Water Issues

85 million (10%) people living in the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region do not have access to improved sanitation and over 41 million (5%) still lack access to a safe drinking-water supply. Access to safe water has been recognised as a basic human right and yet, the WHO estimates that 13 500 children under 14 years of age die every year due to poor water conditions.
The entry into force of the first legally binding international agreement in the fight against water-related (...)

The Gender and Water Resource Guide has been developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to assist practitioners in mainstreaming gender within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
IWRM is a cross-sectoral policy approach to respond to the growing demands for water in the context of finite water supplies. It is based on the recognition of the inderdependence of the many different water users in a social, environmental and economic context, while (...)

According to UN estimates, 2.6 billion people (42% of the world population) lack access to even basic sanitation facilities. Each year, 1.8 million people die from diarrhoeal diseases, mostly in developing countries.
The annual World Water Day, 22 March, marks a permanent effort to promote access to safe drinking-water and sanitation throughout the world. The 2005 World Water Day coincides with the launch of the UN International Decade for Action "Water for Life 2005-2015".
The Decade is (...)

The European Commission has adopted a proposal to allocate 1 billion EUR from the reserves of the European Development Fund (EDF) to improve access to water and sanitation for people in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
This contributes towards deliver the Milenium Development Goal to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
1.1 billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people do not have (...)

The European Union agreed on Monday 22nd of March to set up a special Water Facility to permit access to clean water and sanitation for ACP countries.
This agreement, reached on World Water Day, was based on the Commission initiative to boost the delivery of water and sanitation infrastructure in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP countries), launched on 2003.
The Water Facility focuses on governance, ownership and access to flexible sources of funding.
The EU Water Initiative (...)

WWF has issued a report by which it denounces a failing EU water policy caused by the overconsumption, pollution and a general lack of political will to manage finite water resources.
To read the report, please click here.
WWF press release.

EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has withdrawn its approval for a potentially harmful and widely-used herbicide atrazine.
This herbicide is produced by Syngenta, a Swiss agrochemicals group.
The 45 year-old herbicide, used to kill weeds around crops, has been implicated by authorities in incidents of ground water contamination, prompting recent bans on its use in several European countries including France.
Exposure to excessive amounts of atrazine can potentially (...)

The European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive to protect groundwater from pollution on 22 September.
The proposed Directive will decisively improve the quality of Europe’s groundwater.
It introduces monitoring requirements and quality objectives, obliging Member States to monitor and assess groundwater quality and to identify and reverse trends in groundwater pollution.
Commission press release.
Further information on water (...)

The EP voted on 4 September in the plenary session for a non-binding resolution on water management and the creation of a European Water fund.
The report was prepared by Paul Lannoye (Greens/EFA, Belgium).
The process
By letter of 12 March 2002, the Commission forwarded to Parliament a communication on water management in developing countries and priorities for EU development cooperation (COM(2002) 132 - 2002/2179(COS)).
At the sitting of 2 September 2002 the President of Parliament (...)

The European Commission adopted a plan on 23 April 2003 for creating an EU Water Fund worth one billion euros.
The Fund is designed to help developing countries provide clean water for their citizens and help reach a key international development goal.
Water paper
Water letter