By 2015, all water in the EU should be of good or high quality. Plans have been developed on how to reach these goals. The Water Framework Directive gave all interested parties the right to influence the future management of waters. Water is life!
By 2015, all rivers, lakes and coasts in the EU must achieve ‘good ecological status’, according to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). European citizens have a key role to play in the implementation of the WFD. The directive calls for the public to be informed and involved in the preparation of river basin management plans, which identify measures to improve water quality. Public input helps Member States to balance environmental, economic and social priorities in these plans.
It was important to receive your comments!
Public participation extends to all water users, to non-governmental organisations, such as local and national environmental groups, and to other stakeholders. Key organisations and citizens’ groups likely to be affected by the plan need to be involved.
To ensure that the public consultation process is as transparent as possible, the ICPDR developed a “Response Paper”, which summarises all comments received and provides information on how the comments have been tackled.
The Danube River Basin Plan will be one of the key elements of ICPDR Ministerial Meeting in Vienna on 16 February 2010. It will furthermore be the basis for the management of the Danube and its tributaries.
Thank you to all stakeholder for their valuable inputs and comments.