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Parliamentary Assembly
Assembl�e parlementaire
Management of water resources in Europe
Doc. 10132
13 April 2004Report
Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs
Rapporteur: Mr Borislav Velikov, Bulgaria, Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
Summary
The International Year of Freshwater 2003, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in recognition of the central importance of water resources, provided the international community with an excellent opportunity to raise awareness globally, promote best practices, motivate people and mobilise resources in order to meet basic human needs and manage water in a sustainable way.
Integrated management of freshwater as a finite and vulnerable resource management is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development and for the future of the continent and the planet. The integration of sectoral water plans and programmes within the framework of national economic and social policy are of paramount importance for action in the 21st century.
The Assembly welcomes the European Union’s Water Framework Directive which establishes a precise framework for water management by defining catchment areas as the only management and planning unit and by giving local and regional authorities wide-ranging responsibilities in management of water resources.
Furthermore, it stresses that water management in the perspective of sustainable development is a matter for all which requires that co-operation must be encouraged between administrations and between the private sector and the public authorities, which retain a leading role in water management.
I. Draft recommendation [Link to the adopted text]
1. The Assembly refers to its Recommendation… (2004) on transboundary water basins in Europe.
2. The Assembly reaffirms the validity of the principles laid down in the European Charter on Water Resources, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 17 October 2001 and replacing the 1968 European Water Charter. The Charter draws governments’ attention to the need to manage and protect water resources by adopting a common and integrated approach.
3. The Assembly recommends avoiding any interpretation of the Charter resulting in limiting the traditional use of water resources (drinking water and agriculture), particularly in mountain regions, increasing their financial and administrative costs or disregarding the rights of mountain communities to use water resources on their territory for energy generation purposes.
4. It reiterates its commitment to the protection and proper management of fresh water resources in Europe and in some specific regions such as the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea basins. In this respect, the Assembly welcomes the creation of the Hydrotechnical Euro-Mediterranean Institute (dealing with water technology and management), which was established under Council of Europe auspices further to Recommendation 1471 (2000).
5. Since the adoption of Assembly Recommendation 1224 (1993) on the protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe, the Council of Europe has enlarged by 13 new member states, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe. But in these countries, economic developments coupled with poor water management and protection have led to growing pressures between water supply and demand.
6. The Assembly stresses that water management in the perspective of sustainable development is a matter for all: governments, parliaments, local and regional authorities, representatives of business, science and technology, non-governmental organisations and the public. For this reason, co-operation must be encouraged between administrations and between the private sector and the public authorities, which should retain a leading role in water management.
7. The key concept for sustainable development is integration. Integrated water management is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development and for the future of the continent and the planet, with implications in all aspects of human life including drinking water supply, sanitation, agriculture, industry, urban development, hydropower, fisheries, transportation, recreation and land management.
8. The Assembly reiterates its commitment to the Rio and Johannesburg process and welcomes the commitments to achieving the goals contained in the Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation and Agenda 21. In this respect, the Assembly especially welcomes and supports the objective of a significant reduction in the number of persons without access to safe drinking water or sanitation.
9. The Assembly draws attention to the European Union’s Water Framework Directive which establishes a precise framework for water management by defining catchment areas as the only management and planning unit and by giving local and regional authorities wide-ranging responsibilities in management of water resources.
10. The International Year of Freshwater 2003, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in recognition of the central importance of water resources, provided the international community with an excellent opportunity to raise awareness globally, promote best practices, motivate people and mobilise resources in order to meet basic human needs and manage water in a sustainable way.
11. In this context, the Assembly welcomes the new UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, jointly established by the Government of the Netherlands and UNESCO and inaugurated at Delft (the Netherlands) in March 2003.
12. The Assembly supports the UN General Assembly’s proposal to proclaim the period from 2005 to 2015 as “International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’”, starting on World Water Day, 22 March 2005, and invites member states to consider a contribution by the Council of Europe to the Decade. The Council of Europe should continue to mobilise the international community towards reaching the water-related goals in the Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation and Agenda 21.
13. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. encourage member states to support and develop scientific research programmes so as to develop reliable integrated observation and monitoring systems and create comprehensive, easily accessible databases, thereby improving knowledge of the status of water resources, particularly groundwater;
ii. encourage member states and members of the Open Partial Agreement "EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement” to include water issues on their list of priorities;
iii. organise an educational programme including a comprehensive awareness-raising campaign, to mobilise and educate European policy-makers and the public to sustainable water management, at individual and group level;
iv. consider means to allow member states of the Council of Europe to benefit from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water through a specific agreement between the Council of Europe and the UNESCO-IHE Institute;
v. invite member states to develop their co-operation with the Hydrotechnical Euro-Mediterranean Institute.
14. Considering the multi-sectoral nature of water resources management, the Assembly invites the Secretary General to launch a “EURO-WATER” integrated project for sustainable water management in Europe, aiming at assisting member states in the implementation of water policies and also in the development of practical tools for the different actors concerned. Such an integrated project could include in particular:
i. dissemination of good water practice and experience including existing know-how;
ii. implementation of the existing legal framework;
iii. co-ordination of water initiatives, projects, and programmes, with particular emphasis on groundwater;
iv. international co-operation for improved management of common water basins;
v. integration of all the interested parties and civil society in global sustainable water management;
vi. establishment of partnerships with other international organisations as well as with civil society representatives;
vii. adequate training and reliable information exchange;
viii. a European Water Award to honour the most successful water initiatives in Europe.
15. The Assembly calls on the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to promote local and regional authority involvement and responsibilities in the management of water resources.
16. The Assembly also invites the European Parliament to speed up the adoption of the Directive on the Protection of groundwater against pollution.
II. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Velikov
Contents
3. The International Year of Freshwater 2003
4. The contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
1. Water is needed in all realms of life and is indispensable part of all terrestrial ecosystems.
2. In the last few decades, the problems of protection and sustainable use of water resources are deepening all round the world. Water problems affect well-developed countries as well as countries with limited economic resources. Many countries in Europe and worldwide have scanty freshwater resources. Water problems relate identically to pollution, over-exploitation, and irrational management.
3. Ten years after the Rio “Earth Summit” of 1992 which allowed the notion of sustainable development to gain wide currency and encouraged a greater awareness of the major environmental problems and international disparities, the Third World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in 2002 marked a decisive new stage by recognising protection and management of natural resources as the basis of economic and social development. Access to water is considered an integral part of poverty eradication, and denial of access to clean water and sanitation are widely seen as a violation of human rights and an affront to human dignity.
4. As a result, the rationale for the sustainable development and management of freshwater resources is clearly articulated in chapter 18 of Agenda 21[1], and the international community has set itself ambitious targets and commitments to the Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit Development.
5. The general objective is to make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases. The multi-sectoral nature of water resources development in the context of socio-economic development was recognised, as well as the multi-interest utilisation of water resources for water supply and sanitation, agriculture, industry, urban development, hydropower generation, inland fisheries, transportation, recreation, lowlands and flatlands management and other activities (Chapter 18, Agenda 21).
6. The connection between freshwater and major ecological concerns, including oceans and global warming, was emphasised: the freshwater environment is characterised by the hydrological cycle, including floods and droughts, which in some regions have become more extreme and dramatic in their consequences. Global climate change and atmospheric pollution could also have an impact on freshwater resources and their availability and, through sea-level rise, threaten low-lying coastal areas and small island ecosystems.
7. Therefore the holistic management of freshwater as a finite and vulnerable resource and the integration of sectoral water plans and programmes within the framework of national economic and social policy are of paramount importance for action in the 21st century.
8. The key concept for sustainable development is integration, i.e. integration of water management objectives, integration of all water resources and uses, integration of disciplines, analyses and expertise, making water legislation part of a common and coherent framework, involvement of stakeholders and the civil society in decision making, integration of different decision-making levels and a combined approach to water management by different member States.
