Water science reaching policy and industry
Water crisis is not something that finds place in the daily worries of Europeans. Such concerns come to sound more relevant for regions in Africa and Asia. Yet, water management is a pressing question for European researchers and policymakers in the last years. It turns out that water scarcity is a serious and growing threat even for Europe in the context of climate change. There is already a White Paper defining the measures which European countries need to take in order to adapt gradually to climate change. Apart from that, a number of directives, action plans and regulations exist to control European countries in relation to their water management. However, assessments of the current status of their implementation shows that less than 40% of water bodies will meet the Good Ecological Status in 2015. Despite the progressive generation of innovative solutions coming from EU-funded research in the field, very little of this is transferred to real life. Why is that?
Experts believe that, in order water technology innovations to become actual solutions to pressing water management issues, there should be greater coordination between the fields of policy, technology and industry. How can be the dialogue between these three domains facilitated is the topic of a discussion, which we will be live streaming today. If you want to learn more about the challenges which Europe faces in the field of water crisis, what are the leading-edge water technology innovations and how they can be employed effectively in the solving of present water management issues, then you should join us for the STEP-WISE and STREAM conference webcast at 11 CET. The discussion will take place at the European Parliament and you will be able to hear the opinions of MEPs, European Commission officials, national and regional politicians, researchers, industry representatives and other stakeholders.
If you want to engage yourself further with the topic of water management, we recommend you to visit the web portal for water knowledge created by WISE (Water Information System for Europe). It is a place where you can inform yourself about the political, scientific and industrial aspects of the field in an easy and fun way. The portal is also a very nice attempt for a communication strategy which aims at making complicated fields as science and EU legislation employable for everybody.