The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published an analysis on the use of freshwater resources in Europe, highlighting ongoing challenges in water scarcity and resource management.
Context:
The EEA indicators assess current status and evolutions of phenomena over a period of time. The overall objective is to provide updated data to improve governance and environmental policy implementation.
The Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) provides a quarterly assessment of water consumption expressed as percentage of renewable freshwater resources.
Key Findings:
- Water scarcity affects 30% of EU territory and 34% of EU population on average.
- In Southern Europe, 30% of the population suffers permanent water stress and 70% suffers seasonal water stress.
- Climate change is expected to intensify seasonal water shortages and extreme drought events, making a reduction in water scarcity by 2030 unlikely.
Main pressure factors: agriculture, tourism, urban population density and climate change.
Three illustrative cases:
Cyprus: EU country most affected by seasonal water scarcity
Malta: EU country most affected by permanent water scarcity
Türkiye: EEA country most affected by seasonal water scarcity
Implications:
The EEA's findings emphasise the need for enhanced water management strategies across Europe. Despite reductions in water abstraction, the persistence and intensification of water scarcity conditions highlight the importance of sustainable water use practices and the protection of available water resources.
