Cooperative agreements between farmers and utilities in charge of water supply
Résumé
Other countries developed groundwater protection policies based upon cooperative agreements between farmers and utilities in charge of water supply, involving the drinking water bills, under a principle called in the U.S.A. 'payment for ecosystems servicces'. After reviewing American, Dutch, German policies, and mentioning the English counter-example, two French case studies are presented : while these attempts are rather hampered by more traditional wellhead protection policies as well as by agri-environmental measures, the rural contracts proposed by the Agences de l'eau within the framework of the new CAP might bring significant improvements..