INDEX

WATER MATTERS – HAVE YOUR SAY
(Posted 17 December 2007)

Reports on significant water management issues (SWMI) from the eight national and international River Basin Districts (RBDs) in the Republic of Ireland have been published for consultation. The reports lay out the main threats to water bodies that have been identified and calls on all interested parties to submit their views on local water issues. For each of the most important water problems, the booklet sets out:

  • Background information showing the extent of each issue and the way that it can cause water problems
  • A summary of existing controls and an assessment of their adequacy
  • The proposed actions, the parties responsible for taking those actions and the users who would be affected

The consultations run for six months until 22 December 2007.

The individual reports are available at the RBDs’ websites and can be accessed through our RBD web page:
(http://www.euwfd.com/html/river_basin_districts.html)

THE INLAND WATERWAYS OF ENGLAND AND WALES IN 2007
(Posted 17 December 2007)

The report, published by IWAC (Inland Waterways Advisory Council) on 8 October 2007, reports on progress in implementing the policies contained in the June 2000 policy statement ‘Waterways for Tomorrow’, published by the then Department for the Environment, Transport and Regions. The report makes two key recommendations:

  • Government should establish an inter-departmental committee for the inland waterways of England and Wales. This should be made up of representatives of those Government departments with lead responsibilities for environmental improvement, regeneration of local economies, heritage, recreation, planning and transport. The purpose of the Committee would be to ensure that Government policy for the inland waterways is carried through by all relevant departments of Government.
  • In partnership with IWAC and the Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA), Defra should take the lead in the new inter-departmental committee to produce a new and up to date policy statement for the development of the inland waterways of England and Wales. This statement should give due attention to climate change, environmental improvement, public health and community cohesion.

The report is available online at the IWAC website:
(http://www.iwac.org.uk/reports/)

NATIONAL WATER QUALITY CLASSIFICATION 2006
SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY REPORT
(Posted 17 December 2007)

This report summarises the results of SEPA’s monitoring of water quality in Scotland’s rivers, estuaries and coastal waters in 2006. It also provides some trend information, particularly in respect of SEPA’s water quality targets for 2006. Overall, the 2006 quality targets have been comfortably exceeded for rivers and coastal waters. In the coming years, further overall improvements can be anticipated for Scotland’s waters in particular due to implementation of participative River Basin Management Planning in accordance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. Alternative long-term trend indicators will be developed based on the new WFD surveillance monitoring network.

The current and past reports are available on the SEPA website:
(http://www.sepa.org.uk/data/classification/index.htm)

ANALYSING ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO CHEMICAL PRESSURES: METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND STATISTICAL SOLUTIONS
REBECCA Deliverable 12, 2007, ISBN 82-577-5194-4 
Moe S.J., R. Ptacnik, E. Penning, S. Kuikka, O. Malve
(Posted 17 December 2007)

A recent report from the EU FP6 Research Project REBECCA (Relationships Between Ecological and Chemical Status in Surface Waters) describes statistical methods used for analysis of biological indicators in lakes. Biological indicators are required for assessing ecological status, according to the Water Framework Directive. However, biological data often “misbehave” and pose several methodological challenges: non-linear responses to pressures, complex community responses, and high uncertainty.

The report is available for download from the NIVA (Norwegian Institute for Water Research) website:
(http://www.niva.no/symfoni/infoportal/PUBLIKASJON.NSF/redirectEng?ReadForm&Url=http://www.niva.no/symfoni/infoportal/PUBLIKASJON.NSF/.vieEngInterForsideNIVA/5F35BB62F29C21BAC125739B004EB60B?OpenDocument)

EUROPE’S ENVIRONMENT — THE FOURTH ASSESSMENT
EEA State of the Environment Report No 1/2007
and

EUROPE’S ENVIRONMENT — THE FOURTH ASSESSMENT
– EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EEA State of the Environment Report No 2/2007
(Posted 30 October 2007)

From the report’s introduction: ‘The ‘Environment for Europe’ process now brings together 56 countries across three continents to jointly address environmental challenges. In support of this process, the European Environment Agency has prepared a series of assessments of the environment for the pan-European region to provide policy relevant, up-to-date and reliable information on the interactions between the environment and society’. The first comprehensive assessment of the state of the pan-European environment was presented in Sofia in 1995. Updated assessments were presented at the Ministerial Conferences in Aarhus in 1998 and Kiev in 2003. This is the fourth report in the series. Where possible the report evaluates progress, primarily against the objectives of the Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community and the Environment Strategy for Countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The report has been prepared in close partnership with a range of international organisations, governmental institutions and non-governmental organisations across the region. Despite noteworthy progress in promoting environmental policy and sustainable development across the pan-European region, an implementation gap’ in the use of integrated policy approaches remains.’

Both reports are available as hard copies from the EEA or can be downloaded from the EEA website:
(http://reports.eea.europa.eu/state_of_environment_report_2007_1/en)