Assessing the European Water Stewardship Standard in the Context ...

List of Figures I
Table of Contents
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ III
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... III
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. IV
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
2 Research Question .............................................................................................................. 3
3 Theoretical Background..................................................................................................... 4
3.1 Water in Europe .............................................................................................................. 4
3.1.1 Water Availability ................................................................................................. 4
3.1.2 Water Quality ......................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Status of the Elbe River Basin ........................................................................................ 8
3.2.1 Pollution of Surface Water .................................................................................... 8
3.2.2 Pollution of Groundwater ...................................................................................... 9
3.3 The EU Water Framework Directive ............................................................................ 10
3.3.1 Incentives for Sustainable Water Management ................................................... 12
3.4 The EWS Standard ....................................................................................................... 13
3.4.1 Voluntary Certification Schemes ......................................................................... 13
3.4.2 Background and Aims of the EWS Standard ....................................................... 13
3.4.3 The EWS Standard Document ............................................................................. 14
4 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 16
4.1 Literature Analysis ........................................................................................................ 16
4.2 Case Study .................................................................................................................... 16
4.2.1 Selection of Pilot Farms ....................................................................................... 17
4.2.2 Course of Pilot Test ............................................................................................. 18
4.2.3 Applicability of the EWS Standard ..................................................................... 19
4.2.4 Acceptance of the EWS Standard ........................................................................ 21
5 Results ................................................................................................................................ 23
5.1 Literature Analysis ........................................................................................................ 23
5.1.1 The EWS Standard and the EU Water Framework Directive ............................. 23
5.2 Case Study .................................................................................................................... 27
5.2.1 Adjustment of the Case Study ............................................................................. 27