Water Management in the European Union - Coursework Example

WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION By Location Water Management in the European Union Introduction The policy of water management in the European Union is considered as one of the most important policies ever made. Water management in the European Union is an environmental policy basically formulated to help save the quality of Europe’s water. It is logical that continuous water wastage and pollution may result in long term droughts and lack of water for domestic consumption. To curb this potential calamity in Europe, the environmental organizations from the European Union member states came to an agreement to save water in unity thus the origin of Water management in the European Union (Thomas & Copeland 2008, p 38). Background Information The European Union since the 1970s was focused on saving Europe’s water even though by this time, there was not a single policy whose aim was full focus on water management. It is important however to note that most counties in Europe by this time had organizations that were specifically aimed at saving their respective waters. Most European countries, however share water towers and so a mistake in one country could easily lead to the same consequences in another country (Thomas & Copeland 2008, p. 38). Blame games were looming in case of mistakes. The year 2000 marked the change in water management policy in the whole Europe. The European Union adopted the Water Framework Directive (WFD); a regulation that would basically put focus on sustainable use of water as well as restoration of water bodies (Mariño & Simonovic 2001, p. 77). In order to ensure the full implementation of this policy, European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) members subdivided the policy into simpler segments such as River basin management plans (RBMPs) as instruments to simplify the implementation process. European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) consists of organizations representing member states, which include: The Federación nacional de comunidades de regantes de España (FENACORE), Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) in the United Kingdom Association des Wateringues Wallonnes (AWW) based in Belgium and Forum des Marais Atlantiques based in France. Társulati Informatikai Rendszer (TIR) - Hungary, Vereniging van Vlaamse Polders en Wateringen (VVPW) in Belgium Institution Interdépartementale Nord-Pas-de-Calais Pour la réalisation des ouvrages généraux dévacuation des * crues de la région des Wateringues in France Deutscher Bund der verbandlichen Wasserwirtschaft (DBVW) in Germany, Associazione Nationale Bonifiche, Irrigazione e Miglioramenti Fondiari (ANBI) founded in Italy Unie van Waterschappen (UVW) in the Netherlands. All these members work individually in their respective nations as well as in unity in the formulation and implementation of the European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) policies. The European Union considered it wise to make common the requirements of water management all over Europe (Richter et al 2001, p. 720). Objectives of the Policy During the enactment of the Water Management Policy in the European Union, the European Union of Water Management Associations had stinging issues at hand that needed to be addressed in unity lest water management and conservation in Europe went astray. Some of the key issues that called for the unity of associations included: management of floods, pollution, management of the water level, drainage of land and irrigation (Baker 2001, p. 88). All these key issues led to the formulation of objectives thus: Enhancement of unity Europe wide to help in tackling water management issues in Europe: originally, each nation concentrated on managing their own environmental and water issues with less consideration given to the effects of the individual policies on other nations. By bringing different nations together, the European Union stood a chance of solving their water problems based on decisions from the majority member states; so states the objective Provision of a common platform through which environmental and water management issues would be tackled: the European Union saw it wise that water management could only be reached by sharing knowledge and understanding each other’s stand on the common problems that faced them. The only best avenue of sharing knowledge then was by bringing together the nations on the same agenda. Decentralization of European Water Management: it was the intention of the European Union to decentralize all the problems that circled around Europe to avoid unnecessary confusion when it came to decision making. The most vital objective of this policy entails sustainable water management endeavours in the whole of Europe. It is through this objective that the policy of Water management seems to be relevant to its purpose. Implications beyond the Policy The Water Management policy was originally intended to have its effects concentrated only around Europe. Today, however, one can notice that the Water Management policy as well affect other areas and countries, some of which are not even in Europe. From the European Water Management policy, one can simply come to a conclusion that water management is a global issue. When the water management policy aims at taking a watch at the water levels, it means that even other nations that are not in Europe are affected by the policy since global warming is a worldwide but not only a European issue (Dolana et al 2014, p. 283). Moreover, the Water Management Policy in Europe was supposed to put focus on the environmental implications only with very little consideration on the implications of the policy on the world economic trends. Uniformity in making decisions pertaining environments leads to quality decisions on agricultural productivity on top of letting individual nations take the responsibility of problems caused by the nations themselves. A simple illustration can be that in the European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) policy and decision making, each nation has a part to perform failure to which such a nation faces the sanctions all by themselves. The care taken by the nations in managing water, then result in economic developments globally (Daniell 2012, p. 55) Accountability The Water Management policy in the European Union is governed both individually and collectively. The European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) come together to formulate the policies. These associations