Doc. 8820

11 September 2000

Sharing water resources management data on Internet: role of the Council of Europe

Report

Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities

Rapporteur : Mr Lino Diana, Italy, Group of the European People's Party

Summary

Fresh water is a vital resource both for human beings and for nature and is crucial to economic development. The uneven distribution of water is actually a political challenge and the cause of instability in certain parts of the world. At the same time, water has been responsible for many natural disasters in recent years, in Europe and elsewhere.

Given that its quantity is relatively limited in relation to the ever-growing demand and that it is vulnerable to pollution from industrial, agricultural and domestic sources, integrated and responsible management of fresh water resources is an increasingly topical issue and requires greater and more effective international co-operation. Access in real time to relevant information and the sharing of experience are crucial for this purpose. The Internet is therefore a powerful means of establishing such co-operation.

The Assembly is proposing measures that can be taken by the Council of Europe, particularly in the context of the "EUR-OPA Major Hazards" Partial Agreement and the activities of the Naturopa Centre, the CLRAE and the CDLR, to help achieve this end.

I.       Draft recommendation

1. Fresh water, a vital resource for mankind as well as nature and a crucial factor of economic development, represents a mere 3% of world water resources.

2. Furthermore, in certain regions the uneven distribution of this resource is a cause of political instability that may even escalate into armed conflict.

3. Its comparative scarcity and heavy use mean that fresh water is exposed to all kinds of stresses whether of domestic, industrial or agricultural origin, which can seriously and sometimes irreversibly impair both its quality and quantity.

4. Indeed, contamination, impoverishment and ultimate exhaustion of underground or surface water can cause major soil degradation resulting, for instance, in high salinity of the groundwater which can be largely responsible for turning certain regions into wasteland.

5. Agriculture consumes far more water than any other sector (nearly 80% of the whole) and moreover, at least in certain countries, is responsible for the severest forms of pollution, particularly contamination by nitrates and fertilisers.

6. As regards distribution of water resources, a large proportion of these is formed by major international rivers. The fact that they constitute virtually the sole source of fresh water for certain countries clearly indicates what important issues their water quality and quantity can represent, as well as the need to ensure effective international co-operation.

7. However, water can also be a destroyer and the prime cause of very serious natural disasters. Europe like other parts of the world has experienced torrential rains and very extensive floods in recent years which have focused international attention on the need to ensure integrated management of water resources allowing all available knowledge to be turned to account.

8. Integrated management of water resources thus calls for programmes in all sectors where it is relevant, whether spatial planning, preservation of biodiversity, transport, energy policy, industrial policy, agriculture, civil defence, or elsewhere.

9. For this purpose, there must be ready access to all the appropriate technical, scientific and legal instruments, the relevant knowledge, programmes and projects, the work in hand, and any other facility conducive to better management of water resources.

10. In this connection, it is gratifying to note the large number of Internet sites created at the instigation of national or international organisations, non-governmental organisations or research institutes, and the valuable contribution to knowledge-sharing which this represents.

11. Here the Assembly particularly commends the exemplary action of the European Environment Agency, one of whose aims is to build a network of the knowledge held by its 28 member countries concerning the environment, water in particular.

12. The Agency’s action is all the more important in that the data gathered by it are used for preparing environmental monitoring reports and framing the environmental policies of its member countries.

13. Regarding Council of Europe action in this field, the Assembly would recall the adoption as far back as 1968 of the European Water Charter, still quoted today as a reference text, the Council of Europe action programme “Freshwater Europe” organised by the Assembly in 1992-93, and the various awareness-raising campaigns conducted by the Naturopa Centre.

14. It further considers that the Council of Europe has a duty to continue contributing, as far as its capabilities and specialities will allow, to optimum management of its member countries’ water resources.

15. Where the Parliamentary Assembly is concerned, it has always supported and encouraged the initiatives taken and the proposals put forward by the various interested committees, being convinced of the role which it can perform not only within the Council but also in relation to the national parliaments.

16. As to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and the intergovernmental sector, which are also both involved in this domaine, the Assembly considers it important to use first the existing means and acquired expertise.

