Factsheet #17

Reporting requirements

Instrument Type

formal

Governance Level

local
regional/basin
national
international

Governance Mode

hierarchical

Water management topics addressed

Drought & water scarcity
Water abstraction for irrigation and other economic activities
Water quality issues due to nutrient pollution
Water quality issues: Other reasons

Implementation requirements

Financial capacity

medium

Human capacity

medium

Political buy-in

medium

Timeframe for implementation

medium

#17: Reporting requirements

Description

Requirements for regular reporting on progress regarding the set objectives and  for regular reviews.

Function

Within legislative policies such as plans, programs and strategies should require regular reporting on progress regarding the set objectives. Reviews of plans, programs and strategies should be included as well, a clear duration, e.g. every five years, should be specified. A reporting template can be provided, including a number of key performance or progress indicators.

Example: Reporting requirements in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

Through the Urban Wastewater Treatment (UWWT) Directive, the European Commission has introduced reporting requirements that deal with the management of wastewater within Member States. Member States are required to oversight on competent authorities that have the responsibility to report periodically (every two years) the country’s situation on the management of urban wastewater and sewage sludge to the Commission, and, if deviancies should arise, to issue sanctions. Legal requirements are also present in the British jurisdiction: the 2006 Companies Act requires the acknowledgment of environmental files in the Expanded Business Review, which is currently included as a best practice in the Operational and Financial Review. The reports drawn by companies are then collected by an independent supervisor which forward them to the competent authority, which may be the Secretary of State or the first Minister of Scotland, of Wales or of Northern Ireland.

Source

EU Commission (2019). Reporting Requirements under the UWWT Directive
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/implementation/reportingrequirements_en.htm Retrieved on 24 September 2020

UN Water (2018). Progress on transboundary water cooperation: global baseline for SDG indicator 6.5.2 (p. 21)

ACCA (2013). Paper P2 - Corporate Reporting (INT and UK) Practice and revision kit (p. 100)

OECD (2015) Water Resources Governance in Brazil. OECD Studies on Water https://www.oecd.org/gov/water-resources-governance-in-brazil-9789264238121-en.htm Retrieved on 24 September 2020 .

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