Working Paper : 0305


Authors Koundouri, P., Akinsete, E. and Tsani, S.
Title Socio-economic and policy implications of multi-stressed rivers: A European perspective
Abstract Recent policy developments have taken into account the simultaneous effect of many individual pressures on rivers. At the European level, several directives and measures have addressed this issue while aligning with the goals of sustainable water management. In particular, the need to assess the total economic value of water resources and the impact of the associated policies has been well understood. This chapter discusses the EU policies on water resource management and multiple stressors acting on the river basins, with emphasis on the design and implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and on its socio-economic and environmental dimensions. The chapter also discusses methodological approaches to assess the total economic value of water-related services and how to implement the ecosystem services approach to reach the WFD goals. Our analysis indicates that despite significant steps towards sustainable management of water resources in the EU and despite considering the impact of multiple stressors in river basins, it is still necessary to improve policy design and implementation. Appropriate supportive methodologies must be developed that consider the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of water policies.
Creation Date 2003-00-00
Keywords Policy, Water Framework Directive, EU, Ecosystem Services, Multiple Stressors, Sustainable Water Management, River Basin
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