17. It stresses in this connection the importance of action by the Council of Europe under the "EUR-OPA Major Hazards" Open Partial Agreement.

18. It welcomes the recent establishment, in this context, of a European Centre on Flooding Problems in Chisinau, thanks to the commitment of the Moldovan Government, and the forthcoming project on the Danube.

19. It considers that a specific activity dealing with hazards created by accidental pollution or flooding of major rivers could be developed in that context, in particular through an attempt to facilitate access to information as complete and up to date as possible.

20. To this end, an Internet site could be used for collecting data in this field and for real-time information exchange, and be operated as a combined prevention and monitoring instrument and disaster intervention facility.

21. Moreover, having regard to the experience of the Council of Europe in public information and awareness-raising, the Assembly is of the opinion that the creation of an interactive site on the Internet for alerting, informing and educating young people would meet a need not only for them but also for various education systems, which could use the site as a teaching aid.

22. In addition, an Internet site especially for local and regional elected representatives and administrative officers providing them with information or access to other specialised sits could be helpful in enhancing integrated water management by local and regional authorities, and facilitate exchange of information and experience among elected representatives of the different Council of Europe member states.

23. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. invite the governments of member countries of the “EUR-OPA Major Hazards” Partial Agreement to consider the feasibility of a scheme on the situation of major rivers including pollution and flood risks, in support in particular of the efforts of the Moldovan Government, and to ensvisage creating an Internet site in this context;

ii. look into the possibility of creating an interactive Internet site in the context of the Naturopa Centre, to be used for raising young people’s awareness of and informing and educating them on water issues;

iii. make the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) and the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) aware of the need to consider closely the responsibilities of local and regional bodies in respect of integrated water management, and to envisage the creation of and Internet site for building a knowledge network and exchanging experience.

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II. Explanatory memorandum by the rapporteur

Table of contents

1. General considerations

2. Situation in the industrialised/developed countries

3. Situation in developing countries

4. International co-operation

5. Possible role of the Council of Europe

6. Conclusions

1.       General considerations

      Water covers approximately 75% of the earth’s surface and is one of the most abundant natural resources. However, the seas and oceans account for almost 97% of it, so that we have a virtually boundless supply of salt water whose use depends on treatment that significantly raises its cost.

      What is more, fresh water resources, representing only 3% of the whole, consist of both surface and underground water. The former makes up about ¾ of all fresh water resources, but the latter is more intensively exploited because of its higher quality and hence lower cost.

      Underground water resources therefore bear the brunt of sustaining the human activities on which our life depends, viz. crop irrigation (60-80% of total fresh water consumption), industry, household consumption, etc.

      These few figures very clearly indicate the extent of the pressure which sectors such as agriculture, industry and urban development can exert on the resource in terms of its quality and quantity.

      Agriculture is often singled out as the principal threat to water quality. Accused of seeking to maintain its profitability at the expense of water quality, it even faces the charge that in some cases it has unhesitatingly gone so far as to impair groundwater quality for the sake of using fertilisers and pesticides in excessive quantities.

      Industry is also a major hazard to water resources, but it is heartening to observe that at national, European and international level alike, regulations on industrial use of water are emerging. The problem is certainly not resolved and there is still a very long way to go, but it is nonetheless to be welcomed that over the past 30 years the quantity of toxic effluent has been reduced to one-third of its former level.

      However, the uneven distribution of fresh water resources is also an important aspect of the problem which the international community cannot disregard and which requires special attention in view of its political and strategic elements.

      On the strength of data drawn from the latest inventories, it can be asserted that about ten countries share 60% of world water reserves. Unless the necessary measures are taken to ensure fair apportionment ie transportation, treatment and distribution, a large part of the supply will remain unusable and therefore useless while the shortage experienced by certain countries could persist and even worsen.

      Protracted drought, impact of the greenhouse effect and global warming, pollution and population growth can be the causes of water conflicts at whose centre lie the waters of a river, as is the case with the Jordan, Senegal, Nile, Tigris and Euphrates.

      Furthermore, accidental pollution and other incidents that may adversely affect the quality and the usable quantity of fresh water demand very close attention and deployment of special efforts at international level. The recent disasters affecting the Danube gave us very clear evidence of this.

