European Network of Freshwater Research Organisations
EurAqua
The key objective of EurAqua is to substantially contribute to the development of European Freshwater Science and its use on a European scale, thus having a significant input on the development of the scientific basis of European water management and policy.
ID: 83801919273-01
Lobbying Activity
Response to European Water Resilience Strategy
4 Mar 2025
EurAqua a European Network of Freshwater Research Institutes welcomes the opportunity to respond to the open public consultation call for evidence for the European Water Resilience Strategy, an initiative to implement a strategy to strengthen Europes water security. The EurAqua network contributes to the scientific underpinning for evidence based decision-making and policy development for ecologically sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient management of Europes freshwater resources. EurAqua supports the overall ambition of the European Water Resilience Strategy to coordinate concerted integrated actions to protect both the quantity and quality of Europes freshwater resources under a changing climate and to promote sustainable and inclusive use of the resources without impacting the ecological values of the aquatic environment. This can only be achieved through integrating the water dimension into all EU policies to ensure that water sustainability is woven into the European policies, in and beyond the water sector, and consequently each EU policy should demonstrate how it contributes to the EU water resilience strategy by assessing the impact on water resources in terms of quantity, quality and accessibility. EurAqua underpins the statement that water resilience is a cornerstone of policy formulation and implementation, thus shifting the paradigm from treating water as an infinite resource to recognising its intrinsic value for humanity and the EUs ecological and socio-economic landscape. With respect to the call of evidence, we recommend the following topics and issues to be considered or emphasised in the European Water Resilience Strategy: To strengthen the implementation of source-to-sea approach and to promote transformative changes to restore hydrological cycles at river catchments. To promote integrated approaches and actions to tackle droughts and floods. Innovative governance for integrated flood and drought risk management should be considered To accelerate actions to implement solutions for inclusive sharing and environmentally sustainable management of water resources, especially under water scarcity conditions in transboundary settings. To better facilitate actions to upscale and mainstream nature-based solutions. To address complex and interconnected challenges of optimised management of agricultural water to protect freshwater bodies. To boost circular economy solutions to minimise the water footprint of industries and economic sectors, and to capture valuable resources for reuse in agriculture and other industries To accelerate actions to significantly reduce chemical pollution of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, groundwater and coastal waters. To promote water management actions for net zero. To better facilitate uptake of water innovations. To develop an EU Water Resilience Research and Innovation Agenda to boost actions and activities to enhance water resilience within Europe and beyond. More details and evidence you will find in the document attached.
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