Brussels, 20/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - The ideas set out by the European Commission in its communication on combating water shortages and droughts in the EU (see EUROPE 9471) have been given a mixed reception by environmental NGOs. Their main reproach is that the Commission has not adequately addressed the issue of water use in agriculture, “a major contributor to the problem”.
In a joint release published on 18 July, the European Environmental Bureau (EBB) and the WWF point out that farming is one of the thirstiest users of water, as it is responsible for 44% of all water abstracted in Europe and over 67% in southern Europe. The real picture, however, is even worse as illegal, unregulated and unmetered water abstraction is rife.
Agricultural water-users are rarely charged the full cost of their water. Various subsidies give farmers an advantage over the water-consuming industry and households, and today there are few incentives to make farmers use water efficiently.
“The Commission is right to support charging the right price for water”, said Pieter de Pous, of the EEB. He added: “But it is ignoring whether we should continue to grow water-hungry crops in places where water is increasingly scarce. What we really need is radically different water management. If the Water Framework Directive is robustly enforced we could achieve just that”.
NGOs on the other hand welcome the fact that the European Commission uses additional supply sources as a last resort solution.
“We strongly support the hierarchy of measures suggested by the European Commission: to consider demand management before opting for additional water infrastructures”, said Servey Moroz from WWF. In his view, “building reservoirs, desalination plants and river basin transfers shouldn't even be on the agenda until it can be proven that alternative measures have been exploited”. He is in fact convinced that discussing supply-side measures like “making water” in desalination plants diverts attention from cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternatives, which are widely available, such as water conservation, water-use efficiency improvements and water recycling. (an)