EU-WFD
- Managing wastewater treatment at the river-basin scale
- WEAM4i Steering Meeting & Demo site visit: Use of Energy and ways of reduction
- EEA is looking for a Project Manager – Water industries and pollution - Contract Agent (FG IV)
- Eels can be used to help monitor water's ecological quality
- Call for abstracts for the final SCARCE International Conference: "RIVER CONSERVATION UNDER WATER SCARCITY: Integration of water quantity and quality in Iberian Rivers under global change"
- UELZEN WEAM4i General Meeting, WEAM4i Executive meeting and Demo site visit
- The 4th European Water Conference
- International workshop Botín Foundation/Rosenberg International Forum on Managing drought and scarcity in semi-arid lands: the cases of California and Spain
- 12th International Conference "EUROPE-INBO 2014" on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive
- 3rd pan-EU Drought Dialogue Forum of the FP7 DROUGHT-R&SPI project & the Water Framework Directive SCG members meeting
The EU Water Framework Directive (a new scheme for integrated river basin management)
The"Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy" was adopted on 23 October 2000. It is generally referred to as the EU Water Framework Directive (or WFD).
Since the implementation of the WFD resides fully within the competence of individual Member States, it was recognised that a common approach to some of these challenges would allow the sharing of expertise, information, experience and resources whilst facilitating, as far as possible, a coherent and harmonious implementation of the Directive. A Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) was thus agreed in May 2001 between the Member States, Norway and the European Commission. The aim of the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) is to allow, as far as possible, the coherent implementation of the Water Framework Directive, whilst focusing on methodological questions relating to achieving a common understanding of the technical and scientific implications of the Directive. Guidance documents, recommendations for operational methods and other supporting information may be developed, but the implementation of the Directive will be the responsibility of the Member State. As such, these documents are informal and not legally binding in character, but should limit any risks associated with the application of the Directive.
Some of the elements of the new and innovative approach to managing Europe's water resources in the WFD are:- ambitious objectives and clear deadlines
- the introduction of river basin management on a Europe-wide scale
- the requirement for cross border cooperation in water management between countries and all involved parties
- pollution prevention and control on the basis of the so-called "combined approach"
- greater public participation in water management
- economic analysis of water use.
The WFD is a legislative framework to protect and improve the quality of all water resources such as rivers, lakes, groundwater, transitional and coastal water within the European Union.