Water is vital to Europe’s security, health, social justice, supporting ecosystems and their recovery, as well as competitiveness.
A water handbook for the upcoming 2024 - 2029 EU mandate - an introduction
Our society relies on clean and abundant water for drinking and sanitation, crop production, cooling down power plants, and manufacturing goods. However, mismanagement and accelerating climate change are making Europeans increasingly vulnerable to water pollution, water scarcity, and floodings. The EU has a role to play in ensuring Europeans are protected from these risks, that farmers are adequately supported in the transition to climate-resilient agricultural models, and that Europe remains an attractive place for businesses.
Water must be prioritised in the upcoming mandate of the EU institutions.
EAA and the other NGOs united in the Living Rivers Europe coalition urge decision-makers to mainstream the protection of water and freshwater ecosystems (such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, deltas and estuaries) across the policy spectrum, so that water quality and water availability are factored into the decisions we make concerning Europe’s agriculture, industrial policy, energy and transport.
This handbook, which the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) co-drafted in the context of their membership of the
Living Rivers Europe coalition, offers key recommendations for decision-makers to mainstream the protection of water and freshwater ecosystems across the policy spectrum in the upcoming mandate.
Key facts and figures:
- The first-ever annual estimate of the economic value of water and freshwater ecosystems is over €11 trillion in Europe – about 2.5 times the DGP of Germany!
- Worldwide, freshwater species are hit the hardest by biodiversity collapse, with monitored freshwater populations having declined by an average of 83% since 1970.
- In Europe, freshwater fish are the 2nd most threatened animal group, surpassed only by freshwater molluscs. Fishes that need to migrate between environments (rivers and sea) or within river systems to complete their life cycles, are particularly threatened.
Anglers urge Europe to better protect and enhance its free-flowing rivers!
The European Anglers Alliance (EAA) – founding & active member of the Living Rivers Europe Coalition – wishes to also shed light on the worrying state of Europe’s free-flowing rivers as too often, the connection between rivers, oceans, sea or floodplains is broken.
Free-flowing rivers help us to achieve healthy fish stocks by allowing more fish migration in a good environment and aquatic ecosystems.
Also, removing obsolete barriers will complement further other European obligations such as under the Water Framework Directive and the Nature Directives. Furthermore, the restoration of free-flowing rivers will contribute to improving the ecological status and the biological diversity of rivers, lakes and wetlands. However, it must be underlined that Europe’s rivers remain the most fragmented in the world , with a mean density of 0.74 barriers per kilometre!
We urge therefore all European institutions to protect and enhance our beautiful European free-flowing rivers which will not only have an effect on fish populations but also on many other environmental-related subjects.
More information
More information on the Living Rivers Europe Coalition
here Read the full Water handbook
here