More progress needed to protect and manage Europe’s waters
New report highlights need for more ambitious action to achieve good status of water bodies
Published on 2025-02-05 11:23
Brussels, 5 February 2025 – The European Commission has today published a new report on the progress made towards achieving good status of water bodies under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The report finds that while some progress has been made since the last assessment in 2021, more ambitious action is needed to achieve the objectives of the Directive.
The WFD is the EU’s main legislation for protecting and managing water resources. It aims to achieve good status for all water bodies in the EU by 2027. Good status means that water bodies are clean, healthy and able to support a diverse range of plant and animal life.
The report assesses the progress made towards achieving good status for rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters. It finds that:
- 40% of surface water bodies are in good or high ecological status, up from 38% in 2021.
- 38% of groundwater bodies are in good chemical status, up from 36% in 2021.
- 82% of coastal water bodies are in good ecological status, up from 80% in 2021.
However, the report also highlights a number of challenges that need to be addressed. These include:
- Pollution from agriculture, industry and urban areas is still a major problem.
- Climate change is having a significant impact on water quality and quantity.
- Invasive alien species are also a threat to water bodies.
The report concludes that more ambitious action is needed to achieve the objectives of the WFD. This includes:
- Strengthening the implementation of existing measures to reduce pollution.
- Investing in new measures to adapt to climate change.
- Taking action to control invasive alien species.
The Commission is calling on Member States to step up their efforts to protect and manage water resources. The Commission will continue to support Member States in their efforts by providing funding, guidance and technical assistance.
Background
The Water Framework Directive was adopted in 2000. It is a framework directive, which means that it sets out the overall objectives and principles for water management. Member States are then responsible for implementing the Directive through their own national legislation and policies.
The Directive has a number of key objectives, including:
- To protect and improve the quality of water resources.
- To prevent and reduce pollution of water resources.
- To promote the sustainable use of water resources.
- To achieve good status for all water bodies in the EU by 2027.
The Directive is based on the principle of river basin management. This means that water resources should be managed at the level of the river basin, which is the area of land that drains into a particular river or lake.
The Directive has been successful in improving the quality of water resources in the EU. However, there is still more to be done to achieve the objectives of the Directive. The Commission is committed to working with Member States to achieve good status for all water bodies in the EU by 2027.
More progress needed to protect and manage Europe’s waters
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