Water and land use: role and scope of EU legislation

Juliane Albrecht and Thomas Hartmann

Chapter 26 in Research Handbook on EU Water Law, 2026, pp 467-480 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Water and land use are intertwined. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) from 2000 encroached into the realm of land-use planning. Its catchment approach was an innovation for water law. This approach meant that regulations from water law had implications for land use and thus property in land. Previously, water law had mainly focused on water bodies. The EU Floods Directive (FD) from 2007 went even further in its implications for land use. It applied the catchment approach, but, in addition, it also introduced a scenario-based approach with implications and consequences for land use. Land-use regulation is actually the domain of spatial planning, but the European Union has no competency over land-use planning. Yet, the WFD and the FD show how European legislation influences land use and the associated property rights in the EU Member States. This contribution reveals how water law influences land uses and discusses links and frictions with spatial planning. This is mainly illustrated by reference to German water, planning and property law, but links are made to other Member States as well.

Keywords: Water Framework Directive; Floods Directive; Property Rights; Spatial Planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035336425
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