We're pleased to share that we've signed the Scientists' statement on pollutants in water; have you? 💧 Please do take a look: deadline for signatures is 1 January 2025
Calling all scientists, researchers and academics. We are pleased to share with you an invitation to sign the Scientists' statement on pollutants in water: deadline for signatures is 1 January 2025. Following the recent EEA ‘Europe's state of water 2024' report, European institutions are now in the process of updating the priority pollutants to be regulated under EU water law and we invite you to sign this statement in support of maintained ambition in the upcoming negotiations between the EU institutions on the final text. The recent EEA report ‘Europe's state of water 2024’ was a stark reminder that Europe’s freshwater and coastal ecosystems are under serious pressure. Nearly a quarter of a century after the adoption of the EU’s main water law, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), only 29% of surface waters and 77% of groundwater body area are reported to be in good chemical status. Yet, this does not give the full picture, as chemical status under the WFD is only assessed against a small fraction of the substances present in the environment and largely overlooks the effects of chemical mixtures. In short, the full picture of chemical pollution in aquatic environments is underestimated and underreported. The European institutions are now in the process of updating the priority pollutants to be regulated under EU water law, but the process is facing delays and EU Member States want to misuse this technical update of EU water pollution standards to weaken existing environmental safeguards of the WFD. We are inviting you to sign this statement in support of maintained ambition in the upcoming negotiations between the EU institutions on the final text. The statement will be open for signatures up until 1 January 2025. Please note that sign-on is restricted to scientists, researchers and academics. We invite you to share it widely within your networks. You can sign the statement via the link on the FBA website: https://lnkd.in/ebCfmES9 For more information, please see the background briefing on the webpage. #freshwaterscience #freshwaterecology #freshwaterbiology #waterquality European Environment Agency European Research Council (ERC) Buglife Natural England Natural History Museum Lancaster Environment Centre JNCC UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) SIL International Society of Limnology Freshwater Habitats Trust The Company of Biologists Science Council