downtoearth-subscribe

Undertaking to oversee

  • 30/10/2003

Undertaking to oversee I t's not economic and political challenges alone that the eu countries plan to face together. They also intend putting up a united front against the growing threat of pollution. The European Commission recently adopted a proposal for a new directive to combat groundwater pollution. As per this, it would be mandatory for all member states to monitor and assess the quality of groundwater.

While stipulating common threshold levels for nitrates (50 milligrammes per litre) and pesticides (0.1 microgrammes per litre), the directive allows the countries to set their own national standards for chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and lead. The move aims to adhere to the commitment made under the Water Frameworks Directive ( wfd ), 2000, to safeguard the quality of European waters.

But organisations like the European Environmental Bureau, a Belgium-based federation of non-governmental organisations, and The Wildlife Trusts, a uk -based charity, have attacked the latest measure for bypassing the wfd approach of tackling pollution by hazardous chemicals through product controls and market bans. They also argue that it undermines the Groundwater Directive (1980), which requires member countries to prevent, and not just restrict, the entry of such chemicals as pesticides into groundwater. They allege that agricultural businesses are thus being granted the right to continue polluting groundwater resources up to the prescribed limit. The wfd , said to be more lenient, is to replace the Groundwater Directive in 2013.

Related Content