Water challenges, CAP solutions

In recent months, the Thematic Group (TG) on Improving Water Resilience in Rural Areas through the CAP examined how to best use the Common Agricultural Policy’s (CAP) potential for improving water resilience in rural areas and promote more systemic, transformative changes in water and land management, enabling rural areas to withstand climate extremes better.

Facts and figures collected in the background paper of the TG show that agriculture is the first sector in terms of water consumption in Europe and the second sector in terms of water abstraction (from both surface and groundwaters), second only to electricity production. Taking action to improve water resilience in agriculture, thus securing its ongoing availability, is paramount.

The TG ran from September to November 2025 and offered its 40 members – selected via an open call for expressions of interest - several opportunities for online and in-person interaction, bridging the gap between policy and practice. The work of the TG culminated in the briefing Improved water resilience in rural areas - Compendium of good practice examples, which presents a selection of CAP Strategic Plans (CSP) interventions, projects and initiatives aiming to improve water resilience in rural areas, shared by TG members.

The examples included in the briefing echo the recommendations developed by TG members to support the upscaling of action for water resilience in rural areas, which include the need for the integration of CAP measures and approaches, collaboration between stakeholders, increased knowledge, long-term ambitions and stable regulations, collective action, and real incentives for agricultural businesses and agri-food systems.

The potential of the CAP in practice

The CAP provides tools and funding to support agriculture, forest and rural areas in improving water management. While some Member States are more advanced than others in taking action in this area, there is huge potential to improve overall water resilience in rural areas across the EU. Building on existing experiences is key.

The TG briefing Improved water resilience in rural areas includes nine examples of CSP interventions designed and implemented in various Member States, which give an idea of the different tools available and used.

For example, in Germany, the CAP intervention AECC EL-0101 (management commitments to improve climate change mitigation) is being used for the restoration, creation and use of water retention areas along water bodies and within designated catchment areas, including agricultural land in environmentally sensitive or polluted zones. By 2025, the intervention had been implemented in six Länder (Regions) over 1 044 766 ha, with a total expenditure of EUR 16 130 412.

Different levels of action

The briefing also reviews over 25 examples of projects and initiatives that address water resilience in different ways, showing that action is possible at different levels, in harmony with the local context and its specific needs and features. The initiatives use funding from a range of sources, including the CAP, other EU funds, foundations and national funding.

Examples collected through the TG confirm the potential of working at the catchment level or following a landscape scale approach, instead of fragmented projects. A good example comes from Hungary, where the WWF Hungary's Tisza Programme is reconnecting the Tisza River with part of its former floodplains to alleviate soil water deficits during critically dry periods (increasing due to climate change). The long-term, trust-based cooperation enabled by the project contributed to broader policy dialogue and is welcomed by local farmers.

Improving water governance – overcoming fragmentation – requires greater collaboration at the catchment level among different water users (farmers, public bodies etc.) to avoid conflict and inappropriate investments, and to encourage the development of strategies for water retention at the river basin level. In Romania, the LEADER Local Action Group (LAG) Homoród-Küküllő supports the active engagement of the community in a well-rounded project that is applying nature-based solutions for water retention, building local capacity and encouraging other LAGs to replicate the approach. The project, which uses a successful combination of different funding schemes – notably LEADER and Communities for Climate – is a good example of how a study visit to a neighbouring region, where water solutions are already in place, helped change people’s mindsets.

Technical solutions to improve water management are many. Examples include several experiences in Emilia Romagna (central Italy), where a series of CAP-funded projects have enabled smart approaches to water and nutrient savings for sustainable and resilient agriculture, water harvesting systems to increase water availability with no pressure on water bodies, and the use of IT tools to optimise the technological efficiency of irrigation systems.

The TG also recognised the importance of enhanced advice and knowledge sharing targeted at advisors, farmers and policymakers, to increase skills as well as awareness. In Spain, the EIP-AGRI Operational Group TIC4BIO developed and tested digital decision-support tools that help organic farmers manage water more efficiently and sustainably by combining real-time monitoring, soil and crop data, and tailored advisory support.

Next steps

To stay informed about upcoming activities of the EU CAP Network on this topic, keep an eye on the page for our Thematic Groups, where we regularly publish calls for expressions of interest for our TGs. Other useful resources are available on the page of the recent conference on water resilience.

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