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Water for life – LIFE for water
A Conference of the LIFE Programme

A.1 Adaptation to climate change – how can intelligent water resource management help fight water scarcity?

Water is the essence of life. Nevertheless, most of the earth's water is neither accessible nor fit for drinking. Those resources which are accessible are under increasing pressure as a result of growing demand and/or improper management. Water is a critical factor in development and thus, its scarcity – which is increasing due to changing climatic conditions - is expected to lead to conflicts. This requires action to promote sustainable management and protection of freshwater resources.

The EU believes that “there are many untapped opportunities to save water and encourage reuse and sustainable management of water resources in view of the increasing scarcity and recurrent droughts expected in Southern Europe as a consequence of climate change.” In this context, and recognising the universal importance of water, the EU has put in place several directives aimed at protecting water and guaranteeing its conservation for future generations. Principal among these are the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Directive.

This session will explore individual and collective approaches to water management in industrial, agricultural and municipal contexts (e.g. limiting consumption, reducing losses, reuse, etc.), as well as governance/collaboration issues relating to sustainable water use, especially in the context of limited water resources and the negative impacts of climate change. It will also identify appropriate policy developments.

The LIFE projects to be presented will share their experience in developing innovative approaches to:

• Sustainable water resources management
• Managing water shortages or threats to the availability of freshwater resources
• Dealing with soil and river bank erosion and desertification Presentations will focus on the application of both traditional and more advanced technologies, integrated solutions which could be replicated elsewhere, and demonstrating methods that put into practice the principles of the WFD.

This session will:

• Draw lessons from project experiences, and disseminate innovative approaches related to sustainable water use and governance issues
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and networking for enhancing project achievements and identifying possible issues for future projects
• Identify results that are of interest for EU policy on sustainable water management (with a focus on quantity) and adaptation to the adverse impacts possibly of climate change.

Aim of the session

To identify LIFE project best practices on intelligent water use and their relevance to EU policy on sustainable water management.

Objectives

• Highlight outstanding achievements (approaches, techniques, governance/ collaboration issues) in the area of water saving and sustainable water use that can be transferred elsewhere;
• Demonstrate how water resources management at the river basin level can help mitigate possible negative impacts of climate change;
• Provide new direction for both policy making and project preparation, by identifying priority actions to achieve sustainable water use and management;
• Assess the potential and the mechanisms for linking the WFD with climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.

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