Thematic Group on Improving Water Resilience in Rural Areas through the CAP

The availability of clean, reliable water resources is key for our livelihoods, human health and wellbeing, food security, and environmental sustainability. Yet, in the light of a changing climate, water is increasingly becoming a scarce resource, affecting citizens, farmers, foresters, the environment, and businesses alike. Taking action to improve water resilience to secure its ongoing availability is therefore paramount, for example, through reducing water demand and increasing the efficiency of water use through, e.g., changing to less water-intensive crops, increasing water re-use and investing in nature-based solutions to improve infiltration and water retention in the landscape.

Not all regions and sectors will be affected in the same way, but rural areas and communities, and the forestry and agriculture sectors in particular, are severely affected by extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and water scarcity. Different economic sectors account for different water abstraction levels and have different potential for water savings. Based on average figures from 2000-2022, EU agriculture is responsible for 29% of total water demand (from both surface and groundwaters), second only to electricity production, although it is estimated that there is the potential for water savings of up to 20% of water abstraction from agriculture (EEA 2025). However, overall, the agricultural sector has the highest net consumption of water of all sectors, since most of the water used is not returned to the environment (unlike electricity production) (EEA 2024). There is a range of options to reduce the agriculture sector’s reliance on water, as well as to support rural areas to adapt to climate change, water scarcity, drought, and the risk of flooding. These include the reduction of losses and leakages, the use of fewer water-demanding crops, smart farming, more efficient irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, as well as nature-based solutions (such as increasing green infrastructure, including woodland areas and restoring wetlands and floodplains) and improved soil health to increase water retention and infiltration to help mitigate flooding.

In the EU, various environmental and water policies address the sustainable use of water resources (e.g. EU Water Framework Directive). To improve existing efforts, the European Commission recently published its European Water Resilience Strategy, which aims to promote actions for restoring and protecting the water cycle and ensuring access to sufficient good quality water for people, nature and the economy. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides an extensive toolbox as well as funding to support agriculture, forest and rural areas in enhancing water efficiency, circularity, and water retention via national CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs). Due to different needs, some Member States are more advanced than others in taking action in this area. There is huge potential to build on existing experience to improve the overall water resilience in rural areas across the EU.

This TG is an opportunity to be part of a committed group of experts and relevant stakeholders that will examine how to best utilise the CAP’s potential for improving water resilience in rural areas and promote more systemic transformative changes in the way water and land are managed, enabling rural areas to better withstand climate extremes. The TG will look at how this can be best supported through the CSPs, e.g. through the greater uptake of actions, such as natural solutions for greater water retention within the landscape, investments required to improve water efficiency, or water re-use.

The objectives of this TG are to:

If you have any questions, please contact us at thematicgroup1@eucapnetwork.eu.

To follow the work of this Thematic Group, please visit this page regularly, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and follow us on social media (#WaterResilience and #WaterWiseEU).