9. The basic concept for integrated water resources management does not amount to a denial of the autonomy of mountain communities in their age-old traditions of use of water resources located on their territory, being for consumption (human and livestock) or for the energy generation they may need.
10. The European Union framework directive on water that came into force in October 2000 sets a detailed frame for water management. In particular it defines the river basin as the basic unit of management and planning and gives local and regional authorities extensive responsibilities for managing water resources. In the case of Council of Europe member countries to which European legislation does not apply compulsorily and will not do so in the near future, the directive provides benchmarks for integrated management of water resources.
11. The World Water Assessment Programme[2] through a concerted effort of 23 UN agencies and other partners produced the World Water Development Report, which now allows national decision-makers, non-governmental organisations and ordinary citizens to have access to a regular assessment of the global and regional water situation.
12. According to the UN World Water Development Report, water demands are increasing rapidly, with 70-80 per cent required for irrigation, less than 20 per cent for industry and a mere 6 per cent for domestic consumption. By 2015, nearly three billion people – 40 percent of the projected population – are expected to live in countries that find it difficult or impossible to procure enough water to satisfy the food, industrial and domestic needs. And by then, tens millions of people will have died from water-borne diseases, including an average of 6 000 children per day.
13. Worse, the depletion and contamination of underground resources because of inefficient irrigation and drainage will mean a loss of up to 10 percent of the world’s cereal production by 2025, according to a joint report by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Water Management Institute. That is the equivalent of annually losing the entire cereal crop of India, or the combined annual harvest of sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia and North Africa.
14. In Europe, economic development in some cases leads to sharp increases in water demand, especially in Central and Eastern countries. Over 45 per cent of the population live in areas where water resources are severely strained. Some 74 per cent of Europe’s population is concentrated on only 15 per cent of its land surface. Key land use issues relate to agriculture, urban sprawl, and soil degradation. The increase in sealed surfaces together with declining forest cover has boosted the frequency and volume of storm run off, resulting in more floods, mudflows and landslides. Flood damage has worsened because floodplains are being developed for industry and housing.
15. In Eastern Europe, huge irrigation and hydroelectric projects coupled with poor water management have caused large areas to become salinised and waterlogged. This is particularly true in Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
16. However, the Central and East European countries have also undergone a sharp decrease in the use of agricultural chemicals, abandonment of huge irrigation projects and agricultural land, and a decrease in livestock, with a generally beneficial effect on the land. In addition, substantial areas are being reforested.
17. Water pollution is a serious issue throughout Europe, but particularly in the Central and Eastern countries. European seas, lakes, rivers and groundwater suffered eutrophication in the 1970s and 1980s as they became overloaded with organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorous.
18. Habitats such as lowland forest and wetlands have undergone particularly drastic decline. Intensive agriculture affects water quality, land drainage and soil erosion. It destroys and degrades habitat, and its dependence on fertilizers and biocides poisons both animals and water supplies.
19. In the mountains, intensive erosion and swift water concentration are natural occurrences, and the resultant spates and flooding can cause devastation lower down the basin and on the plain. There have been marked overgrazing and deforestation in much of southern Europe and phenomena such as soil impermeabilisation are aggravated by urban and/or tourism development. Making better use of water as an economic and development asset is now an important feature of spatial planning and economic development in mountain areas.
20. In addition two-thirds of tourism in Europe is concentrated on the coasts. The Mediterranean coast alone received 135 million tourists in 1990 and projected annual visitor numbers by 2025 are in the 235-353 million range.
