{"id":116276,"date":"2024-10-15T12:25:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T10:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=116276"},"modified":"2024-10-15T12:27:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T10:27:44","slug":"europes-water-crisis-needs-urgent-attention-says-eeas-state-of-water-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/europes-water-crisis-needs-urgent-attention-says-eeas-state-of-water-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s water crisis needs urgent attention, says EEA\u2019s State of Water report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) reveals that Europe\u2019s water resources are under serious pressure, with <\/span><b>no significant progress made since 2009<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/en\/analysis\/publications\/europes-state-of-water-2024\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">underscores the urgent need for stricter implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), significant changes to agricultural production, pollution reduction, and urgent ecosystem restoration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its main findings include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Less than 40% of surface waters, such as rivers and lakes, are currently healthy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly 25% of groundwater bodies are not in good chemical status, even though they provide almost two-thirds of our drinking water.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chemical status of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters has further deteriorated, with less than 30% meeting the pollution standards set by the WFD.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harmful agricultural practices, particularly the intensive use of nutrients and pesticides, continue to be the most significant pressure on water. Diffuse pollution pressures from agriculture affect 32% of groundwaters and 29% of surface waters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical pollution from coal-fired plants, along with alterations to rivers due to dam construction and straightening, also exerts considerable pressure on surface waters.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Claire Baffert, Senior EU Policy Officer, Water &amp; Climate Change Adaptation at WWF European Policy Office, said:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The persistently lousy state of Europe\u2019s waters shows that Member States are failing to address the water crisis, year after year. The Water Framework Directive has been in place for over two decades, but its goals remain largely unmet because national governments do not take its requirements seriously. Unfortunately, as reflected in the Draghi report*, there are strong calls to weaken the directive\u2019s standards to facilitate harmful projects, when what we truly need is to prioritise the protection of our water resources.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Sara Johansson, Senior Policy Officer for Water Pollution Prevention at EEB, said<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EEA data shows that less than 30% of surface waters are in good chemical status. While these stats are alarming, they&#8217;re not even giving the full picture as it&#8217;s only assessed against a limited and outdated list of pollutants. New quality standards for water must be adopted with urgency so that monitoring and planning of measures can be included in the next River Basin Management Plans.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Mark Owen, Director of the European Anglers Alliance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, said<\/span><b>: <\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis report not only highlights the crisis that we face with the state of EU waters but also the significant cost that citizens will face by continued inaction by member states. The report showcases the way forward with the example in Estonia restoring 3,300 KM of rivers by removing dams and river restoration, increasing biodiversity with improvements to 32 species. Similar actions are now required across the EU.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Irene Duque, Freshwater Policy Officer at Wetlands International Europe, said:<br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you, EEA! We have heard the message loud and clear: our water resilience is at risk. The path forward to meet EU targets and improve the health of European waters is equally clear: wetland restoration over maladaptation. Building dams and relying on more grey infrastructure continues to prove counterproductive, often worsening the problems it aims to solve. Wetland restoration remains a low priority on the EU\u2019s agenda, but for those concerned about devastating floods, droughts, the decline of freshwater fish, or access to water as a human right, this is truly a no-brainer.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Andras Krolopp, Head of Biodiversity Policy at The Nature Conservancy Europe, said:<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state of Europe&#8217;s waters is a wake up call for urgent action. As the EEA report shows, this is not only a European issue, but a global crisis. Restoring at least 25,000 km of rivers to their free-flowing state is not just an environmental necessity: it\u2019s a commitment to biodiversity and our future. Europe has a global commitment under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nature Restoration Law to achieve this goal. We need to accelerate the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and prioritise water and ecosystem protection across all policies. The time to act is now, and delay is not an option.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Europeans are increasingly paying the price for their government\u2019s inaction on the water crisis. According to the latest <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/europa.eu\/eurobarometer\/surveys\/detail\/3173\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eurobarometer survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 78% of Europeans want the EU to do more to address water pollution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Living Rivers Europe NGO coalition urges Member States to accelerate the implementation of the WFD to improve Europe\u2019s waters and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org\/downloads\/a-water-handbook-2024.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> integrate water and ecosystem protection across all policies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Notes to editors:<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*The deteriorating trend in the chemical status of surface waters and the overall lack of progress are partially linked to the fact that Member States are improving their monitoring practices, thereby identifying more pollutants than before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*In its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/publications\/state-of-water\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">previous assessment from 2018<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the EEA reported that \u201cIt can be expected that, by the time the third River Basin Management Plans are drafted (2019-2021), some of the several thousand individual measures undertaken in the first and second RBMPs should have had a positive effect in terms of achieving good status.\u201d This has not been the case, showing that many Member States have failed to implement the planned measures.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/document\/download\/ec1409c1-d4b4-4882-8bdd-3519f86bbb92_en?filename=The%20future%20of%20European%20competitiveness_%20In-depth%20analysis%20and%20recommendations_0.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Draghi report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> notes that the EU should consider other targeted updates to relevant EU Environmental legislation (i.e. the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the Birds, Habitats, <\/span><b>Water Framework <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and potentially the SEA Directive) for renewable energy installations and grids. It considers including limited (in time and perimeter) exemptions in EU environmental directives (e.g.\u00a0 the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive) until climate neutrality is achieved. Exemption requirements need to be met under certain conditions (e g\u00a0 installations do not endanger the population and mitigation measures).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*An illustration of insufficient WFD implementation can be found in the resurrection of infrastructure projects that damage biodiverse rivers, such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wwf.panda.org\/wwf_news\/?11704466\/Reviving-communist-era-hydropower-dam-in-Romania-will-deliver-negligible-power-at-huge-cost-to-people-nature-and-climate-resilienc\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R\u0103stoli\u021ba Hydropower Project<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Romania, or the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wwfcee.org\/pdf_collections\/52\/Turnu%20M%C4%83gurele_1709_low-res.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TURNU M\u0102GURELE \u2013NIKOPOL<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hydraulic structure project on the Danube.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf.eu\/what_we_do\/water\/living_rivers_europe\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Living Rivers Europe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a coalition of organisations advocating for the defence, maintenance and implementation of the WFD in its current form. The coalition includes the European Anglers Alliance, the European Environmental Bureau, the European Rivers Network, The Nature Conservancy, Wetlands International, and WWF, representing a movement of over 40 million European citizens. See the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org\/downloads\/a-water-handbook-2024.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Living Rivers Europe\u2019s handbook for the 2024-2029 mandate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>For more information, please contact:<\/b><a href=\"mailto:barbara.kuznik@tnc.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ben Snelson, Communications Officer for Agriculture and Food, European Environmental Bureau, <\/span><strong><a href=\"mailto:benedict.snelson@eeb.org\">benedict.snelson@eeb.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) reveals that Europe\u2019s water resources are under serious pressure, with no significant progress made since 2009*.\u00a0 The<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":116279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,120],"tags":[348,86,791,943],"class_list":["post-116276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-press-release","category-water","tag-protectwater","tag-water","tag-water-pollution","tag-water-protection"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/META-banner-for-social-media-1-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}