Sea of life

During Eco-fest, last weekend, a fountain depicting the world being juggled around by the force of water was unveiled. A monument that reminded me what a great influence this element has on our lives.

Water is an element that conditions our existence on this planet. In addition, a versatile element that provides means of food, entertainment and bridging between cultures. For countries such as Malta, the importance of water is engraved in the plight of survival. Due to the lack of mountains and rivers, we need to produce water for our use and as an island the sea is the first barrier we had to overcome to make contact with other lands.

Water - the transparent liquid that could be so kind and at the same time so harsh on human beings - conditions nations worldwide; the element that witnessed so many discoveries and at the same time was the theatre of so many tragedies.

The sea and water also provide nutrition to human kind. Not only does the sea bed supply us with the various kinds of food but it is also a crucial product for all other food kinds, being crops or meat.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the European Union gives great importance to the preservation of this element. Seas and oceans cover some 70 per cent of the earth's surface and these produce almost three quarters of the oxygen we breathe. We can use only one per cent of this water directly, however, and many forms of human activity put water resources under considerable pressure. Polluted water, whatever the source of the pollution, flows one way or another back into our natural surroundings - into the sea or water tables - from where it can have a harmful effect on human health and the environment.

One of the most important pieces of legislation in this area is the Water Framework Directive.

Early European water legislation goes back to 1975 laying standards for our rivers and lakes used for drinking water. This was followed up in 1980 with the setting of quality targets for our drinking water. It also included quality objective legislation on fish waters, shellfish waters, bathing waters and groundwater.

Water legislation was reviewed in 1988 during a ministerial meeting held in Frankfurt, Germany. During this seminar on water, ministers reviewed the existing legislation and identified a number of improvements that could be made and gaps that could be filled. This resulted in the second phase of water legislation; the first results of this taking concrete shape in 1991 with the adoption of various directives.

Water is a vital requirement for people; any strategy dealing with the reduction of poverty addresses the need for the equitable and sustainable management of water resources in the interests of society as a whole.

During the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, the EU launched a Water Initiative (EUWI), designed to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).WSSD deals with drinking water and sanitation, within the context of an integrated approach to water resources management. The EUWI is conceived as a catalyst and a foundation on which future action can be built to contribute to meeting the water and sanitation MDGs.

By 2015, the EU is committed to cut by 50 per cent the proportion of people unable to have access to or afford safe drinking water.

The commitment by the EU does not limit itself to legislative work. It also provides funding, through its life programme. Between 1992 and 2004, the LIFE programme co-funded almost 2,500 projects covering 40 countries and territories and made commitments of €1.3 billion towards the total estimated cost of the projects of €3.6 billion.

One such project, that involved Maltese partners, is known as the Remediation Of Agricultural Diffuse Nitrate Polluted Waters Though The Implementation Of A Permeable Reactive Barrier (NITRABAR).

The project commenced on December 1, 2005 and runs until March 31, 2009. It aims to demonstrate a technological solution based on a biological process that helps protect surface waters from diffuse nitrate contamination arising from agricultural practices.

Using readily-available material, such as organic waste and clay, the cost-effective system is expected to achieve a reduction of at least 85 per cent in nitrate contamination in water originating from agricultural land in the first six months of operation.

The international consortium of eight partners from four member states will seek to achieve a widespread dissemination of the obtained results across Europe.

The EU commitment towards water protection is leaving its mark not only in individual member states but also in tackling significant problems at European level. Nevertheless, it is still very important to keep our waters clean and increase our efforts to keep them clean. This is our challenge when it come to water protection; one of the great challenges of the EU. Let us seize the initiative to safeguard our future by protecting and preserving water; after all, it is for our own sake.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu