Catchment News

The South Western RBD is a largely rural area with many high quality waters and protected sites that depend on water. Its mix of fertile valleys and mountainous landscapes host agricultural and forestry activities and its spectacular coastline, surfing beaches and remote beauty spots attract many tourists. Water is critical to the economy of the South Western RBD, generating and sustaining wealth through activities such as agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, power generation, industry, services, transport and tourism. However, water is a fragile resource that needs to be protected.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adopted in 2000. It requires governments to take a new approach to managing all their waters: rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs, groundwaters, protected areas (including wetlands and other water-dependent ecosystems), estuaries (transitional) and coastal waters. Member states must ensure that their waters achieve at least good status, generally by 2027 at the latest, and that status doesn’t deteriorate in any waters. To achieve good status and preserve the best waters, it is necessary to prepare and implement management plans for those waters.

This plan is for South Western RBD. It covers the period 2009–2015 and has been prepared in consultation with all stakeholders. It sets out the measures to be taken by all stakeholders and the tools to prioritise the application of available resources to those measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of the Directive.