Overcoming agricultural pollution of water

Abstract

Water problems are emerging as the most compelling set of issues facing agricultural production in the 1990s. Local and national governments as well as supranational organizations in every part of the world are responding to perceived health risks or economic damage with a variety of measures to manage water quality impacts. However, up to now, no single country or jurisdiction has progressed very far toward controlling agricultural water pollution. In an effort to address the particular policy challenges posed by the agriculture/water quality dilemma, this study, focuses on the experience of the European Community (EC), where high levels of nitrate, phosphate, and pesticides in surface and groundwater are a source of increasing concern. Agricultural and water quality-related environmental policies at EC level, as well as national level, are examined, and new policy approaches that try to integrate agricultural and environmental considerations are discussed. This study thus provides insights into policy options for controlling agricultural water pollution, which might be useful in other parts of the world.