On the occasion of a conference on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in North-Rhine Westphalia, Nicole Kranz presented experiences and strategies for public participation in water management in the context of the RhineNet project. Water management experts from different authorities and academia met on 17 and 18 January 2006 in Gelsenkirchen to discuss their approach towards the further implementation process of the WFD and to thus continue the exchange of experience commenced at previous events. The conference thus provided an important contribution to more transparency and an active involvement of the informed public in implementing the WFD in North-Rhine Westphalia.

The printed edition of the handbook "Learning together to manage together – improving participation in water management" was published in January 2006. Ecologic actively contributed to the development of the handbook, which is one of the main outputs of the European project Harmonising Collaborative Planning (HarmoniCOP).

Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control was adopted in September 1996 and had to be transposed by EU Member States by 30 October 1999. In June 2003 the European Commission launched a consultation process on the possible future development of the Directive during which some stakeholders advocated certain technical changes such as the clarification of certain provisions that are currently perceived as unclear or the extension of the scope of the Directive in terms of industrial activities covered. The purpose of this project is to gather data on and conduct an analysis of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of such possible technical change.

On 8 December 2005 the German Associaton for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) organised an expert meeting entitled "25 years of practical experience with Waste Water Charges". Presentations and discussions centered on whether to abolish, keep or modify the Waste Water Charge. Ecologic Policy Advisor Peter Kessler spoke on "Waste water charges and the Water Framework Directive – What does the Directive require?". He argued that an abolishment without substition of the Waste Water Charge would violate the principle of cost recovery (environmental costs) of Art. 9 of the Directive.

The protection and management of water resources at the river basin scale is gaining in importance world-wide. Only through careful and sustainable management can the current water problems be addressed, particularly in developing countries. The Nile River with its ten riparian states is like no other basin faced with specific challenges in terms of reaching integrated water resource management. On invitation of the German Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (gtz) and the German Ministry for Development and Co-operation, experts and decision-makers from the Nile riparian states visited several German and European water management institutions on 23 November 2005 and came together with Ecologic staff to exchange thoughts and ideas on experiences with the water management challenge in Europe and Africa.

Since the Kyoto Protocol came into force, the U.S. has been effectively pushed onto the sidelines in the area of international climate change politics. In fact, U.S. initiatives so far have by and large been limited to bilateral and regional partnerships to combat climate change through technological innovation. Interestingly, activities at the regional, state, and local levels indicate considerable potential within the American political framework, to develop policies at the subnational level that respond to the challenge of climate change. Senior Researchers, Markus Knigge and Camilla Bausch, published a discussion paper which identifies subnational activities and analyses their impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and policymaking at the federal level. The discussion paper is available for download.

<img alt="lee lane" hspace="2" src="downloads/dinner_dialogue/2005/lee_lane_II_80_80.jpg" align="right" vspace="2" border="0" />US energy and climate policy was the topic of the Transatlantic Climate Dinner in honor of Lee Lane, Executive Director of the Climate Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The event participants discussed the possibility of and need for an effective US climate policy, in light of the developments at the sub-national, federal and international levels. This Transatlantic Climate Dinner took place on 14 December 2005 in Berlin.

On occasion of the capacity-building workshop on Integrated Water Resources Management, R. Andreas Kraemer spoke to participants from several Maghreb countries about the management of flood and drought events. After contrasting the specific situations in Europe and Northern Africa and outlining the differences, but also common challenges, he went on to discuss structural and non-structural measures to prevent negative effects from floods and droughts in both regions.

In her contribution at the international capacity-building workshop on Integrated Water Resources Management Nicole Kranz discussed the experiences with participative water management in the Rhine basin and outlined possible inspirations to be derived for water management in Northern Africa.

During an international capacity-building workshop for participants from Central and Eastern Europe which was convened from 29 September to 1 October 2005, Nicole Kranz discussed the application of a valuation of ecosystem services for the implementation of the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Debates and discussions are still taking place on the aims of the European Commission as regards the strengthening of competition in the water sector. The question is: What would the consequences be for the German water and wastewater sector, if water provision was to be increasingly subjected to competition, public procurement and internal market rules?