Italian Policy Framework for Water in Agriculture - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 340

the water withdrawals authorisations. In relation to qualitative protection, the control
of the impact of agriculture is done through: the location of nitrate vulnerable zones
from agriculture; the definition of specific action programmes against the presence of
dangerous substances (also pesticides); the regulation of the agronomic use of organic
substances. The protection plan must contain the indications of specific field plans
(agriculture, industry) and it must represent a document of communication and social
information.

In the end, it is important to notice that Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE
requires the definition of an unique planning document called Management Plan, that
member states must predispose for every single river basin. The plans can be
supplemented by more detailed programmes and management plans (for example, water
use sectors, different problems or water categories) to deal with particular aspects. In this
sense, it will be necessary to evaluate, applying the directive in the Italian law
arrangement, how the river basin plan and its extract plans will converge into the
management plan.
Based on aims and criteria fixed in planning, institutions define the programming that
includes the answers that policies choice to solve problems. The programming of
investments for irrigation has shown, in the last few years, an increasing tendency to the
coordination among all fields of the Water Integrated Cycle, following the "integrated"
programming approach. In particular, agriculture participates directly by:
1. promoting quantitative protection through water-saving actions and the improvement of
management and infrastructures for irrigation; and

2. promoting qualitative protection through the reduction of pollutant released from

agriculture into water bodies.

Regarding quantitative protection and water saving, several instruments can be used
at the national and the European level, like national programmes that finance irrigation
infrastructures and regional programmes financed by EU (Operational Programmes and
Rural Development Programmes of EU) for the improvement of management at farm
level.
In the last six years, different national instruments studied irrigation and they financed
investments for almost 3,6 billions euro 20 for projects finalised to (Figure 2):

recuperating dams' efficiency;

completing irrigation networks;

renovating distribution and adduction networks

control and measure instruments, and

wastewater reuse for irrigation.

20. Zucaro, R. (ed.) (work in progress).