#ProtectWater campaign launched to protect brewery industry
The #ProtectWater campaign, led by WWF EU and other crucial NGOs, has called on the European Commission to defend the law that protects all sources of water, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater, during its current review.
The #ProtectWater campaign, led by WWF EU and other crucial NGOs, has called on the European Commission to defend the law that protects all sources of water, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater, during its current review.
It is important to support this law in the UK, as any weakening of this EU legislation will be transposed into UK law post-Brexit and will mean weaker protections for our waters.
The campaign has focused on the brewery industry to encourage the public to back this important law. The majority of industries rely on a clean, reliable water supply and this includes the brewery industry.
Beer is 90 to 95 per cent water, this means that it relies on the protection and sustainable management of Europe’s freshwater sources, such as groundwater springs, rivers and lakes.
European beer companies have made a joint statement to support the EU Water Framework Directive and to ensure that the European Commission keep it in its current form. Under this framework governments have committed to ensure no deterioration and achieve good status for the vast majority of all water bodies by 2015, and at the very latest by 2027.
Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office, said: “Member States’ half-hearted implementation of the EU water law is a crime in itself, but their desperate attempts to weaken it - and before the Commission’s fitness check has even concluded - is a step too far. We urge citizens across Europe and beyond to join forces through the #ProtectWater campaign and make their voices heard.”
This news follows a global agreement to put a fishing ban on the Arctic Ocean.
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust & Fish Legal, said: “We already have some of the least healthy rivers in Europe. Weakening these laws would inevitably lead to a deterioration in our waterways which affects the fish and other animals that live in them and the quality of the water, and beer, that we drink. Signing this petition is a vote for healthy nature in our rivers and clean drinks in your stomach.”
To sign the petition and defend our waters click here.