Sustainability of European Irrigated Agriculture under Water Framework Directive and Agenda 2000

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF EUROPEAN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
Note that the Directive defines costs as economic costs, which are the costs to society as a
whole, as opposed to financial costs, which are the costs to particular economic agents.
In general terms, according to the Wateco Guide, at present the highest priority should be
given to developing the following aspects of the economic topics:
- General framework for undertaking economic analysis at basin or sub-basin level
- List of economic and environmental indicators and approach to make them
operational
- Specific methods for assessing financial cost and across-sector subsidies and
multiple functional infrastructure cost sharing.
- Specific methods for assessing environmental and resource cost
- Practical examples and illustration
- Governance and participatory conflict resolution approaches.
8. CONCLUSIONS
This chapter has introduced the relationships between WFD and agricultural economics, as a
good example of the increasing influence of environmental norms in all industrial sectors and
generally speaking in all dimensions of economic activity.
The review of WFD shows the urgent need for applied economic analysis and some of the
knowledge is required in the field of decision models, and indicators integration. This is the
field where the present book tries to make a contribution.
9. ANNEX:MAIN NORMS PRECEDING WFD
The legal acts.
In the following section the most relevant directives that are part of EU Water policy are
described in more detail. These directives have a direct influence on water management and
have influence on agricultural water use.
Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous
substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community. Amended by: Council
Directive 90/656/EEC of 4 December 1990; Council Directive 91/692/EEC of 23 December
1991.
This directive intends to reduce emissions of certain substances discharged by industry to the
aquatic environment. These substances have in common that they are toxic, persistent and
bio-accumulated.
This Framework Directive leaves it to the discretion of the Member States either to choose
Emissions Limit Values or to lay down Environmental Quality Standards to reach this aim.
Besides the United Kingdom all Member States have chosen the Emission Limit Value’s
approach. Emission Limit Values should have been agreed for every single substance, our of a
list of 129-among those some substances used as pesticides. Until the year 2000 Emission
Limit Values have been laid down for only 18 substances. Although they had to develop 129
Emission Limit Values, Member States and EU-Commission did not succeed in complying
with the demands of this Directive to set out more Emission Limit Values.
36