EU: Committee of Regions proposes bold steps to improve sustainable water management

Europe must do more to ensure the sustainable use of water or risk failure in its battle against climate change and an increasing risk of both droughts and floods. This was the message from the Committee of the Regions at the end of June 2011 following the adoption of an opinion drafted by Nichi Vendola (IT/PES), President of the Puglia region, which also calls for a multi-level, cross-border approach to the management of river basins and proposes targets for water efficiency and extending the Covenant of Mayors to include sustainable water use (see opinion on the role of local and regional authorities in the sustainable use of water).

The final report of the survey on  the role of local and regional authorities in the sustainable use of water was issue in May 2011. In the future, the CoR wants to see the water basin management approach extended by bringing together authorities from every level of government across national borders. The Committee's request is expected to be taken on board by the European Commission, which will propose a blueprint for protecting Europe's water during 2012.

Reinforcing the link between climate action and sustainable water use, the Committee's opinion also proposes setting targets for 2020 similar to those on energy consumption: a 20% increase in water-saving in all sectors; a 20% increase in the number of water courses being renaturalised to reduce flood risk and a 20% increase in the volume of water re-used and/or recycled in farming and industry.