EUROPEAN UNION environment ministers were in Lisbon over the weekend for informal talks on the problems of drought and water shortages in Europe.
However, despite a series of meetings, the group of 26 ministers, bar the Greek environment minister who was held up in Greece over the forest fire crisis, failed to move forward with a concerted EU policy proposal to deal with drought.
The European Community Fund, a platform of emergency funds aimed at helping member states in situations of catastrophe, should, it is being debated, be used to help cover the losses resulting from the droughts. And this was the opinion being argued by many members of the European Union environment ministers in Lisbon on Friday and Saturday.
“At the moment the rules governing the application of these funds means they cannot be easily applied to drought situations. It is easy to help the victims of floods but not droughts,” said the Portuguese Environment Minister, who added that drought was often a slow and long drawn out process, the damage of which was often difficult to detect until months or even years after a protracted lack of rainfall.
However, ministers did conclude that water scarcity and drought are problems with socio-economic and environmental impacts and, although these phenomena are not new, their intensity and frequency in Europe have become worse in recent years.
That is why the Environmental Council of June 2006 some member states requested European action on water scarcity and droughts.
Over the weekend, environment ministers discussed the adoption of a common approach to drought risk assessment and management since they are of common concern to all member states and are natural hazards in the same way that floods are.
Drought management plans should include cross-border coordination, public participation and warning systems and should be developed at European Union, member state, river basin district and local level.
Beyond the direct impact of drought, the ministers also discussed the problem of forest fires in Southern Europe and solidarity was shown to those member states such as Greece who have been affected by recent forest fires and with the relatives and families of those who lost their lives.
Given the informal nature of the series of meetings, policy decisions will be left until the end of October.
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