Organiser: Green Dossier
Format: online
Floods, droughts, wildfires, pollution, and inefficient management of water resources pose threats to human life and food security, harm economies, and disrupt transport networks. Therefore, water resilience is considered a matter of EU security and crisis preparedness. And this is especially relevant right now due to the increasing consequences of the global climate crisis, which by 2030 will lead to a significant shortage of water resources in the world (it is expected that demand will exceed available reserves by 40%).
The European Commission has published its new EU Water Resilience Strategy.
The Commission proposes to restore and protect the natural water cycle as the foundation of sustainable water supply, develop a framework program for the “sponge function” to retain water in landscapes, and utilize the full potential of ecosystems to store, purify, release, and restore water on land and at sea, based on a “source-to-sea” approach.
The strategy also involves revisiting policies for managing reservoirs and other hydraulic structures, reusing water, developing standards for sustainable water use, integrating water use indicators into all sustainability assessment schemes in the EU economy, and accounting for the water footprint of products in the EU Ecolabel and eco-design regulations. How does this concern Ukrainian farmers working today in conditions of the war and drought?
During the discussion dedicated to water issues in the agricultural sector, experts will address the following questions:
Global water supply issues and ways to overcome them in Europe.
The “sponge function” of landscapes from source to sea – what does it mean?
Water use indicators as part of sustainability assessment in the economy, the water footprint of products in eco-design systems and labeling – how will it work?
How will Ukrainian agricultural and environmental structures, now united under one ministry, jointly care for water resources?
Do Ukraine’s strategic documents, plans, and the daily practices of Ukrainian farmers align with new European standards?
We invite representatives of agribusiness, exporters, analysts, NGOs, and everyone interested in Ukraine’s integration into the EU and water resilience issues in the agricultural sector to join an open online discussion.