The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is generally regarded as environmental legislation that can make an important contribution to achieving the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. However, the EC’s 2019 overview report on the implementation of the second River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) has concluded that for almost half of the Natura 2000 sites, no objectives were set because the additional ecological requirements of these sites are not known. This assignment aimed to investigate why most Member States fail to integrate the requirements of the Nature Directives into the new set of RBMPs. The report supports greater cohesion between the EU’s Nature and Water policies.
