Page 34 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

CHAPTER 1 1.4 1.4 WFD progress in Europe

Progress in implementing EU Directives, specifically the WFD, can be

monitored in two ways.

Firstly, by examining the state of the water environment. The outcomes of regulatory activities are judged by Member State
monitoring programmes, and reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA), based in Copenhagen. Periodic State
of Environment reports are published, the current being The European environment – state and outlook 2020: knowledge for
transition to a sustainable Europe. https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/2020
(12)
Figure 1.3 is an example of outcomes and shows the percentage of water bodies not meeting good ecological status from
all river basins across the EU, updated 8 November 2021.

Figure 1.3
Percentage of classified water bodies in less than good ecological status or
potential in rivers and lakes in Water Framework Directive river basin districts

The EEA makes the following observation on this position:

Achieving healthy aquatic ecosystems requires taking a systemic view, as the state of aquatic ecosystems is closely
connected to how we manage land and water resources, and to pressures from sectors such as agriculture, energy
and transport. There are ample opportunities to improve water management to achieve policy objectives. These
include stringent implementation of existing water policy, and integration of water policy objectives into other areas
such as the Common Agricultural Policy, EU Cohesion and Structural Funds, and sectoral policies.

This information will inform future water protection strategy and shape future rounds of WFD River Basin Plans.

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