1. Working Group on Estuaries Working Group on Rivers
François Kremer, DG ENV, Nature & Biodiversity Unit
Brussels, 11/03/2009

2. The Estuaries Working Group
Guidelines and recommendations as a result of the Working Group on Estuaries, which met five times since 2007.
Two documents were produced: Main guidance document and technical supporting documents
The guidelines are not legislative in character, they do not provide new rules but mainly complements to existing guidelines.
The guidelines will be finalized by June 2009;

3. Estuaries Working Group - Policy background
European Summit in Gothenburg in 2001, “to halt the decline of biodiversity in the EU by 2010
“Birds” Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds and the “Habitats” Directive 92/43/EEC
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), 2008/56/EC
EU Communication on the Integrated Maritime Policy
European Ports Policy Communication

4. Estuaries Working Group – Parallel initiatives
Ecoports, a research and development project launched in 2002 and initially co-funded by the European Commission and 12 ports and port organisations.
ESPO Code of Practice on the Birds and Habitats Directives.
The Paralia Nature project December 2000
The NEW! Delta project July 2004
SedNet Research project under the 5th RTD Framework Programme

5. Integrated planning and management, (one recommendation among others)
Integrated planning and management, based on prospective and proactive approaches, can help achieving better implementation of conservation objectives and conservation measures and greater legal certainty for port development projects.
Integrated planning is a way to look for synergies, complementary and win-win situations. It should help to avoid paradoxes, conflicts, and later competition for the scarcity of space

6. Relation between WFD and Nature Directives
Recent workshops/meetings:
Workshop Eurosite/Natural England Peterborough, United Kingdom September 2008: ‘Integration of the Water Framework Directive and Natura 2000’
Workshop Paralia Nature, Brussels. 7-8 October 2008: ‘Natura 2000, the Water Framework Directive and the EU Marine Strategy’
Existent guidance on WFD through CIS and guidance documents
Existent guidance on BHD through guidance documents
So far no common documents

7. Some frequently asqued questions on the relation between WFD and Habitats Directive
What is relation between good ecological status (GES) or potential (GEP) and BHD conservation objectives ?
Is there a relation between HD-art.6.3 & 6.4 and WFD-art. 4.7?
What are the relations between RBMP and HD-art. 6.1 and 6.2?
How are Nature directives and WFD-art.4.1.C related ? “Member States shall achieve compliance with any standards and objectives…”
At which time the BHD conservation objectives as far as water aspects are concerned must be realized? 2015, with possibility of phasing to 2021 or 2027 ?
And many others…

8. Estuaries Working Group – Follow-up
Final Guidelines to be proposed to the General Biodiversity Coordination Group on 2 June 2009 and the Estuaries Working Group on 11 June
Dialogue with stakeholder to be continued within regular future meetings of the estuaries working group and through the new Natura 2000 Communication Platform (to become operational later this year).

9. Working group on rivers
EC promoting inland waterways as a green transport alternative
Most rivers are part of Natura 2000
Possible conflicts with Natura 2000 conservation objectives due to infrastructure development and riverbed modification, intensified traffic on rivers …

10. Working group on rivers
Joint DG TREN and DG ENV initiative
to bring together key players from national authorities, interest groups and the Commission services, and inform on Commissions practice on inland waterways transport and the implementation of the Directives
to discuss the interactions between inland waterway transport and EU environmental protection provisions for rivers across Europe
To provide further assistance on the interpretation of existing guidelines (Habitat Directive, Art. 6) for rivers

11. Working Group on rivers
Authorisation procedures for inland waterway projects are often delayed or even stopped. It is then argued that Community environmental legislation blocks infrastructure development and impairs the functionality and performance of inland navigation.
Developing river transport can go hand in hand with the objectives of Habitats Directive, SEA, EIA and WF Directives through better and more integrated planning

12. Guidance for Inland waterways:
Promote best-practice examples of successful co-operations between river engineering and nature protection bodies, and how to achieve them;
Give hints on how to avoid conflicts;
Describe how to best integrate environmental aspects in an early stage of the planning process, for avoiding costly and delaying procedures (no “speed-track” but efficient procedure);
Facilitate contacts and foster an early co-operation of the competent authorities, by giving examples how communication and procedural problems could be solved.

13. Guidance for rivers and inland waterways:
The working group should elaborate
more specified interpretation of existing
guidelines, focusing on rivers/inland
waterways (on the Habitats and Birds
Directives)
No re-writing of existing guidelines, but
guidance how to interpret them. Include WFD
guidelines, SEA and EIA, in a later stage

14. Working group on rivers – Follow-up
First meeting was held in Brussels on 19 February 2009
Local workshops with stakeholder representatives, experts and competent authorities related to specific river basins, so to speak “in situ”. The first workshop of this kind shall take place beginning June on the Elbe (Prague).
Further meetings of the Working Group in 2009 and 2010
Finalisation of guidelines by the end of 2010

15. Thank you for your attention
Estuaries Group:
Rivers group: CIRCA site under construction
Nature and Biodiversity Homepage: