The challenges facing European society with the approach of the year 2000 A comprehensive regional/spatial planning framework for protecting and managing freshwater resources European regional planning, No. 60 The challenges facing European society with the approach of the year 2000 A comprehensive regional/spatial planning framework for protecting and managing freshwater resources Technical report submitted to the 11th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT) Limassol (Cyprus), 16-17 October 1997 Resolution adopted by the European Ministers responsible for Regional Planning European regional planning, No. 60 Council of Europe Publishing French edition: Les défis pour la société européenne à l'aube de l'an 2000: protection et gestion des ressources en eau douce dans un cadre global d'aménagement du territoire ISBN 92-871- The challenges facing European society with the approach of the year 2000: strategies for the sustainable development of European states in the Mediterranean basin, No. 59 ISBN 92-871-3227-5 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Sustainable regional planning: the challenges for greater Europe.................................... 1. General principles............................................................................................................... 2. Co-ordination strategies and co-operation at European level ........................................... 3. Public participation in different regional/spatial planning procedures in the European context................................................................................... II. Regional planning forecasting for sustainable development.............................................. 1. The regional/spatial planning of greater Europe in co-operation with the countries of central and eastern Europe............................................................... 2. Strategies for sustainable development of the northern states of Europe ......................... 3. Forecasting for sustainable development in the states of the Mediterranean basin................................................................................................. III. Rational management of freshwater resources as part of a Europe-wide policy of sustainable development ......................................................................................... 1. Water, a strategic concern for Europe................................................................................ 2. Strategies for the sustainable management of freshwater resources in major European regions ................................................................................................ 2.1. The states of Northern Europe.................................................................................... 2.2. The Rhine basin .......................................................................................................... 2.3. The alpine region ........................................................................................................ 2.4. The states of the Mediterranean basin........................................................................ 2.5. The islands.................................................................................................................. 3. National strategies for integrating sustainable freshwater management into regional planning policies: ......................................................................................... 3.1. Agriculture.................................................................................................................. 3.2. Industry ....................................................................................................................... 3.3. Domestic consumption ............................................................................................... 4. European strategies of regional/spatial planning concerning sustainable protection of freshwater resources.................................................................. 4.1. Policies for the development and integrated management of large international water basins: the Danube basin............................................................. 4.2. Transfrontier co-operation in the event of flooding of rivers or critical water levels which cross several states...................................................... IV. Resolution No. 2 on strategies to be implemented within a comprehensive regional/spatial planning framework for protecting and managing freshwater resources................................................................................................................ I. SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL PLANNING: THE CHALLENGES FOR GREATER EUROPE 1. General principles The last decade of the 20th century trends to be proven a period of historic significance for greater Europe. A process of change of profound dimensions is still very much in progress, transforming the entire continent of Europe. Europe is moving to the beginning of a new millennium conscious of the magnitude of these changes, concentrating its efforts on implementing the most ambitions vision and the hopes of all its peoples. European organisations, and in particular the Council of Europe and the European Union, national governments, politicians at different levels of decision-making, institutions and other agencies, professionals and academics along with the citizens of Europe are trying to fully comprehend the enormous opportunities opening-up, to respond in a systematic way to the major challenges of our times, to make choices and decisions which are bound to reshape Europe beyond recognition and set the foundations for the future development of Europe and its role in an international context. Europeans are facing the greatest challenge ever: how to use the extensive experience accumulated and the groundwork laid until now with efficiency, wisdom, vision, courage and conviction in order to build a new humane Europe which will guarantee peace, equity and prosperity for all its peoples. Since the historic socio-political changes in central and eastern Europe in 1989 and the beginning of a new period for the European Union after the Maastricht Treaty, Europe as a whole is striving through numerous initiatives and programmes to achieve a new balance which will enable and promote the harmonious, sustainable future development of all its territory and peoples. The new European set-up and the need to establish a dynamic future role for Europe in the international competition impose the need for quantitative and qualitative modifications of the spatial structure of the European space, with specific consideration on the environmental integrity and the efficiency of infrastructure networks. Sustainability of all development is the most persisting demand of our times. It is in fact an extremely far-reaching notion, as it may be extended to incorporate the right of every European citizen to enjoy the basic human rights. Peace, justice, equity, welfare, quality of living conditions, socio-political tolerance and mutual respect for each other's differences and a concern for our common European and global environment are simultaneously the ingredients and the underlying objectives of Europe's effort to achieve sustainable development. The sustainable development of the European territory is a widely accepted strategic objective which is expected to enable the implementation of fundamental principles and policies, like the socio-economic cohesion of greater Europe, the improvement of living conditions, the safeguarding of the integrity of the European environment and the creation of the conditions which are needed to support continuous economic development and growth. The social and economic cohesion of the territory of the European Union is traditionally considered as one of the most fundamental objectives of its policies. The relatively slow progress achieved till now in obtaining cohesion and the narrowing of the development gap between the “centre” and the periphery has proven the existence of a strong interrelationship between the economic and social cohesion and regional planning, as an instrument for promoting spatial cohesion. The Council of Europe has been moving towards the same rationale, as a result of a continuous process since the adoption of the Torremolinos Charter in 1983. In fact both European Organisations, following parallel routes, are increasingly recognising the need to be collectively and actively involved in the realm of regional planning, in order to achieve major social and economic objectives, which would lead to comparable living and environmental conditions and qualities for all European citizens. The effort of the European Union to develop a “European Spatial Development Perspective” and the work of the CEMAT within the Council of Europe are tangible expressions of the realisation that regional planning is an indispensable instrument for promoting the developmental, and hence the social and economic, integration of the European space. The integration of the territory of greater Europe through the promotion of a balanced and sustainable development of all its regions is an ambitious objective, and considerable problems, stemming from the size of the geographical area and the large number of nations, organisations and systems involved, need to be resolved. The achievement of this objective largely depends on the definition and implementation of a widely-endorsed comprehensive planning policy, which ought to