Nov. 5, 2002 -- A strategy which charts a future for water over the next 20 years was published recently by the U.K. Defra Water Minister Elliot Morley. The aim is to produce an integrated strategy for water, pulling together policies for all its uses, natural, domestic and industrial.
Examples of how better policy integration will deliver benefits are:
* better integration with agriculture will enable action to be taken to reduce diffuse river and coastal pollution which remains a serious problem, preventing toxic algal blooms from excess manure and fertilisers;
* better water management can benefit flood storage, acquifer recharge, low flow water demand as well as biodiversity, allowing a much wider variety of plant, bird and other wildlife to flourish in rivers and wetlands such as the heron and fen orchid;
* water also benefits tourism and recreation, such as swimming and boating, but leisure activities also have impacts which need to be managed. It can also act as a catalyst for regeneration schemes including for run-down inner cities; and
* the need to ensure EU regulation on water takes better account of the impacts on farming, and also that EU decisions on CAP reform take full account of the need for farming to meet higher EU standards on water quality.
The three pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and the environment - are at the core of this policy document. It also stresses that water and the water environment cannot be taken for granted but needs to be nurtured.
The successful £1.5 bn a year clean up of the water environment over the last decade is emphasised in the paper, along with the tri-regulatory framework which has worked well. But the future involves more than the water industry - the wider environment has to be taken into account in the future
In publishing "Directing the Flow - Priorities for Future Water Policy," Water Minister Elliot Morley said:
"We can be proud of these successes. But there remains a good deal more to do. In particular, as the document stresses, we intend to do more to integrate water policies much better with other polices. The creation of Defra has enabled the integration of water with other policy areas - biodiversity, agriculture, rural recreation, fisheries and flood management - to deliver benefits both now and in the long term. "
The document also identifies several challenges which need to be addressed, such as:
* the growing pressures on water resources, especially in the South East of England, from housing development and agricultural demand. This means we will need to pay more attention to conserving water, especially the use we make of it in the home and in agriculture;
* climate change may lead over the longer term to more shortages of water from hotter summers, and more extreme weather events such as flooding, leading to more run off of polluted water; and
* the need for the UK water industry and other UK expertise to play a full part in the achievement of the international targets for improving access to clean water and adequate sanitation in developing countries.
The document stresses the importance of stability in the regulatory structure for the water industry. If we are expecting the necessary benefits to continue, there must be clarity and confidence about what is required and expected.
Defra is the United Kingdom government department which deals with food, air, land, water and people. For more information, visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/.
