The European Irrigation Association (EIA) welcomes the European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy (WRS) as a timely and necessary initiative. EIA supports the Strategy’s ambitions to enhance both quantity and quality of water resources, and to build a ‘Water-Smart’ economy based on the ‘Water Efficiency Principle’.
However, the Strategy overlooks a key enabler for sustainable water management across all sectors: modern and well-managed irrigation practices. Irrigation is not just about water use: it is central in shaping European sustainable landscapes and resilient societies and in supporting its economies and natural ecosystems. The limited recognition of irrigation risks undermining the EU’s ambitions in advancing water resilience, climate adaptation, and food security objectives.
To deliver on the Water Resilience Strategy’s ambitions, the European Commission must recognize irrigation as a fundamental component of water resilience. This means embedding it into strategic planning, funding frameworks, technical guidance and national implementation processes.
The European Irrigation Association stands ready to contribute to this effort by sharing expertise, identifying best practices, proposing efficiency indicators, and supporting the rollout of innovative irrigation solutions across the EU.
Key messages of the paper :
The position paper emphasizes that:
- Irrigation is essential to achieving the WRS’s ambitions, including the 10% water efficiency gain by 2030.
- The irrigation sector provides the tools, technologies, and practices necessary to build water resilience across Europe.
- The paper calls on the European Commission to collaborate with the irrigation sector to ensure the WRS is implemented effectively and inclusively.
The paper also builds on the work initiated through the Taxonomy Paper, reinforcing the coherence of EIA’s advocacy efforts. It should be seen as a preliminary step to position EIA as a credible interlocutor to the European Commission. For this reason, the messages conveyed are broad and strategic, aiming to open a constructive dialogue with EU policymakers.
It also advocates for:
- Clear efficiency benchmarks and certification schemes,
- Tailored regional strategies,
- Support for innovation and circular water use models.
Read more :
POSITION PAPER - Irrigation: the missing link in Europe’s Water Resilience Strategy - EIA
