1. Adour-Garonne Basin Adour-Garonne Basin Management plan and program of measures for 2010-2015 A public debate François SIMONET Budapest, 15th October 2008

2. The Adour-Garonne Basin 6 Regions 6 Regions 25 Departments 25 Departments 6,900 Communes 6,900 Communes 7 million inhabitants 7 million inhabitants 7 sub-basins (120,000 km of rivers) ‏ 7 sub-basins (120,000 km of rivers) ‏ Very large underground water ressources Very large underground water ressources Total area of 118,000 sq. km - one-fifth of France Total area of 118,000 sq. km - one-fifth of France Administrative make-up of the area

3. Objectives of the consultation –Water Framework Directive –Draft of the management plan 2010 - 2015 (SDAGE) ‏ –Outline of the program of measures for 2010-2015 –A project requiring the involvement of one and all

4. Public 7,000,000 Local Committees 500 Committee for the Basin : Water parliament 200 Water Forum 2,000 In concert : co construction Consultation : opinions All are involved

5. Consult the public Water is life. Let’s know your views! Become a WATER-CITIZEN

6. The context… –14 th article of the Water Framwork Directive (23/10/2000) ‏ –Aarhus convention (25/06/1998) (in application of 10 th article of the Rio convention in 1992)‏ (in application of 10 th article of the Rio convention in 1992)‏ –National Committee for the public debate in France (02/02/1995) ‏ –A national framework, a local network

7. The challenges... –To inform the public about water management and make them more aware of it –To encourage and help them to give their opinions –To provide them with a synthesis of the views and proposals put forward –To take into account the proposals in developing the projects

8. Awareness, information, mobilisation...... –Media campaigns (local and regional press, TV and radio, posters) and institutionnal campains –Local events : meetings and public debates –Travelling exhibition of the issues involved in water management (60 main towns) ‏ –Informing young people in a school context

9. For all to recognise... –A logo –A graphic charter

10. A questionnaire... Form an opinion

11. A web site... To inform To collect opinions

12. The balance-sheet... –3,300,000 questionnaires distributed (into mail-boxes) ‏ –E-mailing (to 50,000 addresses) ‏ –50,000 replies –45,000 on paper –5,000 by Internet

13. Who were the most to reply and on what topics ? –Men aged more than 36 –Retired people, employees and working class (the lowest rate of reply was from farmers and young people)‏ –Drinking water and water economy headed the list, far ahead of environmental issues –Pesticides and industrial waste were the respondents' principal concerns

14. The difficulties of the exercise –Few precedents for such public consultations –Documents for water management very full in content, very technical and difficult to simplify (questionnaire very basic) ‏ –Almost incomprehensible to the non-initiated –General public hardly aware of water matters (notably among the young and country folk) ‏ –An incomplete idea of water’s environmental aspects: the main image was merely of water to drink

15. Some paths towards improvement –Make the public more aware of water concerns through an “ecologic” approach –Catch their interest from the youngest age and in the schools –Inform and communicate permanently, invent an appropriate new system of teaching –Form networks for receiving objective opinions, from institutioinal bodies and local groups, and take heed of them –Transcribe into understandable language

16. Thank you for your interest