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6 Prospects: Approaches of Integrated Management
Proposals for a general review of the Community water policy arose in middle of the
1990s. The European Water Policy should address the increasing awareness for water and
water management, that is, to develop a coherent policy on European level. To achieve
this, the European Water Policy was developed in an open consultation process involving
all interested parties.
In 1996 a Water Conference constituted the end of this consultation process. This Conference was attended by representatives of Member States, regional and local authorities,
water providers, industry, agriculture and consumers as well as environmentalists. The
outcome of the consultation process was a broad consensus on the fragmentation of the
water policy, in terms both of objectives and of means. All attendees agreed on the need
for a single piece of legislation to resolve these problems. In response to this, the Commission presented a Proposal for a Water Framework Directive with the following key
aims:
• expanding the scope of water protection to all water bodies, that is surface waters and
ground water,
• achieving “good status” for all water bodies by a fixed deadline,
• water management based on river basins,
• intense public participation,
• streamlining legislation.
Finally, the Water Framework Directive (200/60/EC) was initiated with the intention to
establish a framework for the protection of inland surface, transitional, coastal and ground
water (Article 1 EC, 2000).
It should prevent deterioration, improve and enhance the status of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well as wetlands directly depending on the aquatic ecosystem to
promote sustainable water use, ensure the progressive reduction of pollution of ground
water (Article 1 paragraphs a to e). In Article 2 the definition for coastal waters is provided
(paragraph 7): coastal waters means surface water on the landward side of a line, every
point of which is at a distance of one nautical mile on the seaward side from the nearest
point of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial waters is measured, extending
where appropriate up to the outer limit of transitional waters.
According to the WFD the focus is on the management of water bodies at river basin
scale – the natural geographical and hydrological unit – instead of administrative or political boundaries. Actions taken by the Member States concerned for the Maas, Schelde or
Rhine river basins have served as positive examples of this approach, with their cooperation and joint objective-setting across Member State borders, in Germany followed by
processes at the rivers Ems and Elbe.
There are a number of objectives to protect the quality of water bodies. The key ones
are general protection of the aquatic ecology, specific protection of unique and valuable
habitats, protection of drinking water resources, and protection of bathing water. All these
objectives must be integrated for each river basin. Ecological protection should apply to
6 Prospects: Approaches of Integrated Management
Proposals for a general review of the Community water policy arose in middle of the
1990s. The European Water Policy should address the increasing awareness for water and
water management, that is, to develop a coherent policy on European level. To achieve
this, the European Water Policy was developed in an open consultation process involving
all interested parties.
In 1996 a Water Conference constituted the end of this consultation process. This Conference was attended by representatives of Member States, regional and local authorities,
water providers, industry, agriculture and consumers as well as environmentalists. The
outcome of the consultation process was a broad consensus on the fragmentation of the
water policy, in terms both of objectives and of means. All attendees agreed on the need
for a single piece of legislation to resolve these problems. In response to this, the Commission presented a Proposal for a Water Framework Directive with the following key
aims:
• expanding the scope of water protection to all water bodies, that is surface waters and
ground water,
• achieving “good status” for all water bodies by a fixed deadline,
• water management based on river basins,
• intense public participation,
• streamlining legislation.
Finally, the Water Framework Directive (200/60/EC) was initiated with the intention to
establish a framework for the protection of inland surface, transitional, coastal and ground
water (Article 1 EC, 2000).
It should prevent deterioration, improve and enhance the status of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well as wetlands directly depending on the aquatic ecosystem to
promote sustainable water use, ensure the progressive reduction of pollution of ground
water (Article 1 paragraphs a to e). In Article 2 the definition for coastal waters is provided
(paragraph 7): coastal waters means surface water on the landward side of a line, every
point of which is at a distance of one nautical mile on the seaward side from the nearest
point of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial waters is measured, extending
where appropriate up to the outer limit of transitional waters.
According to the WFD the focus is on the management of water bodies at river basin
scale – the natural geographical and hydrological unit – instead of administrative or political boundaries. Actions taken by the Member States concerned for the Maas, Schelde or
Rhine river basins have served as positive examples of this approach, with their cooperation and joint objective-setting across Member State borders, in Germany followed by
processes at the rivers Ems and Elbe.
There are a number of objectives to protect the quality of water bodies. The key ones
are general protection of the aquatic ecology, specific protection of unique and valuable
habitats, protection of drinking water resources, and protection of bathing water. All these
objectives must be integrated for each river basin. Ecological protection should apply to