As part of the FP7 MARS e-conference on the "Future of Water Management in Europe: Reviewing the WFD implementation", Josselin Rouillard presented an overview of key synergies and conflicts between EU policies in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). After presenting the variety of relevant EU policies, Josselin presented key results from the H2020 project Aquacross on policy integration in EU water polices and the challenges of mainstreaming water policy in sectoral policies. He then presented in more detail the outcomes of a survey of Rural Development Programmes and their contribution to supporting the objectives of the WFD.

It is over 15 years since the EU WFD was formally adopted. New pressures are recognised, including climate change and associated flood and drought risks, invasive species and a wide-range of emerging pollutants. At the same time new perspectives on environmental management have developed, including payment for ecosystem services, nature-based solutions and circular economies. Given these changes in pressures and policy landscapes, the MARS e-Conference aimed to gather scientific opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of current WFD implementation, innovation in monitoring and management and best practice in policy implementation. These opinions will be fed into the consultation process for the review of the WFD.

All presentations and videos from the MARS e-Conference are available online.