Recital (15)

Water has a vital role as a resource for the security of food, energy and economic systems. Its role as a resource is also a key aspect of ensuring climate resilience. Given the challenges posed by the impact of climate change on water resources, further investments in water resilience should be encouraged. The implementation of water and marine protection legislation should be enhanced, water efficiency should be improved, water scarcity should be addressed, and progress towards a water-resilient Europe should be made, urgently. That implementation requires significant investments, including in water reuse for non-agricultural purposes, blue biotechnology, infrastructure for addressing water stress and drought prevention, the deployment of nature-based solutions, the ecological restoration of freshwater ecosystems, and the improvement of wastewater treatment. For populations living in regions particularly affected by water scarcity, desalination, if carried out in a sustainable manner, as referred to in the Commission communication of 4 June 2025 entitled European Water Resilience Strategy, can also play a key role in ensuring secure access to water and should therefore be eligible for support. It is therefore appropriate to include a reference to secure access to water, sustainable water management, including integrated water management, and water resilience in the specific objective under policy objective 2 to allow for proactive, risk-based management and increased preparedness. New dedicated priorities established for that specific objective should also benefit from additional one-off pre-financing of 20 % of the amounts programmed and the possibility of a higher co-financing rate in order to provide incentives for crucial investments in that field. It should also be possible to provide support from the JTF for water-related investments where such investments address acute water stress, enhance climate resilience, and support the transition to a sustainable and diversified local economy, even when not directly linked to land restoration projects.