Over €11 trillion in water resources are at risk in Europe, compromising food security and sustainability, says new WWF report

The degradation of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other bodies of water poses a direct threat to the environment and the European population. A new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called "The High Cost of Cheap Water" reveals for the first time the value of this precious resource: over €11 trillion in the continent, or about 2.5 times the Gross Domestic Product of Germany.

"Europe has lost up to 90% of its floodplains in recent centuries, and 60% of its rivers, lakes, and other surface water bodies are not in good condition", states WWF in its press release. Biodiversity is greatly impacted by the phenomenon, with rising global temperatures and poor land use aggravating the situation.

"Despite having robust EU legislation to protect our waters for decades, poor implementation combined with overexploitation and Europe’s knee-jerk tendency to use concrete infrastructure to try to fix water-related problems, means our freshwater ecosystems are broken.", says Claire Baffert, Senior Water Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office.

The €11 trillion number stems from water consumption data from homes, farming, and industries (roughly €1 trillion per year) as well as benefits such as the purification of water, carbon storage, and protection against extreme weather (approximately €10 trillion per year).

WWF argues that "extracting unsustainable amounts of water, harmful subsidies, alterations to river flows, pollution, and climate change-related impacts are endangering freshwater ecosystems". Previous research by the organization shows that the continent has more than one million barriers in its rivers, making it the most broken river landscape on the planet.

The European Central Bank has highlighted the link between businesses and nature, as 75% of bank loans in the Eurozone are given to companies depending on at least one ecosystem, making environmental damage a risk to the economy.

For this reason, WWF calls for the immediate implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law, as well as "progress towards the Water Framework Directive and EU Biodiversity Strategy’s goals".

"Reversing the loss of freshwater ecosystems will pave the way to a more resilient, nature-positive, and sustainable future for all.", explains Stuart Orr, WWF Global Freshwater Lead.

Author: Marina Vanni