2.3.2 EC Communication ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s
Water Resources’
The European Commission’s Communication on ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s
Water Resources’ (European Commission 2012a) takes an inherently
water-oriented perspective to its analysis. However, agriculture is also a major
component of the recommendations set forth by the blueprint. The Communication
underscores the increasing interplay between the water and agricultural sectors to
address issues of water scarcity and drought.
2.3.2.1 History, Aims and Objectives
The ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europea’s Water Resources’ (European Commission
2012a) is an EU policy response to recent water challenges, to be encompassed by
the EU 2020 Strategy and the Resources Efficiency Roadmap (Estrela and Vargas
2012). The Blueprint emerged from gaps in the WFD to address land use and
management that affect both water quality and quantity. It assesses existing policy
to highlight the obstacles and challenges which prevent actionable safeguarding of
Europe’s water resources. According to the Blueprint the main negative impacts on
water resources are stemming from climate change, land use, economic activities,
urban development and demographic change and are interlinked with each other.
As part of a larger goal to secure equal access to good-quality water, the primary
objective of the Blueprint is to promote sustainable activities relating to water. The
Blueprint does not aim to provide a one-size-fits-all solution and instead documents
and assesses the vulnerability of EU waters. Within the Communication, it is argued
that the objectives of the Blueprint are scattered throughout and already enshrined
within the WFD, and consequently, the Blueprint attempts to gather, distill, and link
the disparate elements of water policy as well as the root causes of negative impacts
on water status.
The Blueprint identifies green growth as primary driving force behind changes to
the water sector, with a special emphasis on innovation for water efficiency.
2.3.2.2 Structure, Components and Implementation
The Blueprint was developed in close cooperation with stakeholders, and is based
on extensive public consultations. It consists of an overall Fitness Check of
European Waters, as well as an assessment of the policies and measures in place.
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U. Stein et al.
Water Resources’
The European Commission’s Communication on ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s
Water Resources’ (European Commission 2012a) takes an inherently
water-oriented perspective to its analysis. However, agriculture is also a major
component of the recommendations set forth by the blueprint. The Communication
underscores the increasing interplay between the water and agricultural sectors to
address issues of water scarcity and drought.
2.3.2.1 History, Aims and Objectives
The ‘Blueprint to Safeguard Europea’s Water Resources’ (European Commission
2012a) is an EU policy response to recent water challenges, to be encompassed by
the EU 2020 Strategy and the Resources Efficiency Roadmap (Estrela and Vargas
2012). The Blueprint emerged from gaps in the WFD to address land use and
management that affect both water quality and quantity. It assesses existing policy
to highlight the obstacles and challenges which prevent actionable safeguarding of
Europe’s water resources. According to the Blueprint the main negative impacts on
water resources are stemming from climate change, land use, economic activities,
urban development and demographic change and are interlinked with each other.
As part of a larger goal to secure equal access to good-quality water, the primary
objective of the Blueprint is to promote sustainable activities relating to water. The
Blueprint does not aim to provide a one-size-fits-all solution and instead documents
and assesses the vulnerability of EU waters. Within the Communication, it is argued
that the objectives of the Blueprint are scattered throughout and already enshrined
within the WFD, and consequently, the Blueprint attempts to gather, distill, and link
the disparate elements of water policy as well as the root causes of negative impacts
on water status.
The Blueprint identifies green growth as primary driving force behind changes to
the water sector, with a special emphasis on innovation for water efficiency.
2.3.2.2 Structure, Components and Implementation
The Blueprint was developed in close cooperation with stakeholders, and is based
on extensive public consultations. It consists of an overall Fitness Check of
European Waters, as well as an assessment of the policies and measures in place.
28
U. Stein et al.