The aim of the WAgriCo project is to develop a programme of measures or solutions which can be implemented in agri-environmental schemes to achieve and/or sustain good groundwater quality, according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This project builds on other successful co-operative work on water protection, such as Lower Saxony’s ‘Water Protection Areas’, which have been running for over 10 years and the work undertaken by the Voluntary Initiative on pesticides in the UK.
The focus in the WAgriCo project is to demonstrate the large-scale use of enhanced measures and innovative cooperative approaches.
- Development and dissemination of best practice in terms of approaches to ensure farmer and stakeholder engagement and involvement.
- Promotion for the replication of the WAgriCo approaches in other EU Member States.
- Production of a tool-box (programme) of measures for farmers, land and water managers to reduce diffuse pollution cost effectively.
- Development of an innovative results orientated approach for the improvement of nutrient management on farm level.
- Proposals for water protection options that can be integrated into agri-environmental schemes to support sustainable water resources management in the EU.
- An assessment of the costs associated with large scale programmes of measures to protect the water environment.
- Production of information for different audiences, e.g. policymakers, planning authorities and farmers.
- A model for cross sector collaboration which can be replicated elsewhere in the EU to enhance water protection from the local level right through to national policy making.
| 
