**2. Approaches to water and pollution management**

194 Studies on Water Management Issues

attached to soil particles (Simon & Makarewicz, 2009). In addition to nutrients, pesticides and heavy metals are also frequent pollutants originating from agriculture. It is reported that only 0.1% of pesticides applied to fields actually reaches the target out of 500 different used pesticides, while the rest enters the environment and contaminate soil, water and air (Arias-Estevez et al., 2008). The reason for inefficient application of pesticides and the resulting high emissions to the environment is inappropriate use of pesticides, including the use of unsuitable equipment for pesticide application, preventive use of the pesticide instead of obeying application programmes according to the crop growth, and application before the rainfall (Appleyard & Schmoll, 2006). Pollution of water bodies with pesticides usually coincides with nitrate and bacteria pollution. Further on, there is little information available about the fate, the behaviour, and the potential effects of xenobiotics in the environment (Žegura et al., 2009). Nevertheless, both water and soil pollution has to be considered holistically, including the synergistic effects of pollutants; namely, in most cases of pollution with non-degradable or slowly degradable pollutants, such as heavy metals and xenobiotics, sediments are the final recipient of these substances that consequently accumulate there. A problem arises when toxic substances re-enter the biological mass flows

and integrate into food chains, which may represent hazard to numerous organisms.

sustainable agriculture.

The human perception of non-limited water and soil resources and the assumption that the environment can assimilate the wastes that we produce from using these resources, leads to a linear flow of resources and waste that are not reconnected. The linear attitude that regards resources and wastes must be therefore changed towards a circular one, advancing towards to a recycling society. The concept of ecological sanitation therefore provides a "recycle" philosophy of dealing with what in the past has been regarded as waste and wastewater (Werner et al., 2000). The incentives for wastewater reuse/recycling are becoming ever stronger with increasing pressures on drinking water supplies. As a reaction, water reclamation, recycling and reuse are now recognized worldwide as the key constituent of the efficient management of water resources. An increasing number of novel systems integrating decentralized treatment approaches, source separation and nutrient recycling have evolved in recent years (Jenssen et al., 2009). With such an approach we can minimize water pollution while ensuring rational water consumption and its reuse for irrigation, groundwater recharge or even direct reuse to the benefit of agriculture (Werner et al., 2000,). Recycling by the recovery of phosphorous from waste products and the efficient use of phosphatic mineral fertiliser and manure in agriculture are the major opportunities of increasing its life expectancy. As Vinnerås (2002) said, 80-90% of plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in wastewater are present in the toilet waste and if these nutrients are reclaimed by safe methods, they can be applied locally as fertilizer in

An important aspect in water consumption and reuse as well as in pollution of natural water bodies is also management of stormwater. Stormwater runoff generates as a result of precipitation on impervious surfaces, from where it flushes different pollutants. It also presents a hydraulic load for the receiving water body causing erosion and floods. Stormwater is characterized by containing relatively low, but not insignificant pollutant concentrations. This characteristic of stormwater creates difficulties in treatment of runoff water because rather low pollutant levels in large volumes of water need to be reduced to yet lower concentrations. However, in the short period of first flush event high concentrations of pollutants can occur. In order to protect natural water bodies against pollution and Sources of data for this chapter are EC official web page (www.ec.europa.eu) and European Environment Agency web page (www.eea.europa.eu).

The EU legislation and international agreements have extensively addressed the pollution of aquatic ecosystems in the last three decades, to mention in particular the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), the Nitrates Directive (Directive 91/676/EEC) and IPPC Directive (96/61/EC), the Bathing Waters Directive (76/160/EEC & 2006/7/EC) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC). Data for this chapter are taken from the EC official web page (ec.uropa.eu).

The main requirements of the Water Framework Directive are to reach good ecological and chemical status of all inland, transitional and coastal waters by 2015. All pollutants and their associated anthropogenic activities must be addressed on river basin scale to ensure that good status is attained and maintained. Moreover, the WFD requires the removal or substantial reductions in the discharge of hazardous substances to water bodies. The adoption of the WFD has renewed debate on how the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy can contribute to achieving the goal of "good status" for all water bodies. Since 2000, a shift of the policy from a strictly production-oriented system towards a tool to support sustainable development has occurred (Agenda 2000).

Agri-environmental measures (AEM) have been a significant move towards achieving a good status for all water bodies, in particular with regard to nutrient losses. In the context of ecosystem technologies (ET) and ecoremediations (ERM), the AEM are the most effective legislative tool, which was first introduced into EU agricultural policy during the late 1980s. Since 1992, the application of agri-environment programmes has been compulsory for Member States in the framework of their rural development plans, whereas they remain optional for farmers.

