Reviewing Policy in BeWater

Background

The policy review constitutes a policy background for the BeWater project for each of the four Mediterranean river basins; one of which is in North Africa. We began first with an EU policy review, which quite detailed, and presented a contribution to the ongoing European dialogue on climate change adaptation with an initial focus on the water policy sector while incorporating the energy, agriculture and the environment policy sectors. Evaluating individual policy sectors only, especially for broad issues such as climate, does not reflect the reality of present climate policy. It is more relevant to evaluate multiple policy sectors in order to understand the impacts of the complexity of climate change and this underlines the need for an understanding of the inter-linkages, overlaps and inconsistencies between sector policies when, and if, they address the issues of climate and climate change.

European Level

Inconsistencies arise, for example, between EU level Water and Energy Policy sectors, especially when taking into consideration the Energy Sector. One study implemented by the energy-business sector¹ shows that while the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to create good conditions for water bodies, the strict standards it requires will seriously hinder the use and expansion of hydropower. As the power industry endures general technical and financial burdens, the new environmental requirements will be too costly to fully implement, especially for smaller businesses. According to the study, achieving such a good level of water quality is of secondary importance compared to the importance of power generation and any further tightening of the WFD standards should be avoided, since the objective of clear water resources would require a tremendous financial investment.

In terms of the Adaptation process and involvement of stakeholders and society, the issue of participation is key. In a number of the policies reviewed, the EU obliges Member States to implicate the public in the implementation process of it policies, but it does not provide guidelines or clear indications on how or to what extent this this is expected to be achieved. This interpretation is left to authorities in the Member State, but often these authorities are unfamiliar or inexperienced with the subject². This can lead to authorities promoting only the minimum required by the directives - such as focusing only on dissemination practices, providing information or at most a minor consultation. Involving the public becomes even more challenging with integrated water management on river basins, as called for in the WFD, or in the multi-sectoral approach, since both would involve authorities and stakeholders who have their own very important agendas which essentially overlay the same space. The same results are valid not just for the water sector- the EU's energy policy sector is faced with the same challenges and has been criticized for a weak public involvement by the European Commission in the process of achieving Europe's energy goals for the programme "20% renewable energy by 2020³" and the social involvement of the EU's Biofuel Policy⁴.

There appear to be two priorities for the EU in their policy response to climate change. One is for the EU to meet its already proclaimed targets and obligations both at the EU level and at the international level. The other priority is to build a future strategy and supporting legislation for the EU to reduce the impacts of climate change on the security, economic health and well-being of its constituents. The achievement of the targets is easier to conceptualize, but for a future strategy, there is clearly a need for a more consolidated approach across policy sectors, since climatic impacts will fall across sectors.

Policy Review River Basin Level

One of the objectives of the BeWater project was to extend the policy review exercise down to the river basin level. A guidance note was drafted, based on the process implemented for the EU level policy review, to orient a similar multi-sector review in for the Case Study River Basins of the BeWater project. Discussions with Partners on how to implement a review at this level began in mid-2014, including consultations and suggestions from Case Study River Basin Partners on how to refine the guidance note and also for the production of a Policy Watch Template to accompany the guidance note. The template distils the guidance note into 5 key points of action as shown in the table.

 
Summary

The future of Policy Review in the BeWater project has 2 objectives:
1. Identify the policy landscape for each river basin in which BeWater can work.
2. Develop a tool to facilitate stakeholders in implementing a policy review.

The Policy Review carried out in BeWater contributed to an article published in a special issue of REVOLVE Magazine on Water & Energy Around the Mediterranean.

References

1. G Schiller, The EU Water Framework Directive and its Possible Effects on Hydropower (VGB PowerTech Journal 6/2004)

2. Hophmayer-Tokich,(2008), S. Public Participation under the EU Water Framework Directive – processes and possible outcomes. The Netherlands: University of Twente, (2008)

3. Watts, A. (2012, May 19). EU violates Aarhus Convention in '20% renewable energy by 2020' program

4. Kaphengst, Wunder, Timeus (Ecologic Institute, 2012) The Social Dimension of EU Biofuel Policy, Ecologic Briefs