Water plan adopted in France after years of dispute
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After four years of debate, stakeholders in Brittany and Pays de la Loire, France, adopted a water management plan on October 16th.
The plan revises the water management scheme (SAGE) for the Vilaine river basin, a region covering six departments and 1.3 million people. It will ban herbicides on cornfields prone to erosion in areas that supply drinking water, though exceptions and financial aid for mechanical weeding will remain available. Agricultural unions disagreed over the plan.
The Confédération paysanne supported water protection measures, while FNSEA-JA opposed the herbicide ban. The commission that approved the plan, the CLE, voted 45 to 18 in favor, with members representing local governments, professional organizations, and citizens. The new SAGE agreement could influence water management across France as other regions also revise their plans.
Supporters believe it represents a step toward stricter pesticide regulations, while opponents from FNSEA-JA plan to challenge the decision in court, citing a lack of socio-economic impact studies as required by recent agricultural emergency legislation.
