4th Annual Conference, Stockholm, 21–22 October 1996
of the European Environmental Advisory Councils EEACSustainable Use and Management of
Europe's Freshwater ResourcesHosted by the Swedish Environmental Advisory Council
Conclusions and Recommendations
Aims of Water Management Policy
The objective of sustainable water management is to protect, maintain and where necessary restore water bodies so that their use by future generations is not compromised.
In practice, the criterion of sustainability should be translated in agreed standards both for water quantity and water quality as well as emission limits for discharges to water. Setting these standards should take place on the basis of the precautionary principle, with regard to underlying scientific data.
Water management policy should take into account quantitative and qualitative requirements for both surface and ground water. These requirements may be of a physical, chemical, biological or geomorphological nature.
The aims of water management policy and its implementation are closely connected to, and should be harmonized with, the aims in other fields of environmental policy, notably in the areas of soil pollution, nature conservation and air pollution control.
Main Instruments of Water Management Policy
Water management planning is essential for both the development and the implementation of water management policy. Water management plans may be, but do not necessarily have to be, integrated in environmental or regional plans.
Attention should be given to regulating both discharges into surface water and abstractions from surface and ground water. For reasons of precaution and prevention, appropriate standards should be set for polluting substance in discharges. In the process of regulation, attention should be given to the criterion of enforceability.
The polluter pays principle is a leading principle for internalizing the costs of implementing policy in the field of water pollution control. In the same way, the abstraction of ground water can be taxed to internalize the costs of ground water control. The use of economic instruments with the primary goal for stimulating policy implementation may be considered, if it can reasonably be expected that such economic incentives will produce the desired effects.
Implementation of Water Management Policy
The implementation of water management policy necessitates the use of a mix of instruments.
Administrative structures to carry out water management policy should preferably be based on a river basin, drainage area basis or other hydrologically defined area.
Policy items to be addressed in the short term are, in general, the conservation of water resources and the control of point and non-point sources of pollution. Specific priority areas that were discussed at the Stockholm meeting were the issues of soil protection, acidification and ground water table lowering. Policy items to be addressed on the longer term are the effects of climate change on water management and the conservation of biodiversity in water bodies.
Copyright © 2000-2004 by European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights Reserved.