21. Europe is almost surrounded by semi-landlocked and landlocked seas, including the Adriatic, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caspian and WhiteSeas. Limited water exchange with the open ocean renders these seas sensitive to pollution, which increased dramatically from the 1970s to the 1990s (although recently this trend has been halted and in some places even reversed). Some 85 per cent of European coasts are at high or moderate risk from development-related pressures. All European seas are polluted by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. They are also contaminated by microbes and high levels of sewage. Sewage from many population concentrations is often not sufficiently treated – for example, in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black seas.[3]
3. The International Year of Freshwater 2003
22. In recognition of the central importance of water resources as a key to sustainable development, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater. The International Year of Freshwater provided the international community with an excellent opportunity to raise awareness globally, promote best practices, motivate people and mobilise resources in order to meet basic human needs and manage water along sustainable lines. The International Year activities were co-ordinated, on behalf of the UN system, by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), UNESCO and with the support of UNEP.
23. As far as Europe is concerned, during the International Year of Water – 2003, attention was drawn to a lack of co-ordination between water initiatives at European level in the fields of implementing international legislation (Water Framework Directive, other water directives, river conventions, marine conventions, bilateral and multilateral agreements), exchange of know-how, good practices, and lesson learned from completed programs and projects, training and education services, information and consultation of civil society, financial donors’ co-ordination, and practical consultations among institutions/governments.
24. A significant inequality exists between individual states in Europe as capacities to implement water-related legal instruments in practice are concerned. Some European countries have serious difficulties in strengthening the administrative capability of water authorities, and even in carrying out reliable needs assessment and capacity building assessment. All these circumstances compromise European efforts towards sustainable water resources management.
25. A huge number of events were staged under the International Year of Freshwater 2003 within Europe, targeting specific publics e.g. Youth, NGOs, managers, politicians and many more. Thousands of very diverse local, regional and global initiatives have been carried out all over the world throughout the year 2003.
26. Your rapporteur presents below a selection of actions that were dedicated to the International Year of Freshwater 2003.
27. Celebration of International Days (World Water Day 23-03-2003, World Wetlands Day 02-02-2003, Earth Day 22-04-2003, World Meteorological Day 24-03-2003, International Women’s Day 08-03-2003, River Day 2003 in Greece 12-04-2003, World Health Day 2003 07-04-2003, International Day for Biological Diversity 22-05-2003, Word Environment Day 2003 05-06-2003). This year and to support the International Year of Freshwater initiative, the World Wetlands Days, taking place each year on 2 February, focused on the theme “no wetlands - no water” stressing that wetlands are a main component in helping to maintain the water cycle, capturing and storing rainfall and snowmelt, retaining sediments, and purifying water. For fifty years now they have been very seriously threatened by human actions and activities[4]. Initiatives need to be taken in order to reverse the destruction of these essential ecosystems.
28. International Forums and Conferences (e.g. Global Conference on Water for Health & the Environment 2003 in Albany, NY, USA; 3rd World Water Forum in Japan; People’s World Water Forum in Florence, Italy; Children’s World Water Forum in Japan; Questions and Debates for Sustainable Development in Water in Paris, France, etc.). During the 3rd World Water Forum (Kyoto, 16-23 March) key issues revolved around balancing our increasing requirements for adequate water supplies and improved health and sanitation with such concerns as food production, transportation, energy and environmental needs. Other key issues included more effective governance, improved capacity-building and adequate financing.
29. Cultural and educational events (e.g. Freshwater sources – interactive exhibition in France; Water’s Party in Barcelona, Spain – music and art performance, and educational workshops; Infiltrations in France – cultural and intellectual event; Water here, water there in Toulouse, France – exhibition; Wasser Berlin in Germany – exhibition; 13th Science Festival Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France – presentations, workshops, debates and a film festival; etc.). An atlas of international freshwater agreements was also produced. It contains a historical overview of international river basin management; a detailed listing of more than 300 international freshwater agreements; and a collection of thematic maps related to the agreements, their content, and the river basins they represent. (http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/publications/atlas/)
30. Scientific and technical events (e.g. The Third Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK; International Conference on Advances in Flood Forecasting in Europe, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 13th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT), etc.). At the end of the 13th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning European Regional/Spatial Planning Ministers underlined the importance of countries following an integral approach to economic and social cohesion and ensuring balanced development in all planning. The Ministers also adopted a Resolution concerning the prevention of floods and better co-ordination of all activities designed to minimise the risks and the consequences of disastrous floods.
