Multidisciplinary capacity development to improve water quality affected by agricultural pollution: An introduction to the LuWQ2025 conference

Agriculture provides food, fibre, energy and, last but not least, a livelihood for many people around the world. However, agricultural production also pollutes the terrestrial and aquatic environment with nutrients, pesticides and other substances applied in agriculture, depending on the type and design of the agricultural system. Since the 1950s, agricultural production growth in Europe and North America, and more recently in many other parts of the world, has threatened the quality of groundwater and surface waters, leading to chemical
and ecological deterioration. Typical hotspot areas include Europe, e.g. Denmark, the Netherlands, northern Italy, Germany and France, as well as China, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Over the last decades, policies to overcome deterioration of water quality have been developed, and programmes of measures to improve water quality have been implemented worldwide. For example, the European Union has adopted an extensive legal framework aiming to achieve and preserve good water quality by 2027 (Nitrates Directive in 1991, Water Framework Directive in 2000). Experiences from the last 15 to 25 years indicate that achieving these objectives within the set timeframe will be a great challenge. Nevertheless, the European Commission monitors compliance with these directives, and several Member States have been forced through the European Court of Justice to amend their national
legislation, such as the Netherlands in 2003, France in 2013/2014 and, more recently, Germany in 2018.
In other parts of the world, such as New Zealand, the government has initiated a national science challenge to improve land and water quality. Recently, California and other US states have also implemented laws to control water pollution, including pollution from agriculture. However, achieving the objectives of these policies is becoming more difficult, as the easier, low-cost measures have already been implemented, and measures based on voluntary participation are often preferred. Additionally, there is a tendency to increase agricultural production. Trends like population growth, economic development and climate
change may furthermore add to the challenges of abating water pollution, while
technological development and capacity building may support the development of effective strategies.
Although decades of research have improved our understanding of the soil-water system and the sources and effects of pollution, there is still a knowledge gap regarding effectiveness of mitigation measures and the information needed to adequately support policy-making. Recent advancements in data collection, sensor measurements and machine learning methods seem promising in overcoming this knowledge gap. Still, long-term monitoring programmes are essential to assess the effectiveness and proper implementation of programmes of measures leading to improved water quality, as water quality changes
may have long time lags and unclear impacts. Monitoring and the acceptance of its results by various stakeholders can also play an important role in agenda setting and fostering local debates on the need for (further) measures. In this context, ‘citizen science’ projects should also be mentioned, as they can increase support or acceptance of measures by farmers and other practitioners. The implementation of measures is a multifaceted challenge that will be addressed
specifically at the conference. Countries use different approaches to implement measures, but which approach works best? What are the experiences with measures enforced by law (top down) compared to implementation on a voluntary basis (bottom up)? Experiences show that the latter depends on long-term investment in building relationships, gaining mutual trust and raising awareness. Do we have the resources and enough time for such approaches? It is also important to reflect on the polluter pays principle in agriculture.
Although this is a central principle in European law, the livelihoods of farmers play an important role in the debate on agriculture and pollution. How do we handle the issue that the measures may cost the farmers income possibilities, while society seems to accept paying for environmental pollution by agriculture?
As an alternative to cost-intensive technical solutions, nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining increasing importance. This will be demonstrated by several contributions regarding rural and urban case studies from different European countries.
In recent years, the effects of climate change have become more prominent and will continue to develop and affect agricultural practices and their nvironmental impacts due to changes in temperature, longer periods of excess water and droughts and weather extremes. Research has shown that clean water scarcity increases significantly when the impacts of climate and poor water quality are assessed jointly. Other policies, for example regarding energy transition to mitigate climate change, may affect land use and thereby water quality. Are we sufficiently aware of trade-offs or co-benefits of other related policies?
The impact of climate change and possible adaptation strategies will be addressed in several contributions during thematic sessions.
The Land Use and Water Quality Conferences aim to address these issues through both presentations of the latest research findings and science-policy debates, focusing on the central theme of the conference – land use and water quality. Scientists from various fields of expertise (soil/water, agriculture, hydrology, social sciences, ecology and economy) and experts from policy and practice from 32 countries worldwide have provided numerous
valuable abstracts on a wide variety of relevant themes.
Denmark, as the hosting country of this LuWQ-conference, is set to implement a new approach in the coming years through a joint plan developed between the State and two NGOs: the largest farmer organisation in Denmark and The Danish society for Nature Conservation. The plan is called Green Transition and aims to address challenges with both nutrients and climate change (CO2-reductions) in the agricultural sector. Several presentations at the conference will discuss this example of cooperation between partners with conflicting interest, seeking to find synergies and commonly accepted solutions.
LuWQ2025 is the sixth follow-up to the previous successful LuWQ conferences, LuWQ2022 (Maastricht, the Netherlands), LuWQ2019 (Aarhus, Denmark), LuWQ2017 (The Hague, the Netherlands), LuWQ2015 (Vienna, Austria) and LuWQ2013 (The Hague, the Netherlands).