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International and European Water Law
Modul MWW16
Integrated Water Resource Management
(IWRM)
20 June 2012, TU Dresden
Dr. iur. Juliane Albrecht
Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional
Development (IOER)
www.ioer.de
Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
1. Sources of Water Law
Hierarchy of Legal Sources:
International Law
European Law
National Law
International Law forms the top of whole legal system; broadening downwards to
the level of European law and national law.
Cascading down, the regulations of the higher level become concretised and
substantiated step by step.
I n t e r n .
L a w
E u r o p e a n L a w
N a t i o n a l L a w
I n t e r n .
L a w
E u r o p e a n L a w
N a t i o n a l L a w
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Structure
International Water Law
European Water Law
Water Framework Directive (WFD)
Floods Directive (FD)
Coordinating WFD and FD
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1. International Water Law
Structure
Sources of International Law
Customary International Law
International Conventions
Soft law
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Sources of International Law
Sources of International Law (cf. Art. 38 Statute of the International Court of
Justice):
International conventions, whether general or particular, establishing
rules expressly recognized by the states
International custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law
The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.
The rules of soft law (e. g. resolutions and declarations of international
institutions, action plans) are part of international law, too.
They are quasi-legal instruments which do not have any legally binding force,
or whose binding force is somewhat "weaker" than the binding force of
traditional “hard” law (UNEP 2010, p. 18).
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Customary international law
Principles of Territorial Sovereignty and Integrity
Territorial Sovereignty: Enables states to act unrestricted within their territory
Territorial Integrity: Protects states from impacts originating from territories
of third states
Principle of Good Neighbourliness (Art. 74 United Nations Charter)
States have to consider the interest of neighbouring states in decisions
having substantial trans-border impacts.
Prohibition of substantial trans-border environmental damage
Obligation to adequate use of common inland water
Cooperative use of resource by riparian states
Adequate use may not be optimal use
Sources: Durner 2009, p. 77; Epiney 2003, p. 9
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
International Conventions concerning Marine Protection
Global level:
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of
Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention)
Regional level:
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-
East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) of 1992
Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic
Sea Area (Helsinki Convention, HELCOM) of 1992
Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea
by Oil and other Harmful Substances of 1983
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International Conventions concerning fresh water
United Nations Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational
Uses of International Water Courses of 1997
Principle of equitable and reasonable (sustainable) utilization
and participation (Art.5)
Regular exchange of data and information (Art. 9)
Consultation on planned measures (Art. 11)
UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-
boundary Watercourses and International Lakes of 1992
Protection by preventing, controlling and reducing trans-
boundary impacts (Art. 2 Abs. 1)
Obligation to conclude specific bilateral or multilateral
agreements to fulfil the obligations of Art. 2 (Art. 9)
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Regional Conventions
Agreements concluded by riparian states concerning individual water
bodies
International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution
(IKSR),
International Commissions for the Protection of the Moselle and the Saar
against Pollution (IKSMS),
International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe (IKSE),
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (IKSDR),
International Commission for the Protection of the Odra against Pollution,
(IKSO), …
Bilateral boundary water commissions
Further information: BMU 2010b, pp. 68 et sequ.
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Soft Law: Agenda 21
Action programme for the 21th century
was adopted in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro
In 40 chapters it describes the requirements for environmentally sound
and sustainable development in all major policy areas
Chapters 17 (protection of the oceans and seas) and 18 (fresh water
resources) are particularly relevant for water resources management
Source: BMU 2010b, p. 8
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
Agenda 21: Fresh Water Resources (Chapter 18)
Management of fresh water resources is subdivided into seven
different programme areas:
Integrated planning and management of water resources,
Assessing the quantity of available water resources,
Protecting water resources, water quality and aquatic ecosystems,
Drinking water supply and sanitation,
Water and sustainable urban development,
Water for sustainable food production and rural development,
Impacts of climate change on water resources.
For each of these programme areas, objectives and measures how to
achieve these objectives are set out
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2. Water Law of the EU
To an increasing extent, issues relating to water resources management
are being decided by the European Union (EU).