are as well tasked with overseeing the implementations of the same policies at their various country levels (Commission of The European Communities 2007, p. 77). The European Union then does the evaluation on if the policies have effectively been implemented by all the member states. Contingency actions can be called for either by an individual association in case a policy fails in one specific country or the actions can be taken by the management of EUWMA in case the policy fails in multiple or in all the nations. Communications The Water management policy in the European Union is a well-known policy, even though in a particular segment of the society. Based on its objectives, the policy spreads across countries to specific sectors that bear huge use and mismanagement or management of water. Here therefore, most corporations’ governmental and nongovernmental institutions know about the policy. At the individual level, the policy of Water Management in Europe is not very popular. The basic reason behind the lack of popularity is the specificity of some segments of the population. Also, the policy covers a wide area and so communication all through to each and every individual in Europe can be a little hectic (Thomas & Copeland 2008, p. 98). Stakeholder Involvement The major stakeholders in this policy are the European Union, the member state governments, representative associations from the European countries, corporations and the Europeans. Each and every stakeholder mentioned herein has a role to play in the execution of the policy of Water Management. While the governments provide the necessary resources for formulation and implementation, the European Union oversees the effectiveness of the policy. Also, the representative associations help identify the shortcomings of the policy on top of coming up with the contingency moves. It is from the corporations and the citizens that the feedback on the applicability of the policy can be obtained (Thomas & Copeland 2008, p. 207). Political Influence Politics play a huge role in any policy enacted worldwide. Without the support of the government, not many policies can get implemented. The government plays a role in the provision of resources necessary for the implementation of the policies. Moreover, the government understands better the needs of her citizens. In the formulation of policies of wide range such as the policy of water management policy that covers more than one country, all the governments must be consulted so as to come up with policies that satisfy all the governments. In addition, it is the role of the government to communicate the demands of the policy to her people (Nałecz 2011, p. 66). Communication using the government as the main channel can be effective as governments understand best their citizens. Public Perception The message that the policy of Water Management in Europe aimed at relaying to the citizens was the need to ensure sustainability of water supply in Europe. Up to that end, the other stakeholders-the public included- perceived the policy positively knowing that the policy was meant for the good of the people (Nałecz 2011, p. 99). The policy on water management has therefore received an overwhelming support from all over Europe and the result can be witnessed on how massive water pollution in Europe has significantly dropped since the implementation of the policy. Outcome of the Policy As opposed to the initial expectations of the policy of Water Management in the European Union, the policy has achieved even more. Today, the practice of water management in the European countries has been taken by the seriousness everybody would expect it to have. Before the policy, every nation was responsible for their individual ways of water management. With the policy at hand, however, nations are keener on their activities as there are monitory bodies that hold nations responsible for avoidable mistakes. In summary, one can say that the Water Management policy has achieved beyond the expectations (Langaas & Timmerman 2004, p. 243). Conclusion Based on the discussions herein, one can notice that the policy of Water Management in the European Union still has a long way to go. Based the objectives of the governing body EUWMA, the policy has achieved much of what was originally expected of it. However, the policy has not reached people at the individual levels. The policy basically is far away from the common man whose life depends fully on the sustainability of water resources. Much as the governance of the policy has passed way above the threshold of its requirements, EUWMA should try to improve on the communications segment of the policy implementation. Bibliography Baker, R 2001, Environmental law and policy in the European Union and the United States, Westport, Conn. [u.a.], Praeger. Communities Commission of The European 2007, Towards sustainable water management in the European Union - First stage in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 200/60/EC: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Daniell, KA 2012, Co-engineering and participatory water management: organisational challenges for water governance. Dolana, T, Howsama, P, Parsonsa, D, & Whelana, M 2014, Impact of European Water Framework Directive Article 7 on Drinking Water Directive compliance for pesticides: challenges of a prevention-led approach, Water Policy, 16, 2, pp. 280-297, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 October 2014. Langaas, S., & Timmerman, JG 2004, Environmental information in European transboundary water management, London, IWA. Mariño, M. A., & Simonovic, SP 2001, Integrated water resources management: a selection of papers presented at the International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management held in April 2000 at the University of California, Davis, California, USA, Wallingford, International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Nałecz, T 2011, Groundwater management in the East of the European Union: transboundary strategies for sustainable use and protection of resources, Dordrecht, Springer. Richter, S, Völker, J, Borchardt, D, & Mohaupt, V 2013, The Water Framework Directive as an approach for Integrated Water Resources Management: results from the experiences in Germany on implementation, and future perspectives, Environmental Earth Sciences, 69, 2, pp. 719-728, Energy & Power Source, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 October 2014. Thomas, S. V., & Copeland, C 2008, Water pollution issues and developments, New York, Nova Science Publishers. Read More