31. Awards (Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award – regional award for water stewardship made by Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; A Glass of Water, please – Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen – drawing contest for children; Water: A global Emergency, University of Corse, France – a colloquy on water).
32. Civic mobilisation such as “Clean up the Med” where 24 countries got involved in cleaning up more then 800 beaches along the Mediterranean shores.
33. Moreover, in March 2003, OECD published a new study - Improving Water Management: Recent OECD Experience – which outlines the situation in OECD countries and promotes practices to improve water management: charging consumers the marginal cost of providing water services and implementing systems that help low-income users provides incentives for efficient water use, generates the funds necessary for infrastructure development and expansion, and assures affordable water services. More coherent decision-making and integrated approaches to water management, including public/private partnerships, have improved the range, level and quality of water services in most OECD countries. New scientific and technological developments can improve the efficient use of available water resources by reducing the emission of pollutants into water bodies and ensuring the microbiological safety of drinking water.
34. The International Year of Freshwater provided an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of the principles of integrated water resources management. The Year was used as a platform for promoting existing activities and spearheading new initiatives in water resources at the international, regional and national levels.
4. The contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
35. The Parliamentary Assembly found in this International Year of Freshwater 2003 the opportunity to continue affirming and instilling the principles of integrated management of resources. The Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs set up the ad hoc Committee on the International Year of Freshwater 2003.
36. Working on a multifaceted approach to freshwater issues modelled on the Council of Europe mission to promote peace, security and development through international co-operation, the Parliamentary Assembly has endeavoured to develop principles and methods for managing resources efficiently and ethically in a sustainable development perspective.
37. The development of water resources is multi-sectoral as it relates to socio-economic development. Moreover, the utilisation of water resources for water supply and sanitation, agriculture, industry, urban development, hydropower generation, inland fisheries, transport, recreation, lowlands and flatlands management etc., is by definition multi-interest and therefore involves different actors with, quite often, contradictory interests.
38. Conscious of these problems, the Council of Europe has always paid particular attention to water resources issues. Already in 1968, further to a Parliamentary Assembly initiative, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted the European Water Charter, which it updated recently (Charter on European Water Resources, adopted on 17 October 2001). This was the first text of its kind by an international organisation and the principles therein are still vitally important today.
39. Since then, the Parliamentary Assembly and its relevant Committees have paid special attention to these issues. In Order No. 462 adopted on 28 June 1991, the Parliamentary Assembly instructed its then Committee on the Environment, Regional planning and Local Authorities to reflect on drawing up guidelines for a pan-European policy related to the management of water resources, which would guarantee their quality and quantity in both the present and future. The Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities accordingly launched a large scale Action Programme “Freshwater Europe” leading to the presentation of a report and the adoption by the Assembly of Recommendation 1224 (1993) on the protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe. As the work associated with this initiative drew to a close, the Assembly concluded that water management policies must take account of the following principles: the need to produce inventories and monitor water resources, to adopt integrated management practices linked with regional planning; to develop partnership between the different groups involved in this field and to educate and train elected representatives, professionals and also ordinary citizens, including young people.
40. The Parliamentary Assembly, in Recommendation 1471 (2000)[5], also having regard to the necessary renewal of generalised efforts to address needs with regard to water resources and crisis situations (that is tensions between supply and demand) in different regions of the Mediterranean, expressed the opinion that the advancement of science in different fields and the development of new technologies would be important factors for addressing problems regarding the improved management of water and its greater availability. The Parliamentary Assembly recommended that the Committee of Ministers assist in the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean water technology and management institute by supporting this co-operation project through the establishment of an open partial agreement to this end, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers’ statutory Resolution (93) 28 and invite the European Union to become a full member of this agreement. The Hydro-technical Euro-Mediterranean Institute (IEH) was constituted as a Foundation on 23 July 2001 and Mr Adolfo Fern�ndez Aguilar, member of the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs, was appointed President of the Foundation.