      The foregoing general points show that 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.

      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 sectoral policies wherever appropriate, whether policies on environment, spatial planning, energy, industry or transport.

2.       Situation in the industrialised/developed countries

      The numerous reports regularly produced on the state of water resources in industrialised countries – those of Europe in particular – invariably draw the same conclusions; despite the improvements achieved in controlling the various sources of pollution, Europe’s water continues to deteriorate.

      Anxieties stem principally from the overuse of groundwater deposits and the deterioration in their quality, which can be largely ascribed to agriculture; the pollution of rivers and lakes, impairment of drinking water reserves, and so on.

      Nevertheless, it is also important and encouraging to remember that, in the present state of management of natural resources and especially water in the developed (industrialised) countries, risk assessment is assured and is usually handled by the various sectors concerned. The main issue now tends to be management and the importance of involving the citizens and civil society in it, under arrangements substantially remaining to be defined.

      With the principle so firmly settled and the process so far ahead in some cases, it is quite clear that the issue has become eminently political in these countries, because it in fact amounts to defining the scope and thus also the limits of what is really a practical application of democracy.

3.       Situation in developing countries

      Management of this resource in developing countries warrants particular attention because of its specificity and the more targeted actions which it consequently requires.

      Even if applicable only in part to few countries of the greater Europe, an introductory remark should be made concerning the developing countries. Apart from those suffering from drought and hence a sometimes chronic water shortage, their problem is water quality. Today the people without access to safe water are estimated at 1.4 billion and those lacking proper purification facilities at 2 billion. Thus, water is not only polluted and disease-carrying; often its cost is prohibitive. According to the World Health Organisation, the various waterborne diseases (diarrhoea, cholera, malaria, hepatitis and others) account for nearly 10 million deaths per year in the developing countries.

      For those countries, this question is still more crucial considering that the population at large is less educated and the scientific knowledge needed to formulate standards is lacking.

      The above aspects, which have significant bearing on the appropriateness and effectiveness of any subsequent action, make it imperative that the priority target of action by the governments of the countries concerned, and also of international co-operation programmes, should be knowledge and its use, in order that decision-makers in the developing countries may meet the people’s needs and make the most of multilateral co-operation.

4.       International co-operation

      Bearing in mind the points made above and the need to protect water resources in a manner compatible with its general availability at a sustained level of supply sufficient for future generations, the advantage of pooling data, experience and the various instruments developed is obvious.

      In environmental matters, this approach gained credence in the 1970s when people began to put forward the idea that it was better to place stronger emphasis on risk management than to concentrate efforts on improving the response to each distinct crises. For almost three decades the preference has been to focus work on optimum management of resources in order to use them to the full, without using them up.

      These were also the years when, particularly through the OECD’s work, there emerged the integrated management concept whereby all the sectoral policies concerned were to incorporate environmental considerations.

      Out of the same concern to accommodate every dimension of environmental problems, it proved necessary to address the problems more and more according to a transfrontier, European and global approach.

      The approach and the aim can be outlined in these terms: it is now generally accepted that management of resources – meaning all resources, water obviously included – should be able to proceed on the basis of the largest possible body of data, backed by work undertaken in fields of direct or indirect relevance and the results achieved.

      Moreover, exchange of experience, common access to certain projects and skill and technology transfer are all necessary ingredients for optimum management of resources.

      An example that could be mentioned is the simulation tools devised to meet the needs of a specific project directed at a given region. Their availability, and likewise that of the project’s appraisal, results and methodology, signifies firstly its availability to other regions which have the same features, and secondly the possibility of an exchange of knowledge between scientists and technologists which can only benefit the advancement of knowledge in the field concerned.

      Providing access to the biggest possible sum of knowledge in a given field can no longer be understood today as merely collecting such knowledge by physical or virtual means, but rather as interlinking the various information sources in a network.

      In the environmental field, the European Environment Agency is a fine example of this recent development applied at the level of the European Union and 13 other European countries.

