Water is vital for life

Water sustains all life - human, animal and plant life. It is also an indispensable resource for the economy. Water also plays a fundamental role in the climate regulation cycle. 

Approximately 75% of the earth's surface is covered by water. The oceans contain 97.5% of the earth's water, the land 2.4%, and the atmosphere holds less than 0.001%. Only 1% of the earth's water is available for drinking.

All waters are linked through the water cycle in a dynamic equilibrium. The most recent European legislation on water (CD2000/60/EC) classifies waters as follows:

A Twinning 'light' project, funded by the Transition Facility Programme for Malta 2006, was implemented between Malta and France during 2009. The overall objective of this project was to achieve compliance with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC pertaining to the preparation of the first River Basin Management Plan.

This project has been realised with the financial assistance of the European Union and is co-funded by the Transition Facility Programme for Malta 2006