaries. 11
1.3 Policy context. 12
1.4 Towards a systemic perspective on water and agriculture. 16
1.5 Outline of report. 17
2 The agricultural sector in Europe. 19
2.1 European agriculture and value chains. 19
2.1.1 Agriculture in the European economy. 19
2.1.2 Agricultural land use and production. 20
2.1.3 Trends in agricultural production and land use. 21
2.1.4 Land productivity and the impacts of climate change. 22
2.2 Agricultural systems and practices, and their impact on water. 23
2.2.1 Characterising agricultural systems. 23
2.2.2 Intensity of agricultural practices. 28
2.3 A classification of land use systems intensity in Europe. 31
3 Pressures from agriculture to the aquatic environment. 34
3.1 Diffuse pollution. 35
3.1.1 Diffuse nutrient pollution. 35
3.1.2 Pesticides, metals, and veterinary medicines. 39
3.2 Water abstraction. 42
3.2.1 Background. 42
3.2.2 Current level of agricultural water abstraction. 42
3.2.3 Trends in water abstraction. 44
3.2.4 Unsustainable water abstraction and areas under water stress. 45
3.3 Hydromorphological pressures. 47
3.3.1 Background. 47
3.3.2 Current status. 48
3.3.3 The share of agricultural land in floodplains as proxy indicator. 50
3.4 Linking pressures and land use systems. 52
3.5 Water, agricultural pressures, and climate change. 55
3.5.1 Impacts of climate change on agricultural pressures on the water environment. 55
3.5.2 Impacts of climate change on European agriculture and water from a global perspective 57
4 Managing agricultural pressures on the aquatic environment. 59
4.1 Introduction. 59
4.2 Measures at farm and landscape level 60
4.2.1 Sustainable water management and farm practices. 60
4.2.2 Other relevant measures at farm and landscape level 65
4.2.3 Influencing uptake of more sustainable water management and farm practices. 66
4.3 Implementation of environmental policies. 67
4.3.1 Tackling diffuse pollution. 67
4.3.2 Tackling pressures from agricultural water use. 72
4.3.3 Tackling hydromorphological pressures from agriculture. 76
4.3.4 Other water, biodiversity, marine and climate adaptation policies. 77
4.4 Coherence between EU water and agricultural policies. 78
4.4.1 Avoiding policy incentives leading to pressures on water. 79
4.4.2 Supporting the transition to sustainable farming. 80
5 Developing sustainable solutions. 86
5.1 More systemic responses are needed. 86
5.1.1 European food systems and their pressures on the water environment. 86
5.1.2 Other consumption systems and water. 87
5.2 The challenge of managing systemic trade-offs. 89
5.2.1 Growing demand, in an increasing resource limited world. 89
5.2.2 Trade-offs for reaching environmental sustainability. 89
5.3 Transitioning towards sustainability in food systems. 90
5.3.1 Changing food supply chains to promote sustainable agriculture. 91
5.3.2 Moving to sustainable diets to reduce water use and emission of pollutants. 92
5.3.3 Reducing food waste to increase water use efficiency across the supply chain. 93
5.4 The need for policies supporting systemic responses. 94
6 The way forward. 95
6.1 More resilient management actions at basin and farm level 96
6.2 Improved implementation and integration of EU policies. 97
6.3 Mainstreaming systems thinking to improve management. 99
6.4 Closing remark. 100
List of abbreviations. 101
References 102
