Water driven rural development in the Baltic Sea Region
WATERDRIVE
 
PROGRAMME 2014-2020
priority
2 Natural resources
objective
2.1 Clear waters

WATERDRIVE

The WATERDRIVE project helped local municipalities, farmers and advisories manage water in agricultural landscapes and suggested ways forward to national authorities on how to pursue a strategic water governance vision.
Project summary

Risks in water

The water and natural ecosystems in the Baltic Sea region are negatively affected by high nutrient loadings, eutrophication, drought and flooding. Targets for water quality set by national and international legislation such as the Water Framework Directive have not been met yet in many regions around the Baltic Sea. Local authorities lacked the capacity to reach these targets and at the same time to support competitive rural businesses. They needed knowledge of how to establish innovative cross-sectoral cooperation with farming communities, agricultural advisory services, and other water- and land managers on the topics of high ecosystem productivity, resource-efficient growth and risk management.

 

New tools for clearer waters needed

WATERDRIVE addressed the lack of innovative digital technologies and methods for “doing the right thing at the right place”. The project worked on adapting policies and financing for managing water on a landscape level, and introducing a capacity-building programme for smart water management in agricultural landscapes of the Baltic Sea region. The project combined the efforts to reduce nutrient loading with managing risks related to flooding and drought. These phenomena were increasingly difficult for food producers to cope with on their own. The project worked on methods to increase water availability in the agricultural landscape.

Budgets

WATERDRIVE
in numbers
  • 3.15
    Million
    Total
  • 2.13
    Million
    Erdf
  • 0.37
    Million
    Eni + Russia
  • 0.00
    Million
    Norway

Achievements

Local cross-sector joint action for solving complex water management and other sustainability challenges

The project explored a more holistic and integrated win-win approach to agriculture and the environment. The partners set up nine case areas to study multi-actor water management engagement based on focus group meetings between landowners, local municipalities, government agencies, advisory services, catchment officers and private companies. These case areas were: Kutno county in Poland, Zuvintas reserve and agriculture case area in Lithuania, Gurjevsk, Kaliningrad region and Ljuga River, Leningrad region in Russia, Jelgava in Latvia, Pöltsamaa in Estonia, Southern Finland drainage, Västervik in Sweden, and Odense in Denmark. The partners concluded that such local cross-sector joint action was an excellent method for solving complex issues concerning water management and other sustainability challenges in parallel. Of special interest was that Denmark, having implemented a tough general legislative control programme for water management in agricultural areas, was shifting to support voluntary local cross-sector joint action. Poland introduced the concept of local water management partnerships and water advisors. The partners highlighted that additional support to local cross-sector joint action was needed. They also stated that the operational mode of local cross-sector joint action needed to be adapted to each country and local conditions.

Agri-environment measures – multiple benefits

The partners identified solutions that combined benefits for water, climate, drought, food security and rural development: twelve different agri-environment measures, like buffer zones along waters, constructed wetlands or controlled drainage. The partners also checked how these measures were complementary to each other. The landscape perspective becomes key in water management as each measure may have a limited effect, but together they make a difference. Besides the effects on nutrient and water retention, many measures also have other eco-system benefits such as the increased potential for biodiversity on land and in waters, for example by the establishment of more surface waters. On the other hand, the same measure could have negative side-effects, for example, increased emissions of greenhouse gases.

Stronger integration of policies needed

The partners concluded that a strategic water governance vision at the systems level was lacking. Both on the national and Baltic Sea Region levels, such vision and dialogue were needed to integrate climate development and water policies with agricultural and rural policies. The partners suggested that governments initiated inter-ministerial commissions for water- and food security in a changing climate. There was also a need to re-think water management as part of adaptation to climate change. The partners suggested that governments identified sensitive climate- and water priority areas and develop and test innovative pilot projects as part of the National Strategic Plans on the Common Agricultural Policy.

Outputs

Holistic water management for landscape and field level action

The report presents the main finding that local cross-sector joint action is an excellent method for solving complex issues concerning water management and other sustainability challenges in parallel. It targets policy and decision-makers across the Baltic Sea dealing with water management, rural development and agriculture. It identifies five key areas: 1. Increased support to local cross-sector joint action 2. Policies for holistic water management solutions 3. Strengthened leadership 4. Attention to motivational factors – financing 5. Development of new support services.

National strategic pathways for sustainable water management in the agricultural landscape

The National Pathways are proposals for governments and actors to work with key processes and actions to strengthen water management. The Pathways have a systemic character and fill observed gaps in the present national governance structures. They were triggered by the observation of differences between countries and opportunities to act.