Cooperation between the Member States of the European Union in the
field of water protection is extremely important, because
water protection is by definition a trans-boundary challenge, and
differences in environmental standards make it difficult to enforce a single
European market.
European Water Law has many interdependencies with international
law:
European Water Law has the function to implement international conventions
by transposing the international obligations
International conventions help to implement European law by including Non-
EU Member States into European cooperation
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• The EU is a political and economic
community of twenty-seven member
states.
• The EU has developed a single market
through a standardised system of laws,
guaranteeing the freedom of movement
of people, goods, services and capital.
• The Member States remain independent
sovereign nations but they delegate
some of their decision-making powers of
joint interest to shared institutions.
• Due to the externalities of the economic
process the common market is
accompanied by environmental
protection powers.
The European Union (EU)
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
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Sources of EU-Law
The EU law can be distinguished into primary law and secondary law.
The primary legislation, or treaties, are the constitutional law of the
European Union.
The secondary legislation is law made by the Institutions of the EU
under powers given to them by primary legislation in order to implement
and administer the requirements of that primary legislation.
Source: European Commission 2010
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- the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC) Treaty of 1951 (Treaty of Paris)
- the European Economic Community (EEC)
Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome)
- the European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM) Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome)
- the Merger Treaty of 1965
- the Acts of Accession of the United Kingdom,
Ireland and Denmark (1972)
- the Budgetary Treaty of 1970
- the Budgetary Treaty of 1975
- the Act of Accession of Greece (1979)
- the Acts of Accession of Spain and Portugal
(1985)
- the Single European Act of 1986
- the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992
(Treaty of European Union, EU-Treaty, change
of the name “European Economic Community”
(EEC) to simply "European Community“ (EC),
EC-Treaty)
- the Acts of Accession of Austria, Sweden and
Finland (1994)
- the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997
- the Treaty of Nice of 2001
- the Treaty of Accession 2003
- the Treaty of Accession 2005
- the Treaty of Lisbon 2009 amends the EU-
Treaty and the EC-Treaty. The EC-Treaty was
renamed to Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (FEU-Treaty).
Primary Law
The EU is based on a series of treaties which have built up the current
structure by successive additions and amendments (“primary law”):
Source: European Commission 2010
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Primary Law
i.e. the treaties …
are the foundation of everything the EU does
are created by governments from all EU Member States acting by
consensus
establish its institutional structure, legislative procedures, and the
powers of the Union.
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In the Lisbon Treaty the distribution of competences in various policy areas between
Member States and the Union is explicitly stated in the following three categories:
Exclusive competence:
The EU has exclusive competence
to make directives and conclude
international agreements when
provided for in a Union legislative
act. (Art. 3 FEU-Treaty)
• the customs union
• the establishing of the
competition rules necessary for
the functioning of the internal
market
• monetary policy for the Member
States whose currency is the euro
• the conservation of marine
biological resources under the
common fisheries policy
• common commercial (trade)
policy
Shared Competence: Member States cannot exercise
competence in areas where the
Union has done so.
(Art. 4 FEU-Treaty)
• the internal market
• social policy
• economic, social and territorial
cohesion
• agriculture and fisheries,
• environment
• consumer protection
• transport
• trans-European networks
• energy
• the area of freedom, security
and justice
• common safety concerns in
public health matters
Supporting Competence: The Union can carry out
actions to support, coordinate
or supplement Member
States' actions.
(Art. 6 FEU-Treaty)
• the protection and
improvement of human health
• industry
• culture
• tourism
• education, youth, sport and
vocational training
• civil protection (disaster
prevention)
• administrative cooperation
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union (modified)
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Article 191 FEU-Treaty (ex Article 174 EC-Treaty)
(1) Community policy on the environment shall contribute to pursuit of the following
objectives:
• preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,
• protecting human health,
• prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources,
• promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide
environmental problems, and in particular combating climate change.
(2) Community policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection
taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the
Community. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the
principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage
should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.
…
Competence for environment
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Article 192 FEU-Treaty (ex Article 175 EC-Treaty)
1. The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the
ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions, shall decide what action is to
be taken by the Union in order to achieve the objectives referred to in Article
191.
