The EU water framework directive: measures and implications
TL;DR: The new EU water framework directive is concisely and critically presented in this article, which institutionalises ecosystem-based objectives and planning processes at the level of the hydrographic basin as the basis for water resource management.
About: This article is published in Water Policy.The article was published on 2001-06-01. It has received 416 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Water Framework Directive & Directive.
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TL;DR: An overview of 297 assessment methods for the status of European surface waters is presented, based on a questionnaire survey addressing authorities in all countries implementing the WFD, and the strength of relationships differed significantly between organism groups and water categories.
765 citations
TL;DR: The 1989 privatization of the water supply sector in England and Wales is a much-cited model of market environmentalism, the introduction of market institutions to natural resource management as a means of reconciling goals of efficiency and environmental conservation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The 1989 privatization of the water supply sector in England and Wales is a much-cited model of market environmentalism—the introduction of market institutions to natural resource management as a means of reconciling goals of efficiency and environmental conservation. Yet, more than a decade after privatization, the application of market mechanisms to water supply management is much more limited than had been expected. Drawing on recent geographical research on commodities, this article analyzes the reasons for this retrenchment of the market environmentalist project. I make three related claims: resource commodification is a contested, partial, and transient process; commodification is distinct from privatization; and fresh water is a particularly uncooperative commodity. To illustrate these claims, I explore how water's geography underpinned the failure of commodification initiatives in England and Wales. I focus specifically on contradictions faced by industry regulators, water companies, and ...
609 citations
TL;DR: This contribution presents the first methodological approach to the problem, as used for estuaries and coasts of the Basque Country (northern Spain), in: selecting typologies and reference conditions; determining biological quality and ecological status; and identifying some problems in implementing the WFD.
388 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the intricate process of developing the European Union's Water Framework Directive and highlight the key points of disagreement between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament that threatened to prevent the Directive from being materialized and interpret this controversy as the culmination of conflicting interests between different actors at the local, national and European levels.
Abstract: This article examines the intricate process of developing the European Union's Water Framework Directive. It sees the Directive as a response to recent economic, political and social changes related to water management, including the shift from government to governance, the liberalization of water markets and the emergence of a new set of institutions, actors, etc. and their respective relations (i.e. social capital). The article focuses on the key points of disagreement between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament that threatened to prevent the Directive from being materialized and interprets this controversy as the culmination of conflicting interests between different actors at the local, national and European levels. Finally, it asserts the increasingly important role of the nation state in the decision-making and implementation of the Directive and sets this against recent arguments about the death of the State.
326 citations
Cites background from "The EU water framework directive: m..."
...However, being the product of a compromise, the final text is more of a tool rather than a strict piece of legislation per se (Kallis & Butler, 2001; Lanz & Scheuer, 2001)....
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TL;DR: Maintaining the integrity of these freshwater ecosystems requires a basinwide research and policy framework to understand and manage hydrological connectivity across multiple spatial scales and jurisdictional boundaries.
Abstract: Hydrological connectivity regulates the structure and function of Amazonian freshwater ecosystems and the provisioning of services that sustain local populations. This connectivity is increasingly being disrupted by the construction of dams, mining, land-cover changes, and global climate change. This review analyzes these drivers of degradation, evaluates their impacts on hydrological connectivity, and identifies policy deficiencies that hinder freshwater ecosystem protection. There are 154 large hydroelectric dams in operation today, and 21 dams under construction. The current trajectory of dam construction will leave only three free-flowing tributaries in the next few decades if all 277 planned dams are completed. Land-cover changes driven by mining, dam and road construction, agriculture and cattle ranching have already affected ~20% of the Basin and up to ~50% of riparian forests in some regions. Global climate change will likely exacerbate these impacts by creating warmer and dryer conditions, with less predictable rainfall and more extreme events (e.g., droughts and floods). The resulting hydrological alterations are rapidly degrading freshwater ecosystems, both independently and via complex feedbacks and synergistic interactions. The ecosystem impacts include biodiversity loss, warmer stream temperatures, stronger and more frequent floodplain fires, and changes to biogeochemical cycles, transport of organic and inorganic materials, and freshwater community structure and function. The impacts also include reductions in water quality, fish yields, and availability of water for navigation, power generation, and human use. This degradation of Amazonian freshwater ecosystems cannot be curbed presently because existing policies are inconsistent across the Basin, ignore cumulative effects, and overlook the hydrological connectivity of freshwater ecosystems. Maintaining the integrity of these freshwater ecosystems requires a basinwide research and policy framework to understand and manage hydrological connectivity across multiple spatial scales and jurisdictional boundaries.
317 citations
Cites background from "The EU water framework directive: m..."
...Development and implementation of a unified framework could build on the principles established by the European Union Water Framework Directive, which was developed around ecosystem-based objectives after decades of failed experiences through disjointed policies (Kallis & Butler, 2001)....
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References
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TL;DR: The European Union (EU) water policy process is an example of a rather loose and more open issue network or constellation of actors, rather than a closed and restricted policy community as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: European Union (EU) water legislation is now very extensive in scope and has major cost implications for the member states, for the water industry, and for consumers. Although participation in the policy formulation process was fairly narrowly based in the early development of this programme of legislation, more recently participation has become more extended. The EU water policy process is an example of a rather loose and more open issue network or constellation of actors, rather than a closed and restricted policy community. It is, however, possible to identify a core of central actors within this loose configuration. Even so, the agenda setting process remains unpredictable and issues are processed via the interaction of a series of advocacy coalitions which link epistemic communities of scientists (especially toxicologists) into a wider and more visible political world. Because of the high salience of water policy throughout the Union, issue expansion, rather than issue contraction, is likely to remai...
88 citations
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the evolution of EU water policy and examine critically how the various issues and objectives are brought together in the new EU water framework directive, while the complex interplay of institutional and non-governmental actors in the formulation of European water policy is analysed.
Abstract: Water is the sector most comprehensively covered in European Union’s environmental policy. An initial wave of directives accounting for public health protection and for harmonisation of environmental rules in the common market was followed by a call for a policy reform to address more properly realistic objectives, often conflicting in practical interpretation, such as environmental protection, subsidiarity and deregulation. The present paper discusses the evolution of EU water policy and examines critically how the various issues and objectives are brought together in the new EU water framework directive. The complex interplay of institutional and non-governmental actors in the formulation of European water policy is analysed, while finally its implications for the development and the ultimate character of the new, reformulated EU water policy are discussed.
61 citations
Book Chapter•
01 Jan 1997
18 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that until recently indifference to the water environment was pervasive, and that the development of European water directives since 1975 has signalled a change in attitudes.
Abstract: European Union (EU) water laws should not be viewed in isolation from wider influences. They both reflect and reinforce changing public attitudes towards environmental protection. It is argued here that until recently indifference to the water environment was pervasive. The development of European water directives since 1975 has signalled a change in attitudes. It is explained that initially, however, European legislation failed to exercise a significant influence on environmental conditions, a major cause of this being non-compliance. This problem itself helped to politicize the issue, and the hand of those interests fighting for environmental improvement was ultimately strengthened. It is shown that in the context of EU obligations Member States have been forced to try to remedy earlier neglect and to reform their water industries. It is also argued that the environmental directives have helped to empower the green lobby.
15 citations