According to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), all water bodies in the European Union should reach 'good status' by 2015. The WFD is one of the first environmental policy directives of the European Community that explicitly draws on economic considerations for achieving its ambitious objectives. By the end of 2004, an economic analysis of the importance of water uses has to be completed for each river basin district. This article summarises the present implementation status of the economic analysis in Germany and other European Member States and outlines challenges ahead for the reporting deadline 2004.

The authors draw the conclusion that the potential inherent in the economic analysis has not been fully exploited yet. A number of aspects deserve further attention after the reporting deadline of 2004 in order to ensure an effective implementation of the WFD. This includes:

•     improving the current database;
•     further developing trend scenarios and their use as decision support tool;
•     integrating environmental and resource costs in the assessment of the level of cost recovery.

Furthermore, the authors argue that the federal-based administration of the German water sector influences the effective implementation of the economic analysis.

The authors conclude that the benefits of the economic aspects of the WFD after 2004 should move more to the centre of the WFD implementation strategy, as they have the potential to further an integrated, efficient and sustainable water management approach in Germany.

The entire article can be downloaded from GBI.