…
Article 193 FEU-Treaty (ex Article 176 EC-Treaty)
The protective measures adopted pursuant to Article 192 shall not prevent any
Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective
measures. Such measures must be compatible with this Treaty. They shall be
notified to the Commission.
Competence for environment
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The EU's decision making process involve three main institutions:
1. the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizens and is directly
elected by them;
2. the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual
member states and
3. the European Commission, which seeks to uphold the interests of the Union
as a whole.
This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the policies and laws of the EU.
In principle, it is the Commission that proposes new laws, but it is the Parliament
and Council that adopt them.
Institutions of the European Union
Source: European Union 2011
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There are a number of legislative instruments available to the EU institutions within the
EU's competence (“secondary law”).
The three main types of secondary legislation are Regulations, Directives and Decisions,
defined in Art. 288 FEU-Treaty (ex Article 249 EC-Treaty).
Regulations are legislative acts which become law in all member states the moment they
come into force, without the requirement for any implementing measures. Once in force
their contents automatically override conflicting domestic provisions (direct effect!).
Directives require member states to achieve a certain result while leaving them discretion
as to how to achieve the result within a certain time period (most common in environmental
law!).
The Council and the Commission may publish in the official journal a decision, notified to a
particular addressee, such as an individual trader or a company (most common in
competition law!).
Secondary Legislation
Source: European Commission 2010
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
For the past 35 years, EU law has been increasingly replacing national
legislation concerning water use and protection:
(1) General legislative acts on the protection of water and water bodies
- Surface Water Directive (75/440/EEC)
- Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC)
- The Groundwater Directive (80/68/EEC), …
(2) Acts aimed at controlling commercial activities with a strong influence on water
quality
- Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC)
- Pesticide Directive (94/414/EC), …
(3) Environmental acts directly regulating municipal activities in the water and waste
water sector
- Urban Waste Water Directive (91/271/EEC)
- Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC)
(4) The Water Framework Directive (overarching legislative undertaking)
(5) The Floods Directive
Secondary legislation in the field of Water Management
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Structure
• Background
• Objectives of Art. 4
• Planning instruments
• Cooperation in river basins
• Public consultation
• Implementation process
3. Water Framework Directive
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• “Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in
the field of water policy”
• The WFD is an attempt to improve and consolidate EU water legislation
in the face of continued severe problems with the status of European
waters and the implementation of earlier EU water directives.
• Its main purposes are
• the protection and improvement of the aquatic environment and
• to contribute to a sustainable, balanced and equitable water use
(Article 1).
Water Framework Directive (WFD)
Source: Hall et al. 2004
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• The WFD is in many ways breaking new ground in environmental legislation:
• Innovative instruments have been introduced such as
• an ecology-based assessment of water status,
• river basins as administrative planning units,
• pronounced public information and consultation requirements and,
• the use of financial instruments in its implementation.
• Since the directive is aimed at all water users in a given river basin, water
supply and waste water operators will be fully integrated in the
implementation process
• However: the WFD is solely an environmental directive and the economic
elements are devised to support that objective.
Water Framework Directive (WFD)
Source: Hall et al. 2004
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• Non deterioration,
Art. 4 (1) a) i) WFD
• Good Status until 2015,
Art. 4 (1) a) ii), iii) WFD
Surface Waters Groundwater
„Environmental Objectives“ Art. 4 WFD
• Non deterioration,
Art. 4 (1) b) i) WFD
• Good Status until 2015,
Art. 4 (1) b) ii) WFD
• Trend Reversal,
Art. 4 (1) b) iii) WRRL
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Surface Water Groundwater
Good ecological
Status / Potential
Art. 2 No. 22 / 23
Good chemical
Status
Art. 2 No. 24
Good chemical
Status
Art. 2 No. 25
Good quantitative
Status
Art. 2 No. 28
„Good Status“
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Surface Water: Good Ecological Status (1)
… status of a body of surface water, so classified in accordance with Annex V (Art 2 No.
