Legal protection of surface waters in Lithuania

Abstract

This chapter contains an analysis of the legislation on surface water management and protection in the Republic of Lithuania. The scope of surface water protection in the Republic of Lithuania results from the implementation of the provisions contained in the Water Framework Directive. The specific objectives are considered to be (1) to determine what are the criteria for effective and correct legal implementation, (2) how to meet the criteria of the directive in Lithuania, and (3) to assess the practical consequences of implementation in spatial planning. Lithuania’s objective is to start implementing all required complementary measures and to achieve good status in 82% of surface water bodies by 2021. Lithuanian legislation provides for several types of legal instruments for the management and protection of surface waters. These instruments include the monitoring systems mentioned earlier and the system of issuing environmental use permits, including permits for water use for various purposes, including economic activities or control of water use.