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. 2018 Nov;62(5):819-831.
doi: 10.1007/s00267-018-1080-z. Epub 2018 Jul 9.

The Transition of EU Water Policy Towards the Water Framework Directive's Integrated River Basin Management Paradigm

Theodoros Giakoumis  1 , Nikolaos Voulvoulis  2
Affiliations

The Transition of EU Water Policy Towards the Water Framework Directive's Integrated River Basin Management Paradigm

Theodoros Giakoumis et al. Environ Manage. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Introduced in 2000 to reform and rationalise water policy and management across the European Union (EU) Member States (MS), the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the EU's flagship legislation on water protection, is widely acknowledged as the embodiment and vessel for the application of the Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) paradigm. Its ecological objectives, perhaps even more challenging than the prospect of statutory catchment planning itself, were for all EU waters to achieve 'good status' by 2015 (except where exemptions applied) and the prevention of any further deterioration. In support of the upcoming WFD review in 2019, the paper reviews the transition of EU policies that led to the adoption of the WFD, to identify the reasons why the Directive was introduced and what it is trying to deliver, and to place progress with its implementation into context. It further investigates reasons that might have limited the effectiveness of the Directive and contributed to the limited delivery and delays in water quality improvements. Findings reveal that different interpretations on the Directive's objectives and exemptions left unresolved since its negotiation, ambiguity and compromises observed by its Common Implementation Strategy and lack of real support for the policy shift required have all been barriers to the harmonised transposition of the IRBM paradigm, the key to delivering good ecological status. The 2019 WFD review offers a unique opportunity to realign the implementation of the Directive to its initial aspirations and goals.

Keywords: Holistic; Implementation; Integrated River Basin Management; Interdisciplinary; Review; Water policy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of classified river and lake water bodies in different EU River Basin Districts holding less than good ecological status or potential (European Parliament 2015)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
EU water policy evolution towards the WFD (1972–2000)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
WFD implementation milestones and policy developments since its adoption (2000–2027)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Some of the innovations introduced by the WFD
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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