22 WFD):
1. Characterisation of surface water body types, Annex II
Background: surface water bodies vary strongly in terms of shape, water flow, and flora
and fauna
Assign water bodies to certain types to simplify assessment of the good status
a) Assign water bodies to the following surface water categories, Annex II No. 1.1 i)
rivers (> 10 qkm catchment area)
lakes (> 0,5 qkm)
transitional waters
coastal waters
artificial or heavily modified surface water bodies
b) Within the surface water categories: distinguish water types, Annex II Nr. 1.1 ii)
main factors: climate, relief and substrate
waterbody types with characteristical fauna and flora in the status without anthropogenic influence
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Surface Water: Good Ecological Status (2)
2. Classification of ecological status according to water body types,
Annex V No. 1.1 (5 classes of the status: high, good, moderate, poor, bad)
a) Biological Elements
Composition and abundance of aquatic flora
Composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna (Macrozoobenthos)
Composition and abundance and age structure of fish fauna
b) Hydro-morphological Elements
Hydrological regime (quantity and dynamics of water flow, connection to groundwater bodies)
River continuity
Morphological conditions
c) Chemical and Physico-Chemical Elements
General (Thermal conditions, Oxygenation conditions, Salinity, Acidification status, Nutriant conditions)
Specific Pollutants (Pollution by all priority and other substances identified as being discharged into the water body)
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Surface Water: Good ecological potential
Alternative objectives for heavily modified or artificial water bodies (Art. 2 No. 23
WFD)
To acknowledge existing water uses in conflict with the environmental targets,
where alternative ways are not feasible or not proportional
has to be assigned for every water body individually (potential of restoration!)
• Artificial water body: surface water body created by human activity (Art. 2 No. 8 WFD)
• Heavily modified water body: a body of surface water which as a result of physical alterations by
human activity is substantially changed in character (Art. 2 No. 9 WFD)
• Preconditions for the designation as artificial or heavily modified, Art. 4 (3) WFD
1. The changes to the hydro-morphological characteristics of that body which would be
necessary for achieving good ecological status would have significant adverse effects on
certain water uses and
2. The beneficial objectives served by the artificial or modified characteristics of the water body
cannot, for reasons of technical feasibility or disproportionate costs, reasonably be achieved by
other means which are a significantly better environmental option
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Surface Water: Good chemical status
… concentrations of pollutants do not exceed the environmental quality
standards established … under Article 16 (7) WFD and under other
relevant EU legislation setting environmental quality standards (Art 2
No. 24 WFD).
Art 16 (7) WFD: Quality Standards applicable to the concentrations
of the priority substances in surface water, sediments or biota
Priority substances: … those which present a significant risk to or via the aquatic environment, Art 16 (2) WFD,
Identification of the priority hazardous substances, Art 16 (3) WFD
Decision No. 2455/2001/EC: List of priority substances (Annex X WFD)
Designation of the quality standards in the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) Daughter-Directive (2008/105/EC)
Other relevant EU legislation setting environmental quality
standards
Nitrates Directive
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Groundwater: Good chemical status (1)
… the chemical status of a body of groundwater, which meets all the
conditions set out in table 2.3.2 of Annex V (Art 2 No. 25 WFD).
no saline or other intrusions
the quality standards applicable under other Community legislation in
accordance with Art. 17 WFD are not exceeded -> Groundwater-
Daughter-Directive (2006/118/EC)!
no failure to achieve the environmental objectives specified under
Article 4 for associated surface waters
no significant diminution in the status of such waters
no significant damage to terrestrial ecosystems which depend directly
on the groundwater body
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Groundwater: Good chemical status (2)
Quality standards of the Groundwater
Daughter-Directive (2006/118/EC)
Throughout the EU
binding „Quality
standards“
Art 3 (1) a) and Annex I
“Threshold values” to be established
by Member States
Art 3 (1) b) and Annex II
Substances which may
occur both naturally and/
or as a result of human
activities (Ann. II B No.1)
Man-made synthetic
substances
(Annex II B No. 2)
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Chloride
- Sulphate
- Trichloroethylene - Tetrachloroethylene
- 0,1 µg/l pesticides
- 0,5 µg/l pesticides
(sum of all individual
pesticides)
- 50 mg/l Nitrates
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Groundwater: Good quantitative status
… the status defined in table 2.1.2 of Annex V (Art 2 No. 28 WFD).
