EU legal protection for ecologically significant groundwater in the context of climate change vulnerability

EU habitats law can provide robust protection for groundwater supporting legally protected habitats, such as wetlands. Court of Justice of the EU jurisprudence requires precautionary assessment of groundwater’s role in maintaining the ‘integrity’ of protected ecosystems. Precaution applies in cases of scientific uncertainty, such as that pertaining to groundwater ecology, exacerbated by the uncertain effects of higher climate variability. While EU habitats law may not address anthropocentric concerns, an expansive approach to the protection of groundwater, guided by precautionary assumptions concerning its ecological role, can safeguard essential water-related ecosystem services and thereby address human needs threatened by climate change.