In this context, the European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD), adopted in 2000, can be welcomed as a potential source of help. The overall objective here is to achieve "good water status" for all waters in Europe by 2015 through the integrated management of river basins. The major policy instruments here are the establishment of river basin districts (RBD) and the development of river basin management plans (RBMP).
All EU member states in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) have undertaken, with varying levels of success and intensity, to implement the WFD; the macro-process has also – as it was indeed designed to do - had an influence on non-EU member states in the area. Preliminary study of WFD implementation delivers the following findings:
The WFD demands a stronger integration between water management and spatial planning. This request is based on the fact that a lot of land-based activities cause water pollution. The introduction of the WFD into national legislation has thus far however not had a significant impact on the level of integration between water management and spatial planning.
The relationship between the RBMPs and spatial plans will be of great importance for the future integration of spatial planning and water management. The likely nature of this relationship will however become much clearer when RBMP drafting is completed in 2008.The mismatch between the geographical boundaries of the spatial planning units and the RBD, the difference in timing between the RBMPs and spatial plans and a general lack of resources, i.e. time and money may all however hamper the desired synergy between water management and spatial planning. In some countries, moreover, a number of the legislative elements designed to facilitate integration are still not in place. Notwithstanding this however, a number of joint instruments are under development to improve the situation.
One obvious link between spatial planning and water management is the existence of protection zones. In addition, Environmental Impact Assessment is an area where water management and spatial planning can expect further integration.
A further major challenge in respect of WFD implementation is however the demand for trans-national cooperation. This is of great importace in the BSR since all countries share at least one river basin with a neighbouring country. Here each national water management and spatial planning system should endevour to find ways to cooperate more effectively.
In general, WFD implementation appears to have initiated and intensified cooperation on water resources. International RBDs have been defined, agreements have been signed and commissions or working groups have been set up to deal with WFD issues. Without doubt however, further integration between the spatial planning and water management sectors is needed in order to achieve a "good" water status by 2015.
By Sigrid Hedin, previous Senior Research Fellow at Nordregio
A river basin is defined as:"'the area of land from which all surface run-off flows through a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes into the sea at a single river mouth, estuary or delta"
A river basin district is "the area of land and sea, made up of one or more neighbouring river basins together with their associated groundwater's and coastal waters, which is identified under Article 3(1) as the main unit for management of river basins".
TRABANT
TRABANT (Transnational River Basin Districts on the Eastern Side of the Baltic Sea Network) is an Interreg IIIB Baltic Sea Region project led by the Finnish Environment Institute. The INTERREG IIIB BSR programme´s specific feature is to promote joint solutions to joint problems through transnational co-operation and by funding projects that include an analysis of the economic, social, spatial and environmental potential of the BSR. The overall objective of the TRABANT project is to contribute to enhancing the 'good water status' of the Baltic Sea and its surroundings, while also supporting the wise management of waters in transnational river basin districts within this area. The project was launched in 2005 and has 13 partners in total. In the study The Water Framework Directive in the Baltic Sea Region Countries - vertical implementation, horizontal integration and transnational cooperation WFD application in Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation and Sweden, and its connection with spatial planning, have been further investigated.