Water Framework Directive in Latvia: transposition, implementation and constraints
Ilona Kirhensteine
Economist
Daugava River Basin Project
P.O.Box 49, LV-1076
Riga, Latvia
e-mail:
Summary
Latvia is one of the Baltic States with the area of 64 thousands km2 and population of 2,4 million inhabitants.
Latvia is an accession country, so the harmonization of national legislation with EU legislation is required in order to become a Member state. The deadline for the transposition of environmental legislation is year 2003.
Latvia has closed the environmental chapter in the negotiation process with European Union in the end of the previous year. All deadlines for transposition and implementation of various directives are set in the paper. However, the transposition and implementation process is ongoing for years. Water linked directives are in the process of transposition and partially in implementation phase through a number of water project financed by domestic and foreign sources (Phare, ISPA, loans, grants, state budget etc.). It concerns mainly Urban Waste Water Directive, Drinking water Directive, Nitrate Directive, Bathing Water directive, IPPC and others.
Water Framework Directive has been recently adopted and it is a conceptually new directive. A demonstrational project has been started in order to assess the possibilities and to facilitate implementation of the WFD in Latvia. Daugava River Basin has been chosen for this purposes due to its size (38% of total Latvian territory and more than 60% of whole population) and importance.
Latvian–Swedish Daugava River Basin Project is based on a specific agreement between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MERPD) of the Republic of Latvia and the Swedish Environmental Ministry through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The duration of the project is 2 years (2000-2002) and one of its objectives is elaboration of the Daugava River Basin Management Plan according to the EU legislation and especially new adopted Water Framework Directive. The strategy of the project is “learning – by – doing” and its task is not to make a perfect River Basin Management Plan but to try to go through all the steps of the Water Framework Directive and identify main issues and constraints in the process of its implementation in Latvia.
The first part of Daugava River Basin Management Plan has been elaborated (Description of the Characteristics of Daugava River Basin), the water bodies have been designated according to the proposed typology and program of measures is being drafted now. Active participation and involvement of the stakeholders is achieved as well in the process of elaborating of Daugava River Basin Management Plan. Main constraints for the implementation of the WFD are identified as well and proposals drafted to the Ministry and the State answering a question: what is necessary to do on the state level in order to start and implement WFD successfully.
The process of legal transposition is ongoing as well. There is a draft Law on Water Management already in the parliament of the Republic of Latvia, which is a transposed Water Framework Directive. It includes all main requirements and features of the original.
The situation is quite special because the project has been started almost a year before the WFD has been adopted and before the start of its legal transposition into national legislation. Now the processes are going parallel which allows to take into account the identified problems and to analyze proposed solutions.
Main part
Latvia is one of the Baltic States. It counts around 2,4 milj. inhabitants. The total area is 64 thousands km2. Riga is the capital city.
1. Location of the Republic of Latvia and Daugava River Basin catchment
Latvia is an accession country, so the national legislation has to be harmonized with EU legislation in order to become a Member state.
In the end of the previous year Latvia has closed the environmental chapter in the negotiation process with European Union. All deadlines for transposition and implementation of various directives are set in the paper. However, the transposition process is on -going for years. Water linked directives are in the process of transposition and partially in implementation phase – Urban Waste Water Directive, Drinking water Directive, IPPC and others. There are a lot of water projects financed by foreign and domestic sources – Phare, ISPA, loans, grants, state and local budgets.
Water Framework Directive is a conceptually new one and it has been adopted recently. A demonstrational project has been started in order to demonstrate its possible implementation in Latvia and identify constraints and problems.
Daugava River basin has been chosen for this purpose. It occupies more than 38% of Latvian territory. The river crosses Russia, Byelorussia and Latvia. Approximately 1,5 milj. Latvian inhabitants live in the Daugava River Basin, which is a little bit more than 60% of whole population of Latvia.
- Daugava River Basin in Latvia (Latvian part)
The duration of the Daugava River Basin project is 2 years – 2000-2002.