Catalogue of measures: agri-environmental measures around the Baltic Sea

This web-based catalogue includes agri-environmental measures covering various scales: field, field-to-stream, stream and the whole catchment. It is useful for local agricultural advisory services, designers and contractors of agricultural drainage systems, water advisors, and catchment officers. It provides information on the functionality and effectiveness of agri-environmental measures primarily for water and nutrient retention but also related to other aspects such as biodiversity, production and climate.

Project Stories

Partners

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

  • Town
    Uppsala
  • Region
    Uppsala län
  • Country
    Sweden
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
527,845.84
59.858612617.6387436

South Baltic Water District Authority/Kalmar County Administrative Board

  • Town
    Kalmar
  • Region
    Kalmar län
  • Country
    Sweden
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
90,500.00
56.662882616.3662382

Swedish Board of Agriculture

  • Town
    Jönköping
  • Region
    Jönköpings län
  • Country
    Sweden
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
98,250.00
57.782563414.165719

Västervik Municipality

  • Town
    Västervik
  • Region
    Kalmar län
  • Country
    Sweden
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
159,500.00
57.759418616.6385035

Baltic Environmental Forum Lithuania

  • Town
    Vilnius
  • Region
    Vilniaus apskritis
  • Country
    Lithuania
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
129,553.00
54.687045825.2829111

Natural Resources Institute Finland

  • Town
    Helsinki
  • Region
    Helsinki-Uusimaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
20,000.00
60.167488124.9427473

Finnish Environment Institute

  • Town
    Helsinki
  • Region
    Helsinki-Uusimaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
163,750.00
60.167488124.9427473

SUCCEEDED by PP23 (01.10.2020) ProAgria Southern Finland

  • Town
    Hämenlinna
  • Region
    Helsinki-Uusimaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
63,150.81
60.994858424.46654

Finnish Field Drainage Association

  • Town
    Helsinki
  • Region
    Helsinki-Uusimaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
103,500.00
60.167488124.9427473

Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre

  • Town
    Talllinn
  • Region
    Põhja-Eesti
  • Country
    Estonia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
184,000.00
59.437215524.7453688

Jelgava Local Municipality

  • Town
    Jelgava
  • Region
    Zemgale
  • Country
    Latvia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
90,500.00
56.64143723.7339107

Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies

  • Town
    Jelgava
  • Region
    Zemgale
  • Country
    Latvia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
145,000.00
56.64143723.7339107

Union Farmers' Parliament

  • Town
    Riga
  • Region
    Rīga
  • Country
    Latvia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
102,850.02
56.949397724.1051846

Agricultural Advisory Service in Brwinow

  • Town
    Brwinów
  • Region
    Radomski
  • Country
    Poland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
152,475.00
52.142555120.7170701

European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology

  • Town
    Lodz
  • Region
    Łódzki
  • Country
    Poland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
150,779.00
52.258470116.7440265

PhenoHorizon OLP SP. zO.O.

  • Town
    Lodz
  • Region
    Łódzki
  • Country
    Poland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
84,555.00
52.258470116.7440265

WITHDRAWAL (31/12/2020) Agency for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of the German Federal State Schleswig Holstein

  • Town
    Flintbek
  • Region
    Rendsburg-Eckernförde
  • Country
    Germany
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
90,609.16
54.243209210.0633244

L&F SEGES

  • Town
    Aarhus
  • Region
    Østjylland
  • Country
    Denmark
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
229,750.00
56.149627810.2134046

Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG)

  • Town
    Helsinki
  • Region
    Helsinki-Uusimaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
82,600.00
60.167488124.9427473

Northwest Research Institute of Agricultural Economics and Organisation (NWRIAEO)

  • Town
    Saint-Petersburg, Pushkin
  • Region
    Leningrad Oblast
  • Country
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
190,000.00
59.72225630.415731

Institute for Engineering and Environmental Problems in Agricultural Production – branch of Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM” (IEEP)

  • Town
    St. Petersburg
  • Region
    Leningrad Oblast
  • Country
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
150,000.00
59.91785735000000630.380619357025516

Administration of Guryevsk city district

  • Town
    Guryevsk
  • Region
    Kaliningrad Oblast
  • Country
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
98,988.51
54.774557120.6037041

Water Protection Association of the River Kokemäenjoki

  • Town
    Tampere
  • Region
    Pirkanmaa
  • Country
    Finland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
37,349.19
61.498021423.7603118