Sharing LIFE experience in water management

More than 150 delegates attended the European Commission’s LIFE Environment water conference, "Water for life – LIFE for Water" , which took place in Brussels on the 15 October 2009, providing a successful platform for transferring experience in EU water management.

The conference specifically disseminated results of LIFE projects and illustrated how the EU LIFE programme supports the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Good practices and experiences from 12 different LIFE water-related projects targeting water scarcity, river engineering, eutrophication and the recently adopted Marine Strategy were presented and discussed.

Issues addressed by these projects included: integrated water management at the river basin level; the application of almond trees in protecting soil; the role of water engineering in river restoration; floodplain restoration; integrated management of coastal areas; the assessment of pollution risks from wastewater discharges in coastal areas; and reducing pollution in surface and groundwater through good agricultural practices.

The conference was also addressed by senior personnel from the European Commission, including Mr. Gustaaf Borchardt, Director of the Water, Chemicals and Biotechnology Directorate, Mrs Soledad Blanco, Director of the International affairs Directorate, and Mr Hervé Martin, Head of the LIFE Environment and Eco-Innovation Unit.

Other speakers included Dr Anna-Stiina Heiskanen, Research Manager at the Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE, who highlighted gaps in policy and policy implementation and defined important actions and projects that aim to achieve WFD targets in relation to eutrophication, and Mr Phillip Weller, Executive Secretary of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), who stressed the importance of adopting integrated planning processes in order to improve hydromorphological management.

Closing the conference, Mrs Soledad Blanco, Director of International Affairs (DG Environment, European Commission), commented the excellent contributions of the participants. She noted the strong interest in and benefit of such opportunities for the exchange of experiences and good practices and acknowledged that further initiatives in this area would be a priority for the future. “The goal,” she insisted, “is that dissemination efforts become more effective so that good practices can be replicated around Europe.”

Watch a video extract of the final speech From Mrs Soledad Blanco, Director of International Affairs (DG Environment, European Commission)

See the conference website for further information about the event’s background information and programme.

Presentations of the conference will be published next week on the LIFE website.