Legal protection of aquatic environment

For a long time, nature was considered to have a strong capacity to restore itself in the face of multiple human aggressions. This was true of aquatic environments, which were the recipients of numerous discharges (urban, agricultural, industrial) and were thought to have a great capacity for self-purification. This was partly true as long as pollution remained small, isolated and dispersed. However, population growth and economic development have exerted such pressure on aquatic environments that their ability to regenerate has been exceeded, resulting in a deterioration in the quality of water bodies and risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Since the 1960s, European and French regulations have been in place to protect the environment, and aquatic environments in particular, in an attempt to halt this process and restore water quality. These regulations are constantly being strengthened, under the impetus of the European Union and its member states, which are aware of the value of water resources and aquatic environments, against a backdrop of climatic emergencies likely to aggravate certain situations (drought, more severe low-water levels, difficulties in recharging aquifers, concentration of pollution, etc.) and generate tensions between water users (consumers, industry and farmers).

The aim of this article is to provide an update on the legal protection of aquatic environments, more than 20 years after the publication of the Water Framework Directive of October 23, 2000 (WFD) and 15 years after its transposition by the Law on Water and Aquatic Environments of December 30, 2006 (LEMA). In particular, it provides a historical overview of the main European and French texts and their respective contributions, and presents the principles of balanced and sustainable water management in France that derive from them, all the public and private players involved, and the existing tools (planning/programming and financial) to implement them. It also highlights the regulations applicable to discharges and withdrawals, and the criminal law protection of aquatic environments.

Text updated August 31, 2022.