41. The Parliamentary Assembly also focused on the management of water resources in relation to agriculture in Recommendation 1232 (1994) and Resolution 1222 (2000) where it stressed the need for governments of member states to work for the development and inclusion of sustainable water management policies in agriculture and to make sure that management of water resources was made an integral part of regional planning policy.
42. For the International Freshwater Year 2003 the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Regional Affairs set up the ad hoc Sub-committee on International Year of Fresh Water 2003. In October 2003 the sub-committee held a colloquy at Ohrid (“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”) on management of transboundary lake and river basins, stressing the need for an integrated approach to saving the three border-straddling Lakes Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran.[6]
43. In the context of the International Year of Freshwater 2003, the Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs had already decided to prepare a report based on the motion for a resolution on the “Need for European support for protecting and saving Dojran, Prespa and Ohrid lakes”[7], for which Mr Toshev (Bulgaria, EPP) had been appointed rapporteur. However, following a meeting in Yerevan in June 2002, the Committee had visited Lake Sevan and held a hearing on the issues of the trans-border co-operation between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia concerning the Sevan Basin, the Committee decided to look at the question of transborder lakes and water basins on a wider scale as a basis and opportunity for co-operation between member states at national, regional and local level. Consequently the scope of Mr Toshev’s report was extended to “Transboundary water basins in Europe”, to be presented in conjunction with the present report.
5. Conclusions and proposals
44. The scope and quantity of activities and initiatives undertaken during the International Year of Freshwater 2003 are a living expression of the challenge to be faced to fulfil the commitment to “halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water” as a key target approved in the Millennium Declaration.
45. Management of water resources has been a subject of deep concern for the Parliamentary Assembly for years now. It involves crucial interests for which no efforts from the international community should be spared. The cause is vital to our societies and the world we build for our children.
46. Since the adoption of Assembly Recommendation 1224 (1993) on protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe , the Council of Europe has acquired 13 new member states, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. Economic development in these countries coupled with poor water management and protection lead to sharp increases of mismatches between water supply and demand.
47. Obviously, everybody agrees on the will to improve the environment but deplores that each country works on its own and stresses the need for a joint effort with all actors arriving at a co-ordinated approach to establish a mechanism for co-operation taking into consideration all elements for a strategic plan of action and obtaining the support of international funds.
48. The focus of the Parliamentary Assembly is the co-ordination of efforts in the field of water management especially. Today, the concept of the water basin is a recognised legal principle, part of the European community law introduced by the European Water Framework Directive. The Framework Directive has modernised water legislation and management, enshrined the principle that each river basin should be managed as an entity, and given local and regional authorities wide-ranging responsibilities in this field. This approach directly coincides with another focus of the Council of Europe: transborder co-operation. The Parliamentary Assembly believes that bringing its member states closer together in order to build sustainable stability and peace in Europe can only be realised through transboundary co-operation and intercultural communication at large. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is convinced that potential conflicts between the different functions of a territory can be anticipated and reduced through integrated spatial development strategy. Dialogue among people is the basic requirement for good co-operation between countries.
49. Special attention is paid by the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs to the development of the Daughter Groundwater Directive in accordance with the requirements of Article 17 of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC). All bodies of groundwater shall be protected, enhanced and restored with the aim of achieving good groundwater status within 15 years (or better, as soon as possible). Even if input of all pollutants ceases immediately, the mass of contaminants which have already penetrated the aquifer matrix en route to the aquifer within means that pollution will pose a continuing threat to the aquifer for many years to come. This emphasises the need for a deeper scientific basis and for a Europe-wide standardised approach to aquifer management, ie the baseline concept.