      The Agency is a networking organisation, a European reference centre for information on the environment which in addition produces European environmental reports based on national surveillance, introducing a streamlined new system of monitoring and reporting.

      Thus the EEA’s mission is to deliver exhaustive, relevant information for instituting and applying environmental policies in the European Union and the 13 other 13 countries belonging to the Agency.

      However, self-reliance in gathering all the data needed to accomplish its mission is just not possible for the EEA, and it must be able to draw on other sources. At present the Agency relies mainly on the European Environment and Information Observation Network (EIONET)¹ and also co-operates with other international environmental agencies and organisations.

      It is important to mention the Agency’s emphasis on the fact that it relies on the action carried out by existing institutions, and co-operates and co-ordinates with them to avoid duplication and optimise their respective results.

      Its role is not to supplant any or all of the existing structures but to amalgamate, harmonise and compile the various data which it receives from its partners and to make it available for use as a basis for integrated environmental assessments.

      The Agency, fully geared to the new concept of action aimed at optimum management of risks, sets out to further the detection and analysis of, and responsiveness to, tendencies whose progression may cause environmental disasters or crises.

      But, as is generally observed in different cases, there is frequent variation of data according to source, and that is especially true of data on the tapping of water resources.

      These divergences in apprehending data form a major obstacle to the data sharing and utilisation. The necessary adoption of uniform methods is clearly an important precondition.

      Data on quality of underground water appear to be even more disparate firstly because they are scanty and secondly because the methods and thus the results are not always comparable.

      Priority should therefore clearly be given to enhancement of available information so that the data held can be used for stock-taking, comparison and monitoring of reliable resources.

      As part of this process, it will be equally important to ensure that all data – available at national as well as international level – can be validated by the official agencies which certify their authenticity.

5.       Possible role of the Council of Europe

      The potential offered by the Internet for identifying, accessing and utilising data is so huge as to appear limitless.

      The instant access to information and the real-time exchange of experience made possible by the new communication technologies open up new prospects especially for international co-operation, and international organisations can logically be considered the first to be interested in applying these new information technologies to their particular assignments, in order to enhance and boost their intervention capabilities and activities.

      For the Council of Europe in particular, your rapporteur considered it important to begin by trying to determine what kind of contribution it would be in a position to make to the amalgamation and sharing of data and expertise in the field of water management.

      For this purpose, and by way of illustration, I thought that the appropriate example to mention would be the European Environment Agency which in fact devotes much of its activity to the networking and utilisation of data.

      Now, to do this, the Agency – which as mentioned above comprises 23 member countries (the 15 Union Member States plus 13 others in Central and Eastern Europe) – employs a staff of 70 and had a budget of 18.1 million Euro for 1999.

      Although only part of the Agency’s work concerns management of water resources, these few figures give some indication as to the scale of the facilities which the conduct of such an enterprise can entail, and also regarding the financial and human resources which an organisation like the Council of Europe would need to have at its disposal in order to cater for all its member states.

      Concerning the different aspects of water management that could be covered, it should be pointed out that a very large number of Internet sites on water management exist. These sites, created by a wide variety of agencies - governmental or non–governmental organisations whether national, European or international - deal with different aspects of the question: research, information, co-operation, technology transfer, and so on.

      Examples are the sites of the International Office for Water (IOW), the French national network of water data (RNDE – Réseau national des données de l’eau), the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), the intergovernmental organisations of the United Nations Systems, and the World Water Council.

      This is an important point to note, supporting the argument that it appears reasonable to reject out of hand any proposal under which the Council of Europe would be expected to take on the job of collecting all the water management data available in its 42 member countries, even if a substantial part of the activity were devoted to networking with the principal websites.

      If a site of this kind was to meet a real need compared to what the web offers at present, large resources for networking, collection, compilation and updating of the information would be required. In any case, having regard to the priorities of the organisation and the resources at its disposal, this seems an unrealistic and unfeasible proposition.

      On the other hand, as mentioned above, it would be worthwhile to put forward proposals that take proper account of the Council’s capabilities and of the resources which it could deploy.

      The rapporteur has arrived at three proposals:

      a) Contributing to better risk management

      The recent events which affected the Danube made plain the need to strengthen co-operation in relation to international waterways in order to contend with natural disasters or possible accidents as effectively as possible.

