For Moldova, protecting water, soils and biodiversity is also a question of security: safeguarding people’s ability to earn a living, produce food and access safe drinking water.

Two strands of work supported by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), both funded by Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) under the Green Agenda for Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine project, address these connected challenges. One explores how treated wastewater could safely provide additional irrigation water. The other supports the development of environmental and other standards that farmers must meet to receive subsidies.

Some of this work has now reached an important milestone. With technical support from SEI through the Green Agenda project, Moldova’s Ministry of Environment has completed the preparation of, and public consultation on, a proposed regulatory package for agriculture. The package draws on SEI’s assessment and has been endorsed by key state agencies. SEI’s technical support is now complete, with government adoption planned by the end of 2026.

Ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (biodiversity COP17), starting next week, Moldova’s experience offers a practical perspective on a challenge central to global biodiversity goals: how to protect nature while supporting the people whose livelihoods depend on it.

Supplementary water for farming

“We need alternative water sources to address the impacts of climate change,” said Aurelia Donos, Chief of Integrated Water Resources Management Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment. “In recent years farmers have also placed increasing pressure on groundwater, which is a strategic resource for drinking water supply in the country.”

When drought affects a harvest, the consequences reach beyond the field. Farmers face pressure on their incomes, rural households face greater uncertainty, and demand for irrigation can put additional strain on rivers and groundwater.

“Through the implementation of the regulation on water reuse, we aim to reduce the pressure on both small rivers and groundwater resources,” Donos explained.

Safely managed wastewater reuse could help meet two needs together: an additional irrigation source for farmers and greater circularity through the productive reuse of water. But those benefits depend on suitable treatment, infrastructure and effective oversight.

From research to practical irrigation options

In collaboration with the Republic of Moldova’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, SEI’s research examines the potential for agricultural reuse of treated wastewater and the conditions needed to make it viable and safe.

The study focuses on three locations: Căușeni, Cantemir and Cahul. It brings together expertise in agriculture, irrigation, water resources and wastewater treatment to assess local needs and options.

“Using these data, the team of experts has developed a scenario tool based on rainfall, crop water needs and irrigation deficits to design realistic options for wastewater reuse,” said Arno Rosemarin, the study’s principal investigator. The tool estimates how much farmland this supplemental source could support during dry periods and identifies potential target crops. The study’s scope also includes storage and delivery options, cost-benefit analysis, and environmental and public health risk assessment.

For farmers, the issue is not simply whether treated wastewater is available. It is whether suitable water can reach their fields when needed, at a viable cost and without compromising soils, crops, or human and environmental health.

Safety and trust must come first

Viorel Gherciu, former Minister of Agriculture and the lead agriculture expert for SEI’s study on wastewater reuse in agriculture, described safety as a central condition in farmers’ willingness to consider wastewater reuse. “The farmers responded very positively, expressing their readiness to use this water for crop irrigation, provided it meets standard requirements and guarantees the safety of the produce.” Farmers will need confidence in the water they receive, while consumers will need confidence in the food produced.

SEI’s work supports alignment with Regulation (EU) 2020/741, which establishes minimum requirements for agricultural water reuse, including water quality, monitoring and risk management. Finalizing the proposed national regulatory package is an important step towards that alignment. Government approval and practical implementation remain ahead. Adoption alone would not create a working reuse system. Treatment capacity, monitoring, financing and clear responsibilities would still be needed – to protect drinking water sources, public health and the land itself.

SEI’s support for wastewater reuse does not end here. The institute is currently discussing next steps with funders and key partners to help move from regulatory preparation towards practical implementation.

Making farm support work for nature

Additional irrigation can support livelihoods, but water availability is only one part of agricultural resilience. The condition of soils and habitats matters too, and farmers need support to protect them.

Through the same Sida-funded project, SEI supports Moldova in developing a “conditionality system” as an integral part of the Strategic Programme for Agricultural Policy, in alignment with the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) conditionality framework. Conditionality links receipt of relevant agricultural payments to compliance with specified standards covering climate, environmental protection, biodiversity, public health and animal welfare.

Under the EU’s CAP, these requirements address soil cover, erosion, buffer strips along watercourses, and retention of landscape features such as hedges, trees and ponds. They also include protections for animal welfare, habitats and species.

These safeguards can help protect the ecological foundations of farming. Introducing them is a policy challenge, and also raises questions about farmers’ immediate livelihoods: what practices will need to change, what will compliance cost, and what advice or support will be available?

Once a conditionality system is operational, failure to meet applicable requirements could lead to payment reductions or other sanctions. Clear guidance and a workable route to compliance therefore matter alongside environmental ambition.

SEI’s baseline assessment, completed this month, compares Moldova’s policy and legal framework with EU CAP conditionality requirements and examines the institutional and administrative arrangements needed for implementation. It will inform a phased implementation roadmap.

Alignment with the EU conditionality framework – and, eventually, the CAP’s broader Green Architecture – offers Moldova an opportunity to encourage farming practices that address the country’s most pressing agricultural, environmental and climate challenges. Realizing this opportunity will require careful sequencing and attention to farmers’ capacity to adapt.

“The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy is far from perfect, but it offers tools to help integrate standards that protect the environment, climate, public health and animal welfare. As Moldova moves closer to EU accession, these next few years will be critical,” said Ieva Galkytė, SEI policy fellow.

Bringing global commitments closer to everyday life

The two strands of work are distinct, but their connection is important for COP17. Farm-payment conditionality can contribute to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 18 on reforming incentives that harm biodiversity. Safely managed wastewater reuse could reduce pressure on freshwater ecosystems while helping agriculture adapt to drought. Both show why environmental reform needs to be assessed through its effects on people as well as nature.

For Moldova, success would mean more than alignment with EU rules. It would mean giving farmers the resources to manage dry periods, protecting water resources better, and providing agricultural support that helps maintain the land’s capacity to sustain livelihoods. The shared objective is to protect the resources people depend on – and support people through the changes needed to protect those resources.