Brussels - A new report published by European Environmental Bureau (EEB) reveals that European governments are doing very little to protect and restore Europe’s waters. The report, “10 years of Water Framework Directive: a toothless tiger?”, provides an insight into the low level of ambition countries have for implementing plans to improve the state of rivers and lakes. Based on eight river management plans around Europe, it was discovered that despite eight years of preparation and planning there appears to be little improvement forecast in the coming years. The findings revealed River Basin Management Plans - national plans for protecting and improving water - are showing little or minimal success.

Indeed, many of the plans delay any improvements until 2027, suggesting a widespread abuse of the exemptions the law provides. “This is unacceptable given how important water is to our livelihood and how we’re still polluting it”, said Pieter de Pous, Senior Water Policy Officer.

Worse still, these minimal improvements are often offset by damaging developments taking place in other areas such as agriculture, transport and energy generation. The way Europe’s Water Framework Directive is now being implemented is likely to fail to bring European waters to decent ecological standard fast enough.

Based on the findings, the EEB is calling on governments and water management authorities to adopt new measures in addition to what is foreseen in the published River Basin Management Plans.

Pieter de Pous said: “Pollution and waste from agriculture are one of the best known, studied and discussed problems affecting the state of our waters, yet instead of proposing effective new measures most water managers have chosen to simply pass the buck, be it to other countries or authorities or to future generations.”

According to governments’ own assessments, on average less than half of Europe’s waters are in a ‘good status’. Under the EU’s Water Framework Directive governments committed themselves to restore their waters by 2015. The plans and the measures with which they are meant to do this were due to be finalised by December 2009. Now halfway through 2010, only 14 member states have published their plans with especially the Mediterranean member states looking at serious delays. An overview of the state of implementation is provided by a Commission implementation report and can be found at europa.eu.

The full report “10 years of Water Framework Directive: a toothless tiger?” can be downloaded under eeb.org.

Quelle: European Environmental Bureau

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