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Policies and strategies that define operations and give directions for further growth of sectoral activities play a key role for ongoing and future developments that impact European waters. Despite different priorities and investment cycles, over the past 15 years many sectors have shown attempts to acquire up-to-date knowledge and act on environmental aspects, including sustainable water resource management. This development has partly been set in motion by regulation and to a certain extent by private initiatives. Some private businesses, for instance the Scottish aquaculture industry or the European Mining Association, have incorporated sustainability in their codes of practice. Economic instruments, such as a pesticide tax in France and an electricity surcharge to fund sustainable hydropower in Switzerland, further represent a relevant trend. New technologies used in specific sectors have also helped, for instance drop irrigation to reduce pressure on scarce water resources for irrigation. More initiatives of this kind are needed across all key sectors impacting water resources. In particular, a consistent combination of multiple policy tools from the Water Framework Directive, the Common Agricultural Policy and the Energy & Climate Package is required.

Water sustainability elements brought into sectoral strategies need to be consistently enforced and implemented on the ground. However, in some cases, not enough information is available on the extent to which sustainability aspects are actually being implemented. Enhanced resources for enforcement, capacity-building and incentives to transition towards sustainable business models are needed, especially on the local level. Cooperation on the local, national and EU level is needed for the exchange of best practices and sustainable technologies, so that Member States can fully embrace the sustainable water management transition.