50. Integrated management, ie encompassing entire river basins, is progressing. However, there are grounds for anxiety about the lack of linkage with management of aquatic eco-systems. Environment-related economic tools such as environmental impact assessments, life-cycle analysis, energy and water control, management or product standards and the implementation of multi-partnership, local Agenda 21 type processes allow resources for development to be mobilised and managed to optimum effect. The mastery, dissemination and appropriation of these tools by all countries and at all levels must be organised. Transboundary co-operation on water resource management and protection should be supported.
51. Many basins continue to experience disputes even after a treaty is negotiated and signed. Thus, incorporating clear mechanisms for resolving conflicts is a prerequisite for effective, long-term basin management. All institutional efforts are to be geared to resolving the issue of setting up a single authority with responsibilities for water at international level. Such an authority should lay down universally applicable rules governing water research and costs, which should accordingly be defined as principles at United Nations level, and would also set priorities.
52. It is essential to aim first and foremost at wise use and conservation of water resources in order to preserve the resource and allow its sustained use, but also to improve its distribution so that access to it, vital for human existence, is universally secured.
53. It is therefore necessary to make the best arrangements for managing supply and demand and providing infrastructures which make it possible to optimise uses and incorporate the principles of sound management of the resource into all sector policies wherever appropriate, whether policies on environment, spatial planning, energy, industry or transport.
54. The root cause of water problems in most European countries is an unsustainable water management model based rather on a compartmented approach than on a real integrated approach. Valid recommendations on different levels of integration in the water management process are included in all the European Commission Guidelines for implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Integration, co-ordination and collaboration horizontally and vertically will be the keywords describing the future common approach to protection and wise use of water resources in Europe.
55. Individual states are making praiseworthy endeavours to ensure sustainable water management and to co-ordinate activities at European level. Nevertheless, considerably more efforts towards co-ordination and integration are necessary on all main levels, as follows:
i. implementation of a legal framework (eg European Union legislation, international conventions and agreements and national legislation);
ii. co-ordination of various water initiatives, projects and programmes;
iii. co-ordination of the major financial donors;
iv. inclusion of all interested parties and civil society in water management within the river basins;
v. adequate training and reliable information exchange;
vi. dissemination of good water practice and experience including existing know-how. In addition, national needs for high-quality consulting services are significant in the field of sustainable water resource management. Unfortunately such consulting services are costly, and non-developed European countries are not able to carry out needs assessment and to improve the water management in such way as to be compatible with existing management practice in developed countries.
56. A great number of international water co-ordination and management bodies exist in Europe at the moment. Most of them are area-specialised or implement specific legislation, e.g. the Water Framework Directive, the Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, the Ramsar Convention, river agreements (Danube, Rhine, Elbe, Oder), all marine conventions (Marpol, Ospar, Helcom, Barcelona Convention, Black Sea Convention) or concentrate on separate aspects of water management and protection (groundwater, international river basins, wetlands, dangerous substances pollution, nitrate pollution, etc.). At the moment, co-ordination between all those bodies is hampered.
57. The Rapporteur takes note that at its 58th session, the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution proclaiming the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, starting on World Water Day, 22 Mar 2005. The goal of the Decade is “a greater focus on water-related issues, with emphasis on women as managers of water [...] to help to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals”, i.e.: to halve by 2015 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water and who do not have access to basic sanitation. [8]
58. The Council of Europe should use its experience and resources to contribute to this International Decade for Action ”Water for Life” and more generally do its utmost to mobilise and assist the international community in attaining water-related goals in the Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit for Sustainable Development and Agenda 21 to which it subscribes.
59. The Council of Europe should pass on its long experience in building democracy in Europe, a continent where access to clean water and sanitation is secured to every single citizen. No efforts should be spared to address problems which could infringe anyone’s fundamental right to life.
