Capacity building to draw up and implement the first River Basin Management Plan for Malta as required under the Water Framework Directive 200/60/EC

IOWater led this Twinning Light Project which also involved experts from French Water Agencies

The overall objective of the project was “to assist the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) and the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) in the development of the first River Basin Management Plan (RBMP)in order to achieve compliance with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC pertaining to the preparation of the first River Basin Management Plan (RBMP)”
In order to finalise the RBMP and establish a sound framework for its subsequent implementation, MEPA and MRA required technical assistance. In particular in those areas where the Maltese capacity and expertise was lacking. These included:
• Development, review and finalisation of the programme of measures, including cost-effectiveness analysis;
• Defining environmental objectives, particularly with reference to technical and economic analysis to justify potential exemptions or extensions of deadlines or to designate heavily modified or artificial water bodies;
• Cost-recovery analysis to identify the impact of the programme of measures on the cost-recovery levels and to investigate the potential for an incentive pricing policy for 2010; and
• A strategy and the design of the process for an effective public consultation and participation in the various phases leading to the development of the plan;

As a result of the proposed assistance, the final RBMP :
• Ensured coherence with the EU and national water policies, and related legislative and administrative requirements;
• Provided a sound justification for any potential exceptions that may be requested from the EU Commission on the basis of Malta’s particular circumstances;
• Provided a sound framework for its subsequent implementation, which could only be possible with the active involvement of all stakeholders in the process;
• Established a series of indicators and benchmarks for monitoring and comparison with other member states