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OS5f Governance of water quality

abstract 549

The EU Water Framework Directive implementation in the Iberian context

Author(s): Rodrigo Maia

Keyword(s):

Article:

Poster:

Session: OS5f Governance of water quality

AbstractTransboundary Rivers are of main importance in Europe where

they represent more than 60% of the territory. This importance is of main relevance for the Iberian Peninsula

countries (Portugal and Spain) sharing five rivers: Minho, Lima, Douro, Tejo and Guadiana. These five river basins

cover and area of 268 500 km2 of which 21% belong to Portugal and represent 65% of the Portuguese territory.

Moreover, it should be pointed out that about 95% of this area corresponds to the Douro, Tejo and Guadiana river

basins.

Since the 18th Century, Portugal and Spain, have been celebrating several Treaties and Conventions,

having in mind the establishment of common water management coordination. In 1998, the Convention on

Cooperation for Portuguese-Spanish River Basins Protection and Sustainable Use, usually referenced as the

Albufeira Convention, was approved and defined the current framework of bilateral cooperation, also solving the

1964 and 1968 active Conventions mutually recognised limitations.

The 1998 Convention established the basis

for a basin-based water management and a decision-making process, that were confirmed to be in compliance with

the Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements, approved later in 2000. In particular, River (sub-) Basin

Management Plans should be defined and discussed, one per country. In fact, the two countries have later decided

that the CADC (Commission for Convention Appliance and Development), created by the Convention, should be

not only the driving force for the Convention appliance but also the most adequate structure for a common and

cooperative WFD Iberian implementation process (Maia, 2003). In accordance with that, CADC was in due time

indicated to the EU as the competent authority for all the shared river basins interrelated bilateral issues, surely a

singular situation in shared rivers’ water management current policy. Nevertheless, last years’ experience distinctly

demonstrated that Portugal and Spain still need to carry out a strong internal and bilateral effort, namely in

institutional terms, to adequate their water policy to WFD aimed goals and scheduled plan of actions.

In fact,

some important interrelated bilateral water issues are still on the agenda of the countries, urging the development and

intensification of bilateral cooperation, namely on: (i) the coordination of extreme hydrological situations (floods and

droughts); (ii) the establishment of minimum and environmental flow regimes; (iii) the quality control of bordering

inflows, affecting the Portuguese river stretches as well as, in the Guadiana river, the common estuary zone; (iv) the

development of environmental interdependency awareness and measures, namely by fostering bilateral Stakeholders

involvement; and also (v) the implementation of the necessary institutional adequacy.

The specific effects and

changes that the WFD implementation already originated in both countries will be presented. Moreover, a special

emphasis will be given to the medium and long term influence of WFD at two levels: (i) the national level, with a

special emphasis on the Portuguese Case; and (ii) the Iberian level, aiming to identify and suggest bilateral

approaches and necessary steps for integration of diverse multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary

expertise.

References

Maia, R., 2003. Iberian Peninsula’s Shared Rivers Harmonization of Use: A

Portuguese Perspective. “Water Management in the Iberian Peninsula”, IWRA, Water International, September

2003, Vol. 28 (3), pp 389-397.

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The EU Water Framework Directive implementation in the Iberian context