ID

Headline Research Questions

Countries/organisations interested?

1.1

What do we need to know to better manage and achieve good ecological status

1.2

Can we improve our integrated understanding of ecological status and get a better understanding and knowledge of the processes by which we define good ecological status?

1.3

To Improve our understanding of the hydro-biological interaction

1.4

Reference Conditions

2.1

Improve our understanding of hydro-morphological requirements of WFD.

2.2

How do we estimate the water volumes for ecologically safe water use for transboundary guaging stations on the rivers

2.3

Low Flow Regimes - Drought and Ephemeral streams

2.4

Identification of mixing zones under the new EQS Directive

3.1

What pressures act in combination? - measuring the interaction between the pressures

3.2

How can we reach an acceptable level of uncertainty in pressure/impact results to invest in action

3.3

Water related adjustments due to climate change

3.4

Pollution

3.5

Wildfires

3.6

Hydropower

4.1

Develop methodologies to assess and prioritise the efficacy of measures for pressures  - what are the impacts of measures identified in the river basin management plans

4.2

Development of environmental objectives for hazardous substances in marine coastal regions in sediments and biota

4.3

Develop our understanding of river restoration: how benefits-implementation etc

4.4

Improve our understanding of how the Hydro-Morphology regulations of the WFD impact on flood risk management strategies

4.5

How to improve the application and acceptance of measures and management plans for the WFD and water management in general

4.6

The development of tools (to assign charges?) for the implementation of measures

5.1

Improve and develop methods and incorporation of these methods to ensure social capital is included in river basin management

5.2

What are the social and political drivers of GES

5.3

Ecosystem services and other social theories, who will be valued, what values will inform the knowledge production? What makes knowledge pertinent to societal needs and who decides?

5.4

Disperse settlement patterns and their impacts on water management

6.1

How do we evaluate economic flows in environmental services?

6.2

Cost recovery, environmental costs, resource costs and the economic characterisation of water uses & water pricing

6.3

Economic modelling

6.4

Effects of pricing policies and other EU policies on the management of water resources such as subsidies to agriculture.

6.5

What is the impact of drought on the economy

7.1

What techniques do we need to monitor & collect data for good ecological status?

7.2

How do we improve the spatial resolution for monitoring?

7.3

Improve our research and monitoring ability to quantify pollutants

7.4

IWRM-Net to improve networking to facilitate harmonisation of monitoring procedures around Europe

8.1

Improve our ability to manage data at the suitable spatial and temporal scales.

8.2

Improving the transformation of data to information?

8.3

Integration  - how to integrate data from different sources efficiently

8.4

Compile historical, spatial and temporal data on selected river basins to represent:

9.1

Integration. trying to incorporate the many pressures on the water resources in a comprehensive and holistic management system

9.2

Operational Management

9.3

Decision Support tools

9.4

Evidence based policy making

9.5

Demand Management

9.6

Water scarcity and managing erratic flows

9.7

Organisational and administration issues

9.8

Transboundary Water Management

10.1

Integration of groundwater with related fields

10.2

Management of Pollution in Groundwater

10.3

Improve our understanding of carbon plus in soils, how to influence it with water effects on extremes on low flows in different landscapes/land-use,  climate change on infrastructure, water supply and groundwater

10.4

Groundwater Quantity

11.1

Develop methodologies and good practice to integrate biodiversity action plan targets & other legal EU environmental duties with water management at a landscape scale

12

Foresight - please see the work delivered by WP3 (MEEDAT, ADERA-Ecobag and University of Liege)

13.1

How can we improve the participation of 'stakeholders'

13.2

Communication and water policies:

13.3

Science policy interface