the available groundwater resource is not exceeded by the long
term average rate of abstraction
no saltwater or other intrusion
no failure to achieve the environmental objectives specified under
Article 4 for associated surface waters
no significant diminution in the status of such waters
no significant damage to terrestrial ecosystems which depend directly
on the groundwater body
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Exemptions to the Environmental Objectives (1)
1. Extensions of the deadline, Art. 4 (4) WFD
1. for reasons of technical feasibility or
2. Disproportional costs or
3. Natural conditions do not allow timely improvement
Extensions of the deadline by maximum 12 years, beyond this time only for
reasons of natural conditions
2. Less stringent objectives, Art. 4 (5) WFD
1. Water bodies are so affected by human activity or their natural condition is
such that the achievement of these objectives would be infeasible or
disproportionately expensive and
2. The environmental and socioeconomic needs served by such human
activities cannot be achieved by other means which are a significantly better
option and
3. For surface water, the highest status possible and for groundwater, the least
possible changes to good status are achieved and
4. No further deterioration occurs in the status of the affected water body
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Exemptions to the Environmental Objectives (2)
3. Temporary deterioration due to exceptional or unforeseeable
circumstances, Art. 4 (6) WFD
1. All practicable steps are taken to prevent further deterioration
2. Declaration of the circumstances including the measures to be taken in the
river basin management plan and in the programmes of measures
3. Annual reviewing of the effects of the circumstances, restoring the water
body to its status prior
4. New Modifications, Art. 4 (7) WFD
1. Failure to achieve good status is the result of new modifications to the
physical characteristics of a surface water body or alterations to the
level of a groundwater body or
2. Failure to prevent deterioration in the status of a surface water body is the
result of new sustainable human development activities, if
mitigation of the adverse effects and
the reasons for those modifications or alterations are of overriding
public interest and cannot be achieved by other means with a better option
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Planning Instruments
Programmes of Measures,
Art. 11 WFD
River Basin Management Plans,
Art. 13 WFD
Basic Measures (para. 3)
• Compliance with other EC (Water)
Directives, obligatory
• authorisation or registration of water
uses and discharges
• Prevention of accidental pollution
etc
Supplementary Measures (para. 4)
• Have to be designed and
implemented if the the basic
measures are not sufficient to
achieve the objectives of Art 4
• Annex VI: non-exclusive list of such
measures
Contain the following elements, e.g.
• Characteristics of the river basin
district,
• Summary of significant pressures
and impact of human activity on the
status of water,
• Map of the monitoring networks
established and of the results of
the monitoring programmes,
• List of the environmental objectives
established under Art 4,
• Summary of the programmes of
measures, etc.
• Measures of public consultation
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River Basins as administrative planning units (Art 3 WFD)
1. River Basins and River Basin Districts
River basin: area of land from which all surface run-off flows into the sea („from spring to estuary“), Art. 2 No. 13 WFD
River basin district: main unit for management of river basins, Art 2 No. 15 WFD
Necessity of cross-boarder cooperation
2. Coordination within River Basin Districts
National River Basin Districts, Art. 3 (2) WFD:
Establishment of appropriate adminstrative arrangements
Identification of the appropriate competent authority
International River Basin Districts, Art. 3 (3) to (5) WFD:
Within EU-Member States: coordination obligatory
Non-EU-Member States involved: Member States „shall endeavour“ to establish appropriate coordination
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Germany:
10 River Basin Districts
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Public Consultation (Art. 14 WFD)
Water authorities are unable to meet the objectives of the WFD on their
own; they have to engage with the public and win the support of
decision-makers in fields relevant to the implementation of the WFD.
Member States shall encourage the active involvement of all interested
parties in the implementation of this Directive, in particular in the
production, review and updating of the river basin management plans
(Art. 14 WFD).
The public is entitled to comment
1. on the timetable and work programme for the production of the plan,
2. on an interim overview of the significant water management issues identified in the
river basin, and
3. on draft copies of the river basin management plan.
On request, access must be given to background documents and information used for
the development of the draft river basin management plan.
