PR: EUREAU demands a “blue” CAP on the World Water Day

 22-03-12 // Brussels. On the occasion of the World Water Day for “Water and Food Security”, EUREAU, the European Federation of National Associations of Water and Wastewater Services, highlights a narrow relationship between agricultural activities on the one hand and the water sector on the other.

For EUREAU and its 70.000 associated water suppliers, it is of a great concern the strong impact that agriculture activities can have on water quality and water quantity objectives. EUREAU welcomes the ongoing revision of the current Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). This revision opens a unique opportunity to address the discussions on the impact from agriculture on water.

EUREAU supports the greening measures specified in the CAP reform, however EUREAU asks as well for a “blueing” of the CAP. EUREAU urges the European Union to consider incentives for measures which are beneficial for water quality and quantity issues, especially regarding drinking water resources. EUREAU is of the opinion that the ecological focus area could be a very important replacement of the old set-a-side schemes if it is used in a wise way. These areas should be tradable which would reduce the costs for the farmers and it would tend to concentrate the areas along streams where farming often is less productive than on higher ground.

“For the European water utilities, the link between water and agriculture is clear”, states Carl-Emil Larsen, President of EUREAU. “Good quality water is a need for the agriculture sector, but the agricultural sector needs to make efforts as well taking care of water resources quality and quantity when farming. EUREAU believes that challenges like Climate Change should be as well address in the CAP Reform, as its impact in   water quality will have great consequences for the water sector and agricultural sector.”

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Notes to the editor:

• EUREAU is the European Federation of National Associations of Water and Wastewater Services. Our members provide sustainable water services to more than 400 million people in Europe. They reflect the full diversity of the European water services sector and represent public, private and mixed operators. As the focus point of a European water network, EUREAU represents a unique concentration of technical, scientific and managerial knowledge and practical experience in water services and is the voice of water and wastewater operators in Europe. www.eureau.org;
• EUREAU position paper on CAP Reform, adopted in December 2011;
• World Water Day website.