      In the Council of Europe framework there is the EUR-OPA Partial Agreement for the Prevention of, Protection against, and Organisation of Relief in Major Natural and Technological Disasters. This agreement set up in 1987 is intended to provide responses to the effects of major disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions by promoting effective technological and scientific co-operation in that field.

      In this context, it would be possible to envisage a specific activity on hazards associated with rivers, their flooding, and other disastrous effects which they may have.

      One possible aspect of this activity is, precisely, the creation of a website.

      b) Youth awareness, information and education

      Among its other activities, the Council of Europe has frequently gained distinction by its successfully conducted information and awareness-raising campaigns. In the environmental field, the information campaigns organised by the Centre Naturopa will be remembered. Examples are those on protection of Mediterranean coasts (1988-1991) and freshwater fish (1990), and European Nature Conservation Year.

      As regards the action of the Parliamentary Assembly, the “Freshwater Europe” action programme centred on management of fresh water resources was successfully implemented in 1993-94.

      The Centre Naturopa could accordingly create an Internet site to raise young people’s awareness and inform and educate them concerning the problems of water resources management.

      This site should also be of use to education systems as a teaching aid.

      c) Training of local and regional politicians and administrators

      One of the most important functions of the Council of Europe is the furtherance of local democracy, which includes assistance to member states in establishing structures that comply with the principle of subsidiarity.

      This principle also presupposes that local and regional elected representatives and administrators are properly equipped to discharge their appointed tasks in the new institutional framework thus established.

      My point is that responsibility for water management rests with local and regional authorities, and they must be able to make the choices that will ensure sustainable management of the resource.

      Consequently, so that the special capabilities of the Council of Europe are used to best effect, one task for its Congress of Local and Regional Authorities or for the intergovernmental sector dealing with these issues could be precisely to help deliver training and information to elected representatives and administrators at local and regional level by creating an Internet site

6. Conclusions

      Management of water resources involves crucial interests, and its importance is such that the international community should make every effort to ensure optimum management of these resources.

      I am aware that even if the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe followed up the proposals made above, the organisation’s potential contribution in this field would not suffice to solve most of the problems, far from it.

      However, the three proposals would allow tangible results to be achieved and would meet real needs, thereby testifying to the organisation’s commitment and political will in espousing a cause which is vital to our societies.

Reporting committee : Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities

Budgetary mplications for the Assembly : none

Reference to committee : Doc. 8489 and Reference No. 2427

Draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 5 September 2000

Members of the committee: Mr Akçali (Chairman), MM. Besostri, Hoeffel, Haraldsson (Vice-Chairmen), Mrs Agudo, MM. Andreoli, Bianchi, Bockel, Briane, Browne, Budisa, Mrs Burataeva, Sir Sydney Chapman, MM. Ciupaila, Cox (alternate : Meale), Diana (alternate : Rodeghiero), Duivesteijn, Mrs Dromberg, MM. Frunda, Graas, Mrs Granlund, Mrs Herczog (alternate : Lotz), Mrs Hornikova, MM. Hren-Vencelj, Kalkan, Mrs Kanelli, Mrs Kestelijn-Sierens, MM. Kieres, Kittis, Kurucsai, Kurykin, Lachat, Linzer, Luczak, Martinez Casan, Melo, Mezeckis, Mrs Mikaelsson, MM. Minkov, Monteiro, Mota Amaral (alternate : Luis), Müller, Mrs Nagy, MM. Pollozhani, Prokes, Prosser, Rakhansky, Reimann, Rise, Salaridze, Mrs Schicker, M. Schütz, Mrs Sehnalova, Mrs Severensen, MM. Sobyanin, Steolea, Stepaniuc, Mrs Terpstra, MM. Toshev (alternate: Ivanov), Truu, Vella, Zierer, Mrs Zissi.

N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics

Secretaries of the committee: Mrs Cagnolati, Mr Chevtchenko, Mrs Karanjac

¹ EIONET is made up of environmental institutions and bodies operating in member countries of the Agency.