Implementation of EU Water Framework Directive in Spain, France, and Italy

General WFD principles have been practiced in these 3 countries for years, even decades. The Directive itself however imposes a more strict and coherent framework.

Agriculture will experience the following constraints under the Directive :

• An obligation for dialogue with competing water resource uses with the objective of maintaining a healthy state of resources;
•More rigorous management of irrigation, particularly regarding ground water usage
•More rational use of fertilisers and pesticides with the objective of maintaining ground and surface water quality ;
• Increased financial participation in water management.

The Directive applies uniformly to all countries of the European Union. Characteristics specific to Mediterranean areas are likely to make its application more difficult:

• A climate with contrasting seasons gives rise to a very irregular hydrological system for fresh surface water ;
• A significant proportion of karstic ground water whose characteristics are very different to ground water in porous environments ;
• Agriculture that is highly dependent on irrigation (often the dominant water use) ; irrigation needs appear during periods when water resources are least abundant ;
• A large tourist industry that consumes a significant amount of water during periods of low water levels ; tourism contributes to water pollution whilst simultaneously increasing demand on high quality water (drinking water, bathing, water sports)
• Large hydraulic installations (built to harness irregular water supplies in order to satisfy demand) that are themselves prone to strong seasonal variations.

By Claude LEFROU,Institutional Expert (ISIIMM Newsletter, N°3, October 2004)