PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
EU Member States are currently implementing the 3rd iteration of the River Basin Management Plan (RBMPs), as part of achieving the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive. According to the assessment of the second RBMP cycle, only 52% of surface water bodies and 74% of coastal water bodies are in good status in Estonia.
Pollution from agriculture alongside hazardous substances (i.e. mercury, pBDE) from atmospheric deposition and historical accumulation in sediments are the main pressures on the quality of surface water bodies in Estonia. Land improvement as well as damming and water abstraction also affect the achievement of good status of water bodies.
The Western-Estonian River Basin District (W-E RBD) is the largest of the 3 Estonian river basin districts. Achieving and maintaining good water status is the aim of the West-Estonian River Basin Management Plan 2022-2027 (W-E RBMP), but a preliminary assessment shows there has been limited improvement so far. The W-E RBD covers more than 60% of the country’s territory, approximately 45 256 km2. As the challenges it faces are representative to all of Estonia, the management system and best practice tools for typical water management challenges for the W-E RBD are relevant across the country. Out of 404 surface water bodies in the W-E RBD, 173 are failing to achieve good status. Chemical status is monitored and assessed only on 15% of the riverine water bodies. 42% of 22 water bodies are considered to be in a bad status. Out of 14 coastal water bodies, only 2 have achieved good ecological status and all of them are in bad chemical status.
The urgency of reinventing both the river basin governance system as well as boosting the uptake of novel methods and decision support solutions for improved river basin management has therefore been confirmed.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE SIP WetEST project aims to protect and improve the ecological status of surface waters and groundwaters in the W-E RBD while improving sustainable water use and supporting the mitigation of drought and flood hazards. It will support the full implementation of the 3rd RBMP (2022-2027) for the W-E RBD and upscale the state-of-the-art practices for the upcoming 4th management cycle.
The specific objectives of the project are to:
- address the key barriers hindering the implementation of the RBMP
- deliver system change in policy and raise administrative, digital and legislative capacity
- align policies and methodologies, enable collaborative governance and create alliances for improved mechanisms and incentives
- establish cross-sectoral alliances both for political support as well as routine management
- raise funding and coordinate the efficient use of complementary resources
- validate novel solutions that have proven successful in water management in other EU countries
- use a Living Lab approach to actively engage farmers, fostering collaboration and knowledge transfer for sustainable water management practices
- develop best practice solutions for various management challenges
- engage and commit quadruple helix stakeholders (science, policy, industry and society) in river basin management and increase support and participation
- reduce uncertainty and investigate the challenges of future water management
RESULTS
The expected results of the LIFE SIP WetEST are:
- achievement of a governance shift with a reinvented and rooted multilevel River Basin Management Plan governance system
- improvement in status of waterbodies in the W-E RB with 70% of surface water bodies and 75% of groundwater bodies in good status
- improvement of the ecological status of about 800km of riverine ecosystems
- reduction of the area with soil quality issues by 1 100 km² (from 4 400 km² to 3 300 km²)
- reduction of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) emissions to air and water from 1 000 kg/year to 500 kg/year
- creation of business models for algae and mussel farming
- creation of economically viable models in agriculture and amelioration (land improvement)
- improvement of the status of Lake Harku in Tallinn
- creation of conditions that will allow a decrease of the internal loads of pollutants within the sediment of Haapsalu Bay