Co-ordination meeting Athens 9 March 2011 The rationale of the pilot projects on Halting Desertification in Europe and expected outcomes in the context of the European water policy Co-ordination meeting Athens 9 March 2011 Andrea Nam, European Commission, DG ENV, Protection of Water Environment Water scarcity & droughts team

Water as a resource Water is one of the most important resources of our planet. It is sustaining life, ecosystems and regulating our climate. It is a finite resource and can not be replaced like other resources. Access to good quality water in sufficient quantity is fundamental to the daily lives of every human being and to most economic activities. Water is becoming a scarce resource. The balance between water demand and availability has reached a critical level in many areas of Europe (water scarcity). In addition, more and more areas are adversely affected by changes in the hydrological cycle and precipitation patterns (droughts).

Europe: Diversity of regions, waters & river basins Diversity of Agriculture Diversity of uses, aspirations, pressures & impacts Flood protection Industry Drinking water supply Navigation & hydropower Tourism Waste Water Nature protection

Pressures on water resources + Climate Change Agriculture Navigation & hydropower Waste Water Drinking water supply Nature protection Tourism Industry

Why is water scarcity & droughts a concern in Europe? Balance between demand and availability has reached a critical level in many areas of Europe (water scarcity) More and more areas are affected by weather changes, in particular less rain (droughts) Climate change will almost certainly make the situation worse More frequent and severe droughts expected across Europe and the neighbouring countries Total water abstraction in EU 247 billion m³/year 44% for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 17% for public water supply 15% for industry Business as usual scenario: Total abstraction will increase by 16% by 2030

Potential for water savings: Potential for water savings in the EU nearly 40% technological improvements alone Further increased by changes in human behaviour or production patterns Water Supply infrastructure: potential saving up to 33% of today’s abstraction Agriculture: potential saving 43% of current agricultural abstraction from: Improved efficiency - 15% to 60% of water use. changes in irrigation practices (30%), use of more drought-resistant crops (up to 50%) reuse of treated sewage effluent (around 10%) Industry: estimated savings 15 - 90% average 43% Tourism: potential of 80-90% savings Irrigation of golf courses and sporting areas: 70%

What is water scarcity and droughts? Temporary decrease in water availability due – for instance – to rainfall deficiency Natural phenomenon Impacts of droughts  in case of water scarcity Water demand for human activities exceeds water resources available and the natural recharge Human-driven phenomenon Impacts of water scarcity  in case of drought

Water scarcity & drought in Europe Reservoir, Sicily Reservoir, Cyprus River Elbe, Dresden Spring. 2007

Climate change is already here

And it is getting worse…..

Expected impacts of climate change and economic development Proportion of severe water stress EU river basins likely to increase from 19% today to 35% by 2070. Areas affected by droughts will increase. If t° rises by 2 to 3°C, water scarcity would affect 1.1 to 3.2 billion people Southern Europe Eastern Central Europe

The EU Water Legislation Related non-legislative policies Water Scarcity and Droughts (2007) Adaptation to Climate change (2009) Old water (related) legislation Completing the framework Extending the scope

The WFD The Water Framework Directive aims at achieving good status in all European waters by 2015 – good quality ground and surface water should be available in sufficient quantity for humans and nature The WFD is an ambitious and holistic framework directive with: - good levels of ambition - instruments in place to achieve objectives

What’s next In 2012, the Commission will publish a "Blueprint to Safeguard European Waters" Review of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (includes Water efficiency of buildings) Review of the Strategy for Water Scarcity and Droughts Review of the vulnerability of water and natural resources to climate impacts and man-made pressures.