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Schedule for implementation of the WFD
WFD: Coming
into Force
(22/12/2000)
Environmental
and Economic
Analysis
Monitoring
of prior
assumptions
River Basin Mana-
gement Plans /
Programmes
of measures
Implementation
programmes of
measures
Objective:
„Good Status“
12/2004
12/2006
12/2012
12/2009
12/2015
Updating o
f th
e R
iver
Basin
Managem
ent
Pla
ns e
very
6 y
ears
12/2003: Legal
Transposition/
Arrangements
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Results of the Initial Analysis (1)
Source: European Commission 2007
The actual percentage of water bodies meeting all the WFD objectives is low:
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Results of the Initial Analysis (2)
• The most significant and widespread pressures are
• diffuse pollution,
• physical degradation of water ecosystems and,
• particulary in Southern Europe, overexploitation of water.
Source: European Commission 2007
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Establishment of the Programmes of Measures and
of the River Basin Management Plans
River Basin Management Plans should
since 22.12.2009 be available in all
River Basin Districts across the EU.
There are however serious delays in
some countries of the EU:
GREEN - River Basin Management
Plans adopted.
YELLOW - consultations finalised, but
awaiting adoption.
RED - consultation have not started or
ongoing.
Source: European Commission 2011
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Outlook until 2015 and beyond
Reasons for failure of the “good status” in 2015:
Long retention time of groundwater body water (e. g. time lag before measures to reduce nutrient concentrations begin to have an effect).
Long retention time of aquatic ecosystems (e. g. regarding the return of species to river segments that have been restored to a more natural state)
Technical infeasibility and disproportionately high costs
It will take the continuous effort of at least one whole generation to realise the aims of the WFD.
exemptions from the good status will constitute the rule rather than the
exception (Petersen et al. 2009, p. 2062).
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Conclusions
The current status of the European water bodies highlights the
enormous challenges which water management authorities face in
achieving a good water status.
However, the implementation of the directive has indeed brought new
impetus to water management:
The deficits of the (ecological) water status have been identified,
information and data collected,
cross-border cooperation strengthened and
public awareness raised by the consultation processes.
It remains to be seen whether the new planning instruments ultimately
prove sufficient to attain the desired status for European water bodies.
The area-wide establishment of cross-border, coordinated programmes
and plans can already be regarded as successful.
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Structure:
1. Background
2. Objectives of flood risk management
3. Preliminary Assessment
4. Flood maps
5. Flood risk management plans
4. Floods Directive (FD)
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
Floods Directive
„Directive 2007/60/EC of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and
management of flood risks“
Background:
Floods are natural phenomena which cannot be prevented
however: human activities and climate change contribute to an increase
in the likelihood and adverse impacts of flood events
in the WFD flood risk management is not directly addressed:
reducing the risk of floods is not one of the principal objectives
the WFD will only contribute to mitigating the effects of floods
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Objectives regarding the management of flood risks?
(-), because:
• throughout the Community different types of floods occur:
• river floods
• flash floods
• urban floods
• floods from the sea in coastal areas
• the damage caused by flood events may also vary across the countries and
regions
objectives are determined by the Member States themselves based on
local and regional circumstances
Floods Directive
Art. 7 (2) FD: Member states shall focus on the mitigation of vulnerability of
certain protected items and the mitigation of the hazard of flooding.
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Floods Directive
Coordination of administrative arrangements within river basin districts
(Art. 3), …. make use of the arrangements made under WFD
3 Instruments of flood risk management:
Preliminary flood risk assessment (Art. 4, 5)
Flood maps for areas identified under Art. 5 (Art. 6)
Flood risk management plans (Art. 7, 8)
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Preliminary flood risk assessment (Art. 4, 5 FD)
Background:
Flood risks in certain areas within the Community could be considered not to be
significant (for example in thinly populated or unpopulated areas or in areas with
limited economic assets or ecological value).
In each river basin district the flood risks and need for further action should be
assessed.
