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Report COM(2002)407
The Implementation of Council Directive
91/676/EEC concerning the Protection of Waters against Pollution
caused by Nitrates from Agricultural Sources
Synthesis from year 2000 member States
reports
INTRODUCTION
Council Directive 91/676/EEC (hereafter referred
to as the Nitrates Directive) concerning the protection of
waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural
sources was adopted on 12 December 1991. A sister Directive
91/271/EEC (Urban Waste Water Treatment) was adopted on 21
May 1991.
Article 10 of the Nitrates Directive requires
that Member States submit a report to the Commission every
four years following its notification. This report should
include information pertaining to codes of good farm practice,
designated nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs), results of water
monitoring and a summary of relevant aspects of actions programmes
for vulnerable zones.
This report was prepared in order to provide
an overview of the current situation with regard to the directive
together with possible pathways for the future. It illustrates,
with some case studies, the positive effects of some farm
practices on the quality of water. However, it is emphasised
that there is a considerable time lag between improvements
at farm and soil level and a response in waterbody quality.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
A. General Context
B. State of implementation of the Directive
B.1. Overview of exhaustivity of reports.
B.2. Water Quality
B.2.1 Water monitoring networks
B.2.2 Results of water quality survey
B.2.3 Forecast of water quality evolution
B.3. Vulnerable zones designation and revision
B.4. Action Programmes Assessment
B.5. A preliminary assessment of the economics of Action
Programmes
C. THE ACTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
D. CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Although incomplete and lacking of coherence,
the water monitoring networks set up by Member States show
that more than 20% of EU groundwaters are facing excessive
nitrates concentrations, with a continuous increasing trend
in the most intensive areas of livestock breeding and fertiliser
consumption.
At least 30-40% of rivers and lakes show
eutrophication symptoms or bring high nitrogen fluxes to coastal
waters and seas. The agricultural origin of these N fluxes
accounts for 50 to 80% of total N inputs to EU waters,
depending on Member States, watersheds and annual variations
(Be, Dk, D, Fr, Irl reports to the EC, and EEA report n° 4
"nutrients in European ecosystems" - 1999).
Following a delay of 5 years or more by Member
States to fulfil their commitments for implementation of the
Directive and an effective reduction of N losses from agriculture
to water, a real improvement can be pointed out in the
sensibilisation of Member States during recent years.
All M. S. have now transposed the directive, set up a comprehensive
monitoring network, established a code of good practice, and
designated at least partially their vulnerable zones (except
Ireland). Indeed the effects of action programmes, often published
only in 1997-1999, will be significant only after some years
("tanker" effect of soil and groundwaters), but
success stories can already be noticed in regions where
intense field controls, including soil analysis, have accompanied
dissemination of good practice advice (e.g. in Denmark,
some German Länder, East of France, Algarve).
The gradual orientation of the Common Agricultural
Policy to take greater account of environmental issues contributes
to the purposes of the Nitrates directive. A CAP more oriented
towards quality rather than quantity, encouraging extensive
cropping or breeding, "buffer" natural areas and
accurate balanced fertilisation, can further contribute to
these purposes.
However, the failure of a proper application
of the "Nitrate" directive in some Member States
cannot be rectified only through CAP measures. Controlling
nitrate emission is still primarily the task of transposition
and implementation of the "Nitrate" Directive. Cost-efficiency
studies on preventive measures should also be encouraged,
in order to focus action programmes and practice changes towards
the most efficient one.
Besides financial support for a more environmental-friendly
agriculture and dissemination of knowledge, it is necessary
that all Member States arrive at a full implementation of
the Nitrate Directive, reinforce surveys and controls
at field level (including checking of fertilisation plans
and records, manure storage and handling, soil analysis, natural
buffer strips, etc.), and introduce dissuasive penalties
for the producers who do not ensure eco-compliance.
- The Nitrates Directive is now 10 years old, and Member
States have in the last 2 years shown a real willingness
to improve implementation. They realise that costs induced
by drinking water treatment for nitrates excess, or by eutrophication
damages in dams or coastal waters will still increase, and
that the investments dedicated to urban wastewater treatment
will be inefficient regarding nutrients if a parallel effort
is not devoted to an effective reduction of agricultural
nutrients losses. For this reason; the "nitrates"
Directive maintains its full topicality without any need
of short term revision, as pointed out by the European Parliament
in its resolution (A5-0386/2000), and recognised by the
new Water Framework Directive (WFD), which does not introduce
any change to its process or deadlines.
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus will certainly appear as priority
polluters in many E.U. watersheds, as promoting cyanophytes
(blue algae) problems in lakes and dams, macrophytes and
dinoflagellates impairing tourism or aquaculture in coastal
waters, etc. Efficiency of investment in preventive measures,
on agricultural pressures and practices, or on domestic
and industrial discharges, will have to be evaluated and
compared. Here also pilot applications and research are
urgently needed, as shown by the poor feed back on these
"forecast" and "cost-efficiency" items
of the Nitrates year 2000 reporting exercise.
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