Water assessments 2012
European water resources: current status and future challenges
2012 was the European year of water. A series of policy reviews, namely the first review of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the review of the water scarcity and drought policy and the review of the climate change adaptation and vulnerability policy with respect to water, led to the publication of the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources by the Commission in November 2012.
To support this policy process, the European Environment Agency presented throughout the year 2012 a series of reports to assess the state of Europe’s waters and future challenges. These reports buildup on each other and provide different levels of details on critical aspects such as resource efficiency and water economics, the status of ecology, hydromorphology, vulnerability and biodiversity. All together these reports helped to build a comprehensive knowledge-base to assist policy-makers in preserving and improving the European waters.
The structure below shows how the information builds up on each other. The respective figures and graphs can be reviewed under each of the reports accessible via the links below the graphic.
Thematic assessments (EEA reports)
- European waters in the context of vulnerability
- European waters current status and future challenges - a synthesis
Reports of the European Topic Centre (ETC reports)
The European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine waters (ETC/ICM) and the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation (ETC/CCA) have published the following thematic assessments on the Water Framework Directive (WFD):
- Ecological and chemical status and pressures in European waters - ETC/ICM Technical Report 1/2012
- Hydromorphological alterations and pressures in European rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters - ETC/ICM Technical Report 2/2012
- Vulnerability to Water Scarcity and Drought in Europe - ETC/ICM Technical Report 3/2012
- Floods – vulnerability, risks and management - ETC CCA/ICM Joint Technical Paper 2/2012
Other related EEA reports in 2012
- Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe
- Territorial cohesion and water management in Europe
- Greening the CAP paper
- Climate change, impacts and vulnerabilities indicator report
- Balancing the future of Europe's coasts — knowledge base for integrated management
- 2012 Bathing water report
- Hazardous substances in Europe's fresh and marine waters — An overview
For references, please go to www.eea.europa.eu/soer or scan the QR code.
This briefing is part of the EEA's report The European Environment - State and Outlook 2015. The EEA is an official agency of the EU, tasked with providing information on Europe’s environment.
PDF generated on 03 Mar 2015, 12:21 AM