60. The Council of Europe offers member states the opportunity to profit from the framework of co-operation for partnerships, inter alia by taking advantage of:
i. Council of Europe political action through the Committee of Ministers, the Assembly and the Congress;
ii. of Europe co-operation instruments to increase co-operation between industrialised countries and developing countries;
iii. the public level through citizenship programmes and NGO networking;
iv. the project opportunities offered by the Council of Europe Development Bank;
61. The Rapporteur reiterates the need for co-ordination of all water initiatives and wishes to play a part in contributing to better risk management, youth awareness, information and education and training of local and regional politicians and administrators.
62. Many organisations and institutions are intensively contributing to achieving wise use and conservation of water resources in order to preserve the resource and allow its sustained use, in particular the United Nations system and the numerous agencies involved.
63. As the Council of Europe is also seeking to forge closer working links with the EU, the OSCE and the UN, the Rapporteur believes that sustainable water management is a consensual topic on which such concrete and effective co-operation is foreseeable. Inter-institution co-operation should also include organisations such as EUMETSAT, Europe's Meteorological Satellite Organisation which can provide relevant support with its application facilities for the purposes of sustainable water management.
Reporting committee: Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs
Reference to committee: Doc. 9662, Reference no. 2796 of 31 March 2003
Draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 1 April 2004
Members of the committee: MM. Martinez Casa� (Chairman), Meale, Gubert, Schmied (Vice-Chairmen), MM. A�ikg�z, Mrs Agudo, MM. Akselsen, Andov, Annemans, Mrs Anttila, MM. Banac, Baura, Bruce, �avusoglu, Sir Sydney Chapman (Alternate: Mr Flynn), Mrs Ciemniak, MM. Coifan, Cosarciuc, Dedja, Deittert, Delattre, Donabauer (Alternate: Grissemann), Duivesteijn, Duka-Z�lyomi, Ekes, Etherington (Alternate: O’Hara), Frunda, Giovanelli, G�tz, Graas, Grabowski, Grachev, Gunnarsson, Mrs Hajiyeva, Ms Herczog, MM. Hladiy, H�gmark, Ilascu, Mrs J�ger, MM. Jakovljev, Jevtic, Mrs Kanelli, MM. Karapetyan, Klympush, Kortenhorst, Kužvart, Libicki, Livaneli, Lobkowicz, Loncle, Maissen (Alternate: Gentil), Masseret, Mauro (Alternate: Nessa), Mrs Mesquita, MM. Meyer (Alternate: Goulet), Milojevic, Mrs Muizniece, Mr Nazar� Pereira, Mrs Ohlsson, MM. Oliverio, Opmann, Popov, Pullicino Orlando, Rattini, Salaridze, Mrs Schicker, MM. Sfyriou, Sizopoulos, Steenblock, Ms St�jberg, Mrs Stoyanova, MM. Timmermans, Tulaev, Txueka Isasti (Alternate: de Puig), Vakilov, Velikov (Alternate: Toshev), Wright, Zhevago,
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretariat to the committee: Mr Sixto, Mr Torcatoriu and Ms Tr�visan
[1] Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organisations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment that was adopted by more than 178 Governments at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992.
[2] The WWAP is a UN-wide programme that seeks to develop the tools and skills needed to achieve a better understanding of those basic processes, management practices and policies that will help improve the supply and quality of global freshwater resources.
[3] Source:UNEP fact sheet Global Environment Outlook (GEO).
[4] Two-thirds of Europe’s wetlands have been lost over the last century (source: WWDR).
[5]Assembly debate on 25 September 2000 (25th Sitting) (see Doc. 8746, report of the Committee on Science and Technology, rapporteur: Mr Fern�ndez Aguilar).
[6] The report on the colloquy is available by the secretariat of the Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs. On the particular issue of transboundary water basins, the Rapporteur refers to Mr Toshev’s report on “Transboundary water basins in Europe” (Doc. 10131).
[7] Motion for a Resolution tabled by Mr Azis Pollozhani and others[7] (Doc. 9366, 5 February 2002).
[8] Co-ordination of activities for the Decade will be in the hands of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (since 1 September 2003, Jos� Antonio Ocampo of Colombia).