Payments "for environmental services" . This is the new subsidy that will be paid to farmers in Ile-de-France, by the Seine-Normandy water agency and the city of Paris water service. For the very first time in France, "a water service is acquiring a system of financial aid to farmers, specifically designed to protect its catchments," said Eau de Paris. An aid scheme which should make it possible to support farms that protect water quality, to favor organic farming but also to preserve water resources.
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Eau de Paris distributes 470,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day to three million users, coming from four catchment areas. The water distributed by the capital comes from several sources, some of which are located below farms. Half of the volume distributed comes from this groundwater "collected at 100-150 km, then gravitatively transported to Paris via the Aqueduct de l'Avre" . 200 farmers spread over approximately 146,000 ha, including 87,000 ha of agricultural land, should be able to benefit from this aid which will enable them to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
The “estimated” budget is set at 47 million over the next decade. The Seine Normandie water agency will finance 80% of the new aid scheme (as part of its “ national biodiversity plan ”), while the capital will allocate 20% of the amount, ie 10 million euros. "Parisian users will thus contribute directly to the agricultural transition in the territories that supply Paris with water, in a mutually beneficial partnership with farmers," writes the public service of the capital. Validated by the European Commission and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the contracts will be established for a period of 6 to 7 years.
For several years Paris has been engaged in a policy of improving water quality and preserving the resource. The capital has made the promise to be the first city of water "zero plastic waste" , and multiplies initiatives to make its inhabitants consume tap water. A pledge to reduce plastic bottles, the primary source of ocean pollution.
Geographic positions of catchment areas. The four surrounded in green are the four water supply areas for Eau de Paris. eaudeparis.fr
