The European Commission is asking interested stakeholders to submit evidence on the costs and benefits of natural water retention measures

Call for evidence

The Commission is looking for information, studies and reports on:

• the costs and benefits of natural water retention measures
• the potential impact of climate change on the need, scope and scale of these measures

The results of the call for evidence will be included in a forthcoming study by DG Environment estimating the costs and benefits of natural water retention measures and assessing their potential for increasing resilience to climate change.

The study will cover natural water retention measures in rural and urban areas. This includes restoration of floodplains, natural flood defence measures, sustainable urban drainage systems, natural water retention in upstream parts of river basins by reforestation, wetland restoration or soil management, etc. The focus will be on projects of EU relevance, either for the potential EU financial aid to projects, or for the need for cross-border cooperation. Coastal protection measures are not within the scope of this call for evidence, as an inventory and assessment is ongoing under the OURCOAST initiative.

The study will also analyse the potential of EU policy and funding instruments to promote non-regret measures. It will be undertaken in close co-ordination with Working Group F (Floods Directive) and other studies launched in parallel by DG Environment to cover other aspects of green infrastructure strategy, analysis of ecosystem based adaptation approach, valuation of ecosystem services, etc.

How to contribute

Send your contribution in electronic format to the following e-mail address:

ENV-WATER-AND-ADAPTATION@ec.europa.eu

The contribution can be in any EU official language. Please add a short abstract in English.

Please indicate in your message your contact details. All submissions will be duly referenced and acknowledged. Please indicate any restriction to further diffusion of the information contained in the submissions.

Timeline

The call for evidence is open until 30/11/2010.

Background: Water and adaptation to climate change

The White Paper on adapting to climate change and its accompanying Impact assessment highlighted the important role ecosystems play in both climate regulation and in climate change adaptation. It suggested that "working with nature’s capacity to absorb or control impacts in urban and rural areas can be a more efficient way of adapting than simply focusing on physical infrastructure.” Resilient water ecosystems, as part of the EU’s green infrastructure, could play a crucial role in adaptation by, for example, improving the soil’s water storage capacity, and conserving water in natural systems to alleviate the effect of droughts and to prevent floods, soil erosion and desertification.

Natural water retention measures can be undertaken in rural and urban areas. They consist of the restoration or rehabilitation of water courses, floodplains and wetlands, as well as increasing soil water retention and groundwater recharge. The objective is to slow down or reduce the flow of water downstream leading to a more natural flow regime within a catchment.

Benefits and Costs

Although primarily designed to regulate the water cycle, these measures will be a key contribution to EU green infrastructure by improving connectivity between existing nature areas and enhancing landscape permeability. In addition, the areas benefiting from these measures will be often multifunctional, allowing farming, forestry, recreation and ecosystems conservation to operate together in the same space. They can also provide additional benefits including water depollution and purification, cleaner air and reduced temperatures in urban areas, energy efficiency in buildings or water treatment, climate change mitigation (reduced energy demands and carbon sequestration by vegetation), increased property values, and impacts on job creation and innovation.

On the costs side, particular attention needs to be paid to the opportunity costs linked to the land-use requirements of the measure. These costs can be translated either into land acquisition, or into compensations/service payments. A proper knowledge of the cost savings in hard infrastructure for flood protection and water supply will also be needed. It is increasingly recognised that attempts to control rivers through hard engineering alone may be counterproductive, and that natural water retention measures may offer the best return in terms of societal benefits from flood control and other ecosystem services such as food or material production, water quality regulation, biodiversity protection, and recreation. Most strategies and projects for water management, disaster prevention and climate change adaptation mix both approaches, but a better understanding of costs and benefits is needed.

Natural water retention measures are already being implemented or planned in various EU river basins. However, the potential impacts of climate change or of other man-made pressures may trigger the need for implementing these measures in other locations, or to modify the scope or the intensity of these measures.