The European Water Framework Directive: A Framework?

Abstract

The European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy—in short, WFD) is probably the most ambitious and complex of all European environmental regulations. In Spain, and in some other countries, the idea has spread that the WFD involves a radical change of perspective and will obsolete the previous regulations about water. In my opinion, this mystification of the WFD is profoundly naive and reveals a lack of knowledge of history and an insufficient perspective on the global problem. In some sectors the WFD has generated a mirage and collective illusion, from which it must awaken if it wishes to advance, in an effective, non-rhetorical way, towards real improvements of the existing situation.