Other forms of collaboration required to realise goals of the Water Framework Directive

STOWA, the Foundation for Applied Water Research, wants to draw lessons from the experiences with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands. The Foundation therefore commissioned research into opportunities to realise the goals of this Directive. The research is conducted by Utrecht University in collaboration with RIVM, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. Main conclusion: collaboration with other sectors including agriculture and spatial planning needs to be enhanced to realise the goals.

The introduction of the Water Framework Directive in 2000 has led to substantial changes in water quality management. Muck knowledge has been developed about measures to realise ecological goals for rivers, lakes, brooks, and coastal waters in the Netherlands. However, it appears challenging to translate this knowledge into concrete action. The measures that Regional Water Authorities and other stakeholders will implement will enhance water quality but will not be sufficient to realise all ecological goals in 2027. This is among other things due to the way in which stakeholders currently collaborate in water quality management.

The study was conducted by Susanne Wuijts (RIVM and affiliated with Utrecht University), Hens Runhaar, Marleen van Rijswick, Peter Driessen (Utrecht University).

More information is available in Dutch, because the report is also written in Dutch.