Date: 22 May 2025, 14:00 - 16:00

Location: European Parliament Brussels, room SPINELLI 1G3

Language: EN, FR

Organised by the EEB and Surfrider Foundation Europe

After several suspicious deaths, journalist Inès Léraud decides to move to Brittany to investigate the phenomena of ‘green tides’ that is thought to be linked to the deaths. There she realises the extent of the silence surrounding this environmental issue due to the strong interests of the agri-food industry in this region. Her work results in the graphic novel Algues vertes, l'histoire interdite together with Pierre Van Hove, published in 2019, which was adapted to a film by director Pierre Jolivet.

However, Brittany is not the only region in Europe where pollution from agriculture causes issues. According to the latest implementation report on the Nitrates Directive, more than 80% of marine waters and more than 30% of coastal and inland waters in the EU are eutrophic, threatening ecosystems, human health and access to clean and affordable drinking water.

Curbing water pollution is a key pillar to ensure a water resilient Europe and the EU has the tools, including the Nitrates Directive and the Bathing Water Directive, to protect water and the health of bathers from pollution, but they are poorly implemented and suffer from insufficient monitoring.

This event explores the root causes of water pollution from agriculture, EU tools to curb it and what further measures are needed to ensure EU objectives to ensure good water quality and cutting nutrient losses in half by 2030.

The event will include coffee/drinks.

The event is accompanied by a screening of the movie Les Algues Vertes (the Green Tide) at NOVA Cinema, Brussels on 21.05 evening. Separate invitations and registration links upon request to athenais.georges@eeb.org

Watering the Future: Improving Agricultural Practices for Water Resilience