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1.3 Summary of the roles of economics in the Water Framework Directive
Most environmental effects are the consequence of economic activity and in order to minimise these effects we need to understand more about the links between business (and household) activity and the water environment. The Directive has a flexible objective setting approach that recognises the important contribution that existing (and future) activity makes to the economic wellbeing of the people of Europe. A greater understanding of the potential economic choices and their consequences is an essential part of the implementation of the Directive.
If a body of water is found to be unlikely to achieve good status by 2015 it will be necessary to make decisions on the best actions to take to achieve the desired status. This report presents a picture of the extent of our current knowledge on the interactions between businesses (and households) and the water environment in the Solway Tweed. The evidence from this report will be built upon to enable us to rank potential measures in terms of their efficiency and to interpret how they would act in combination. This will inform the selection of the most cost-effective combination of measures that allows the development of businesses and also minimises any negative impact on the water environment. It is the intention to maintain an open, transparent and accessible approach and in this way to maximise the sustainable development of the Solway Tweed district.
The Directive does recognise that it may not be possible for all water bodies to achieve ‘good status’ by 2015 for a number of reasons. These include:
- remediation measures not being technically possible;
- suggested measures being too costly for the benefits achieved;
- measures not being able to deliver in time; and
- any combination of these.
In these cases the Directive provides the option of delaying the achievement of good status until 2021 or even 2027. If this is still not attainable it may be possible to set a lower objective. If a lower objective is being set we will present a clear case for doing so and this may include presentation of technical, economic and social arguments used to inform this decision.
Although good status is akin to a natural condition the Directive does make allowances for water bodies that have been heavily modified (by human activities) and those that are wholly artificial.
The evidence used in making judgements about the appropriate objectives for water bodies will include economic considerations and the information provided here and in the Solway Tweed RBD report will be taken into consideration alongside scientific and regulatory considerations, such as those presented in the environmental characterisation reports1. This evidence will be collected to provide the fullest information available in order to make the most effective and appropriate decisions.
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