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INBO Newsletter n° 21 - April 2013
4
The 6
th
World Water Forum
European Regional Process
This Process involved the Pan-Euro-
pean region as defined in the UN Com-
mission for Europe, i.e. the European
Union and candidate and associated
countries, the Balkans, Eastern Europe,
Caucasus and the Russian Federation.
The five Central Asian countries, mem-
bers of the UNECE, also participated in
the concerned target groups.
Strong involvement
of European Commissioners
and Ministers:
Four European Commissioners,
Connie Hedegaard,
Climate Action,
Andris Piebalgs,
Development,
Janez Potocnik,
Environment, and
Kristalina Géorgieva,
International
Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and
Crisis Response, as well as the Director
General of the Joint Research Center,
Dominique Ristori,
actively participa-
ted in the European sessions on their
field of activity.
Several Ministers in charge of water
in the EU Member States and Candidate
Countries, in the Caucasus and the
Russian Federation have been active
in the sessions of the European
Process, as well as European Parlia-
ment Members.
Conclusions and proposals
of the European region:
Work was concluded by four round
tables organized around the reports of
the twelve European official sessions
on:
l
Management of European
basins:
to ensure cooperation and
peace, promote economic deve-
lopment, prevent risks, achieve
good status of Water Bodies and
adapt to climate change;
l
Multiple water uses:
for econo-
mic development and health of
Europeans - urban and rural water,
agricultural water, industrial water,
hydropower, inland navigation,
fisheries and fish farming, domes-
tic tourism ....;
l
A new green and blue growth:
to protect and restore aquatic eco-
systems and develop natural infra-
structure;
l
Strengthened European coope-
ration with the neighboring
pan-European countries and
with the entire World:
for better
water management.
It was reminded in particular that many
European countries have developed
institutional and financial tools and effi-
cient techniques for water manage-
ment, both at the level of the general
hydrologic cycle and of community uti-
lities, especially municipal manage-
ment of drinking water supply and sani-
tation utilities, or control of individual
uses.
At the Pan-European continental level,
the UNECE Water Convention,
called
Helsinki Convention for transboundary
water management, has been applied
since 1992.
In the European Union, many
Directives have organized water
management since 2000, in
particular
the Water Frame-
work Directive (WFD) and
its "Daughter” or associated
"Groundwater", "Floods",
"Marine Waters" Directives ,
setting ambitious goals and
strict procedures and deadlines
for the Member States.
Strong development
and interactivity:
To support the European process and to
open it to the greatest number of parti-
cipants, a dedicated website was crea-
ted to disseminate information and
gather opinions and suggestions from
everyone.
This site has received over
480.000
visitors
since its opening in March
2011.
All papers presented in the European
sessions of the Forum and photographs
are published there in particular.
Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner
Europe Synthesis session on 16 March 2012
