Water Framework Directive and Nature Conservation: Review of River Basin Management Planning in Germany

Abstract

By the end of 2009, programmes of measures and river basin management plans under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) had for the first time been set up for all 10 river basin districts inGermany. They provide the water management planning tools for achieving good status of surface and groundwater by 2015. Since a good ecological status for many water bodies cannot be attained by this deadline, the Directive provides for two supplementary planning cycles running to 2021 and 2027 respectively. Owing to its ecological approach, the WFD has much in common with nature conservation. The project “Water Framework Directive and Nature Conservation” sought to discover how the aims of the WFD and nature conservation are linked in the practice of river basin management planning and what possibilities there are for optimisation from a nature conservation point of view. On this basis, proposals were made for updating and implementing plans.

Keywords

• Water Framework Directive (WFD)
• Nature Conservation
• Natura 2000
• Ecological Network
• River Basin Management Plan
• Programme of Measures
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
• Floods Directive