Key challenges for the Blue Print Costs and Competition for water supply Transfers Desalinisation GW extraction A water and env. resources efficient economy Ecosystem-based approach Facing gradual changes & extreme events Trade-offs/conflicts between: Economy & ecosystems Sectors Regions Land / sea Instruments Pricing / regulation Land-use planning Room for the river Water (& carbon) retention

Pillar 1: Review of the Implementation of the WFD Potentially 170 River Basin Management Plans to be assessed Some topics will be subject to in-depth assessment (such as assessment of ground water status, water scarcity) Findings will be published in 2012 Findings shared via Common Implementation Strategy with MSs Possible legal action

Pillar 2: WS&D - policy development Communication 2007 and follow-up: Council conclusions - review & further develop WS&D policy by 2012 EP report – new initiatives incl. pilot projects preparatory actions Annual follow up reports Policy Review 2012

Pillar 3: Water and environmental resources vulnerability Assessment of vulnerability to impacts of climate change on water (quality and quantity) both medium term (2020, 2030) and long term (2050 or further) geographical and sectoral distribution adaptation measures to be promoted/prevented at EU level

Main information needs now - 2012 Water Framework Directive: information base: the River Basin Management plans key issue: comparability of information in the plans Water Scarcity and Droughts: a wide range of data regarding the scale of the problem, the effectiveness of existing policy measures and the costs and benefits of possible additional measures, information on water availability, water allocations Vulnerability of environmental resources: methods, models, data sets, prediction tools and indicators to better monitor the impact of climate change including vulnerability impacts and progress on adaptation Studies launched to assess the possible introduction of measures for water efficiency in agriculture, in buildings and leakage reduction in the supply systems

Water Exploitation Index Increasing stress

WEI for selected river basins across Europe

Action at EU level: Commission Communication WS&D 2007 - 7 policy options Putting the right price tag on water Improving drought risk management Fostering water efficient technologies and practices Fostering the emergence of a water-saving culture Allocating water & water-related funding efficiently Considering additional water supply infrastructures Improve knowledge and data collection

WS&D Building Blocks – the information is not sufficient Water Efficiency Water Supply Infrastructure (losses, best practices, recommendations), Buildings water efficiency, Agriculture (water pricing, options for water saving), link between water and consumption (footprint/virtual water), Halting desertification Better Planning Demand management, Implementation of the relevant measures in the River Basin Management Plans, Further development of the observatory and an early warning system on droughts, Land use planning Indicator development Improvement of data collection (Building on National & regional data), Water exploitation index – not very informative (Annual & national average), Development of more informative indicators for water scarcity and droughts (EEA & pilot countries) and water accounts Instruments – financing, pricing, allocation, research, education

What are we looking at? WS & D GAP Analysis: Overview of problem & existing measures Where is WS&D a problem & how big is the problem? What are the driving forces? What & how big are the pressures? What are the impacts? Which measures are already in place? Identification of gaps Proposal of new measures Assessment of Impact of new measures

WS&D - the basic principle: the water hierarchy Address demand side measures first: demand management water-saving water efficiency water-pricing Only then additional water supply infrastructures: water transfers desalination plants waste-water re-use etc.

Other areas: Alternative water supply Waste water re-use… Water consumption in products water related information on food and agricultural products Assessment of the reliability and effectiveness of the "water footprinting" method Eco design, Green Public Procurement

WS&D indicators Drought indicators Streamflow (Q) Groundwater level (H) Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) Snowpack (SN) Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) Water scarcity indicators Relevant Water Stress Indicator (RWSI) Water storage (St) Water Use per Sector (WUs)

2012 Policy Review WS&D– Vision to introduce a water saving culture in Europe and achieve a drought resilient society to ensure demand management allowing to provide water for all essential uses even under aggravated climatic conditions Original policy options remain valid – and new to be identified

Work ahead In the next months, the Commission will focus on filling knowledge and data gaps (studies, assessments, calls for evidence) conducting an impact assessment for the policy review The work will be supported by the outcomes of the assessment of the RBMPs, the modelling of water vulnerability to man-made pressures, the cost-benefit analysis of natural water retention measures, the inputs from EEA, JRC and Eurostat and the forthcoming Communication on a road map towards a resource efficient economy pilot projects

Background of the Desertification Pilot Projects 2009 - EP requests preparatory actions to halt desertification in Europe 2010 activities launch of the contract to assist COM in the preparatory works and evaluation call for proposals (priority sectors and regions) Signature of four grant agreements 2011 - start of the pilot projects 2012 spring – end of pilot projects (15 months)

Your results are needed EP needs information on the implementation of the projects COM would like to use the results of the pilot projects for the policy review on WS&D Results of pilot projects could serve for Practical examples Testing indicators Supporting policy conclusions etc.

Thank you for your attention Questions?