Latvian–Swedish Daugava River Basin Project based on a specific agreement between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MERPD) of the Republic of Latvia and the Swedish Environmental Ministry through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The NGO “Daugavas Fonds” and “Vattenresurs- Sverige AB”
The long-run objective of the project is to contribute the development of a modern Latvian water management system by elaboration of the Daugava River Basin Management Plan according to the EU legislation and by gaining knowledge and experience to be used in later in management of other river basins of Latvia.
The essence of the Daugava Project is learning by doing – a mix of training and practical work – in the process of elaboration of Daugava River Basin Management Plan according to the new Water Framework Directive with active involvement of different target groups.
Daugava Project tasks are:
to demonstrate the implementation of the EU- Water Linked Directives in Daugava River Basin
to facilitate Latvia in the EU-approximation within the water oriented environmental protection
to produce a long-term resource of trained water administrators
to demonstrate future co-operation within the Latvian water administration
The main outputs are:
River Basin Management Plan for Daugava River Basin according to the EU Water Framework Directive
Assessment of legal, economic and institutional implications to the implementation of EU WFD and other water linked directives in Latvia
Trained water administrators and educated target groups and stakeholders
Involvement of all interested parties in the elaboration of Daugava River Basin Management Plan.
The outputs already achieved are:
The first part of Daugava River Basin Management Plan has been elaborated (Description of the Characteristics of Daugava River Basin)
Water bodies are designated according to the proposed typology
Program of measures for Daugava River Basin is being drafted now
Active participation and involvement of the stakeholders is achieved in the process of elaborating of Daugava River Basin Management Plan.
Program of measures for the water body “Liela Jugla”
Main constraints for the implementation of the WFD are identified and proposals drafted to the Ministry and the State answering a question: what is necessary to do on the state level in order to start and implement WFD successfully.
Water Framework Directive is in the process of legal transposition into national legislation. There is a draft Law on Water Management already in the parliament of the Republic of Latvia for adoption. It includes all main requirements and features of the original.
In order to implement WFD successfully some questions have to be solved on the state level such as institutional system, methodology and legislation. Two basic blocks concern:
Information (existence and availability)
Methodology (methods)
Both these issues are pre-requisites for the implementation. Each of them consists of more specific questions what are more or less attributed to the whole Europe. Almost all countries are facing them.
The topic on information is very essential one – is there information existing for the river basin approach? Is it available? Maybe information exists, but it is sorted according to the administrative territories. This brings us to the necessity to create new informational systems and statistical forms to acquire that information what concerns, for example, different types of costs and effects of the different measures.
The second topic on the methodology is very important as well –it include long-term forecasting, cost-effectiveness analysis, calculation of environmental and resource costs, proportionate/disproportionate costs and others. All these methods have to be elaborated or adopted for the relevant country in order to ensure the common approach for the different river basins within the countries and to avoid the situation when each River Basin District is working with different methods.
So the elaboration (adoption) of the methods is necessary in order to make River Basin Management Plans for different basins comparable and to elaborate a common approach for the state.
Conclusions
- Latvia is an accession country and harmonization of the national legislation with the EU legislation is required.
- Environmental chapter for Latvia on the negotiations with the European Union has been closed in the end of the previous year. The deadline for the transposition of environmental legislation for Latvia is the year 2003.
- A demonstrational Latvian –Swedish Daugava River Basin Project has been started in 2000. One of its objectives is elaboration of the Daugava River Basin Management Plan according to the EU legislation and especially new adopted Water Framework Directive and assessment of legal, institutional and economic implications to the implementation of WFD in Latvia on the example of Daugava River Basin.
- Latvian draft Law on Water Management incorporates all main requirements of WFD and is in the parliament for the adoption.
- The transposition and implementation of EU water linked directives is ongoing for years.
- A lot of actions have to be undertaken in order to implement Water Framework Directive successfully in Latvia. Two basic blocks concern information (its existence and availability) and methodology. These questions have to be solved in order to ensure a common approach for all River Basins in the country.
List of references
- Daugava River Basin Project Plan
- Daugava River Basin Project working materials
- Draft Law on “Water Management”
- Latvijas Republikas sarunu pozīcija. 22.sadaļa:”Vides aizsardzība”
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