Water Legislation Reforms: Securing Environmental Concerns and Renewable Energy
Hydropower stands for a large part of the Swedish energy production and is one of the most important renewable energy sources. The production of energy from hydropower entails impact on freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide, and a large part of Swedish rivers are today altered because of hydropower plants and dams. Most of the hydropower production was developed in mid-20th century and licensed under older Swedish Water Law with limited environmental concern.
The Swedish Government started in June 2012 a process to review the Swedish Water Law to secure a better implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in Sweden. A Ministry Inquiry on Water Activities was established and presented its initial findings in October 2013. The interim report concluded that one way to ensure that installations that have been licensed before the environmental code from 1999 meet the requirement in the EU Water Framework Directive is to oblige them to apply for a renewal of their permits.
The side event will discuss possible implications of water legislation reforms, while highlighting opportunities for meeting environmental concerns through case studies from Norway and Australia, having gone through similar processes.
See presentations from the event under the “Files” tab.
Photo © Leif Kuhlin
Venue name: Side event at the 2014 World Water Week in Stockholm
Venue address: Stockholmsmässan
Programme
12:45 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna, SEI
12:50 Swedish Ministry Inquiry on Water Activities
Mr. Stefan Berggren, Ministry of Environment, Sweden
13:00 Norwegian Legislation and Development of a More Ecological Sustainable Hydropower
Ms. Marit Carlsen, NVE
13:15 How to Safeguard the Environment without Compromising Hydropower Production in Norway
Ms. Pernille Lund Hoel, WWF
13:30 Legislation to Secure Environmental Health in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin
Mr. Russell James, MDBA, Australia
13:45 Close of Side Event
Organizer
- Swedish Water House
- Ministry of the Environment
- Stockholm International Water Institute
- Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
- World Wide Fund for Nature