Art. 4 FD: Assessment of potential risks including:
maps of the river basin district at the appropriate scale
description of the floods which have occurred in the past and which had
significant adverse impacts on human health, the environment, the cultural
heritage and economic activity and for which the likelihood of similar future
events is still relevant
Art. 5 FD: Identification of areas with potential significant flood risks
Assessment shall be completed by 2011
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Flood maps (Art. 6 WFD)
Preparation of flood maps for areas identified under Art. 5
Flood hazard maps (Art. 6 para. 3, 4 FD):
Shall cover the geographical areas which could be flooded according to scenarios with
a low, medium or high probability
For each scenario shall be shown the flood extent, water depths or water level and the
flow velocity or the relevant water flow
Flood risk maps (Art. 6 para. 5 FD):
Shall show the potential adverse consequences associated with the flood scenarios
Number of inhabitants and type of economic activity potentially affected, installations
which might cause accidental pollution in case of flooding, potentially affected
protected areas, …
Maps shall be completed by 2013
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Flood risk management plans (Art 7, 8 FD)
Include all relevant steps of flood risk management (cf. part A of the Annex FD):
conclusions of the preliminary flood risk assessment,
areas for which potential significant flood risks exist
flood hazard maps and flood risk maps
description of the objectives of flood risk management
measures and their prioritisation
description of the monitoring regarding the implementation process
summary of the public information and consultation measures
list of competent authorities
Plans shall be completed by 2015.
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5. Coordinating the WFD and the FD
Due to the fact that both the WFD and the FD relate to the same river basins and
water bodies, there is much overlap between the directives.
The FD accounts for the overlap with the WFD by the concept of integrated
river basin management (cf. 17th recital of the FD).
Art. 9 FD requires that the Member States in general should take effort to
achieve synergies and mutual benefits with respect to the environmental
objectives of Art. 4 WFD.
Planning steps needing special coordination (Art. 9 FD):
1. Initial analysis designated by Art. 5 WFD as well as the contents of the
flood maps (No.1),
2. River basin management plans and flood risk management plans (No.2)
3. Public consultation (No.3).
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Coordinating Initial Analysis/Flood Maps
Art. 9 No. 1 FD:
„The development of the flood maps and their subsequent reviews
shall be carried out in such a way that the information they contain is
consistent with relevant information presented according to
WFD“ (i.e. the initial analysis)
Consistency in the sense of Art. 9 FD means, that there are no
contradictions between the initial analysis designated by the WFD and
the information of the flood maps.
Coordination requires primarily harmonised pools of data as well as
the use of compatible assessment parameters.
Interfaces between the used data and parameters have to be
identified
Source: Albrecht & Wendler 2009
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Coordinating Planning Documents
Article 9 No. 2 FD:
„The development of the first flood risk management plans and their
subsequent reviews shall be carried out in coordination with, and may
be integrated into, the reviews of the river basin management plans“
the differing objectives of WFD and FD may produce synergies but also
conflicts
Synergies: Improvement of retention in the river basin area
Conflicts: Technical flood protection structures (e. g. dikes, dams)
Authorities are provided with discretionary power to achieve synergies
and to avoid conflicts, especially:
1. setting of targets and the definition of exemptions
2. selection of appropriate measures
Source: Albrecht & Wendler 2009
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Coordinating Public Consultation
Article 9 No. 3 FD:
„As far as appropriate, the active involvement of all interested parties according
to Art. 10 FD and Art. 14 WFD shall be coordinated.“
The coordination aims to prevent multiple unrelated procedures of
participation at the same planning level in parallel.
Benefit: save time and resource both for administration and the public, prevent
contradictions and achieve a better acceptance by the public
Interest in the contents of the river basin management plans and the flood risk
management plans come from the same groups, e.g.
riparian residents, water and land communities, environmental associations,
representatives of fishery, agriculture, forestry and nature conservation,
administrations, municipalities, industry and navigation, ...
Obviously, it is beneficial to use common platforms for discussion.
Source: Albrecht & Wendler 2009
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Conclusions
The various overlap and interactions between the natural and
anthropogenic driving forces call for integrated river basin management.
Art. 9 FD constitutes an important legal obligation in this respect, as it
requires coordination of water management and flood risk management.
In addition to the planning steps specifically emphasized in Art. 9 FD,
there are further starting points for coordination.
implementation of the individual measures
monitoring process
Optimisation of administrative arrangements and departments
In the medium-term, the need for an integrated approach to management
of river basins should result in a merger of both directives.
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
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Dr. Albrecht, International and European Water Law, 20.6.12
Thank you!