WRITTEN QUESTION P-1439/02

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

(15 May 2002)

Subject: Desertification emergency in Sicily

The drought which has affected Sicily for two years now is clearly no passing phenomenon but an alarming situation and a veritable disaster.

The water shortage is seriously damaging not only agriculture and stock-farming, but also the water supply in inhabited areas, in some of which rationing has started.

The disaster, due to the dramatically reduced rainfall, is exacerbated by the lack of appropriate and adequate facilities in the regional water supply, so that no suitable solution can be implemented in the short or medium term.

The ordinary measures carried out by the regional and national governments are totally inadequate to tackle the seriousness of the situation.

Can the Commission say:

- what special measures can be adopted to tackle the slow but inexorable process of desertification in Sicily, doomed to share the fate of the neighbouring continent of Africa;

- whether it does not consider that it should set up a special committee of experts to examine possible solutions as rapidly as possible, in order to prevent, whilst there is still time, a disaster on an unimaginable scale from overwhelming the largest island in the Mediterranean?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(7 June 2002)

In the framework of the Structural Funds, the operational programme for Sicily during the 2000-2006 programming period foresees measures related to water resources and water supplies for about 170 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 94 million from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section. The Commission would emphasise that, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, both the selection and implementation of projects are under the responsibility of the regional authorities charged with the management and monitoring of the programmes co-financed by the funds mentioned above.

An update and revision of those programmes including the financial resources in order to respond more effectively to a changed situation is foreseen for 2003. In case the severe situation described by the Honourable Member is confirmed, the revision of the programme could incorporate the required changes, which should allow to face more effectively the shortage in water supply. The initiative for the revision of the programmes for Sicily lies, however, with the national and regional Italian authorities.

Water policy issues including water supply for human use are primarily regulated by Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 and establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy(1).

The objectives of the water framework directive include at least two items of relevance to the situation as described in the written question: to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which:

(a) promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources and

(b) contributes to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts. The Directive should thereby contribute to the provision of the sufficient supply of good quality surface water and groundwater as needed for sustainable balanced and equitable water use.

The Commission has adopted on 16 April 2002 a Communication to the Council, the Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Towards a thematic strategy for soil protection(2). This Communication addresses desertification in the context of soil degradation processes such as erosion. The Communication acknowledges that the Mediterranean region is severely affected by erosion. The impact on the environment, the water reservoirs and the agricultural land represents a major threat for these regions.

In the Union drylands are mainly located in Southern Spain and Portugal, the Italian Mezzogiorno, most of the mainland and islands in Greece and Southern France. In these regions 60 % of the land is threatened or affected by desertification and soil degradation. Therefore these Member States have joined their efforts within the framework of a regional annex for the Northern Mediterranean in the context of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Those Mediterranean Member States and Italy in particular, have adopted National Action Programmes to combat desertification(3), in which they analyse the desertification process and identify actions to be undertaken.

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.

(2) COM(2002) 179 final.

(3) UN-CCD Secretariat/Italian National Action Programme: http://www.unccd.int/actionprogrammes/northmed/national/2000/italy-eng.pdf, Comitato Nazionale Italiano per la lotta alla siccità e alla desertificazione: http://www.desertification.it/.