The commitments included in national/regional agri-environmental schemes are:


Ecosystem Technologies and Ecoremediation for Water Protection, Treatment and Reuse 197

be utilised and further improved, are their high buffer and self-protective capacity as well as the provision of habitat diversity. Moreover, these systems have the remediation ability,

Ecosystem technologies or ecoremediations by definition comprise methods of protection and restoration of the environment through natural ecosystem processes. The establishment of ET provides sustainable solutions that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, pollution reduction, enable nutrient recycling and reuse of material and can be applied in protected and sensitive areas. The functions of ET are based on aquatic, waterside, wetland as well as terrestrial ecosystems' characteristics, such as high water retention capacity, flood prevention, biodiversity as well as specific physical, chemical and biological processes for

Most ET designs have its origin in the treatment wetlands (TW), ponds, and river restoration where, along with hydraulic, physical, chemical and microbiological processes, phytoremedation also plays an important role. The possibility of applying phytoremediation has become well recognized and integrated in ET development. Yet, the decision on a particular phytoremediation method depends not only on the type of pollutant and the polluted medium, but also on the objectives to be achieved, i.e. reduction, stabilization,

By applying the ET, a local community or even a small society can play a significant role. Namely, the application of ecological sanitation has shown for the importance of a design of sustainable wastewater treatment systems as a "household-centred approach" that seeks to resolve environmental sanitation problems at the minimum practicable size (Schertenleib, 2001). In the context of our contemporary environment, it is important to bring sustainability to local communities or to a household level. The life style of local communities is an important factor in pollution quantity and quality and is aggravated by trans-boundary air, water and soil pollution. Pollution originating from local communities should be treated with the use of ET. ET should be seen as prophylactic and therapeutic measures to overcome local environmental problems. They include alleviation and adaptation of local communities at a time when climate change system and global changes affect common life in local communities. They could represent an innovative approach towards nature, space and environment protection based upon system thinking or, in other words, a holistic approach involving technologies aimed at regional and local community levels. Macro remediation includes region-specific complex problem solving as exemplified by integrated river basin management, coastal region management, management of water resources but encompassing also techniques for specific remediation of damaged local habitats, remediation of pollution hot spots, such as landfill sites, polluted waters, soils, etc., which strictly speaking should be regarded as micro remediation measures or local problem solving techniques. As said, from a spatial perspective one can distinguish between macro and micro remediation, while in the context of complex problem solving, one can also distinguish between social, natural and technical measures differentiating from integrated management to single techniques aimed, for instance, at wastewater treatment by means of

Although some concern still exists regarding the "technical" completeness of ET, its application is consistently enforced in practice as well as among the environmentally aware society. The ecosystem technologies are most useful in the remediation of persistent

sequestration, assimilation, detoxification, mineralization and decomposition.

TW, river restoration or co-natural reclamation of landfills, etc.

provide for a high level of biodiversity and higher stability of ecosystems.

the reduction of diverse pollutants.

The AEM are implemented at the national, regional or local levels so that they can be adapted to particular farming systems and specific environmental conditions. Therefore, the agri-environment measures are a targeted tool for achieving environmental goals. The AEM are co-financed by Member States. For the period 2007-2013, the EU expenditure on AEM amounts to nearly 20 billion EUR or 22 % of the expenditure for rural development.

In Slovenia agricultural policy started to apply the first measures to support the environment-friendly ways of production in 1999 and after the adoption of the Slovenian agri-environmental programme in 2001. After joining the EU in 2004, the support under agri-environmental programme became part of the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Slovenia. The area included in the implementation of AEM has been strongly increased after 1999 and in 2008 covered 323,043 ha (gross), or 247,420 ha (net). The share of area with one or several AEM (net) in the period 1999-2008 has increased from 0.6 % to 50.2 % of all utilised agricultural area.

However, only with adequate water monitoring can the potential impact of mitigation measures under the Water Framework Directive, Nitrate Directive, and AEM is assessed (Iital et al., 2008). Although some national studies regarding the impact of policy on pollutants concentration in waters already exist (Erisman et al., 2001) and some of them has been performed recently (Herzog et al., 2008), there is no international data base that compares the dynamic of implementation of national legislations concerning water quality and the level of water pollution deriving from agriculture in different countries.

In 2009, the European Commission introduced the White Paper on adapting to climate change, presenting the framework for measures and policies to reduce the European Union's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The White Paper underlines the need "to promote strategies which increase the resilience to climate change of health, property and the productive functions of land, inter alia by improving the management of water resources and ecosystems." Within this framework, Water Directors of EU Member States adopted in December 2009 a guidance document on adaptation to climate change in water management to ensure that the River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) are climate-proofed.

In spite of all these endeavours, the European Environment Agency indicated in its Environment State and Outlook Report 2010 that the attainment of EU water policy objectives is far from certain due to a number of old and emerging challenges. Therefore, the EU policy response to these challenges will be the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water, aiming to ensure good quality water in sufficient quantities for all legitimate uses. The time horizon of the Blueprint is 2020 since it is closely related to the EU 2020 Strategy and, in particular, to planned Resource Efficiency Roadmap. The Blueprint will be the water milestone on the Roadmap. However, the groundwork supporting the Blueprint will take longer and will drive the EU policy until at least 2050.
