Today, there is a general notion that water resources are best managed according to their river basins. River basin management may be approached from a wide variety of angles. This thesis focuses on information management, institutional arrangements and strategic policy support, with special reference to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The overall objective is to examine strategies, possibilities and hindrances for river basin management, with the ultimate goal of identifying key aspects to be considered - and prioritised - for “successful” European water management and WFD implementation. An assessment of the information management of three transboundary water regimes in Europe showed that a technical/scientific paradigm ap-pears to dominate in river basin accords. This is visible, for example, in the data collection, which is dominated by state and environmental impact information, and the use of passive channels for communicating with stakeholders and other interest groups. The studies addressing institutional arrangements for river basin management according to the WFD showed that the implementa-tion level of the directive is relatively low – both at national and international levels. For instance, competent authorities have not been established (strictly) according to the borders of the estab-lished River Basin District (RBDs). Further, in international RBDs, the ambitions and plans for cooperation vary considerably. Despite the general low implementation level, steps have still been taken in the “direction” of river basin management. At the national level, all examined countries have established RBDs according to river basins, and at the international level, joint river basin management plans will probably be coordinated for a majority of river basins shared by EU Member States. However, the same pattern could not be discerned for river basins extending outside the borders of the EU. In order to support strategic policy making on issues related to the implementation of the WFD, two assessments were made, one addressing international co-operation and water quality in the Baltic Sea Region, and one encompassing rankings of all the newly established RBDs based on a number of identical indicators. Although there is a need to refine these assessments, they may be regarded as simple – but yet robust – models for bench-marking. / QC 20100914

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) was incorporated into the Swedish legislation in 2004 through the ordinance Förordningen om förvaltningenav kvaliteten på vattenmiljön (SFS 2004:660). The objective is that all water bodies shall reach a good status by the year 2015. In Sweden the comprehensive plans of the municipalities can play a large role in reaching these goals. A comprehensive plan deals with the long term water and land use of the municipality, which can facilitate an early consideration of water management in the planning process of the municipality. In Sweden five river basin districts have been established in accordance with the Water Framework Directive. The focus of this study is on the Northern Baltic Sea river basin district. Action strategies have been created for each river basin district, dictating what measures the authorities, among them the municipalities, need to take. The purpose with this study is to find out to what extent the municipalities have taken the action strategies regarding the Northern Baltic Sea river basin and the water quality standards set in Förordningen om förvaltningen av kvaliteten på vattenmiljön (SFS 2004:660) into account when working with their comprehensive plans. The study also sheds light on the municipalities’ view on the demands made on them and what actions can facilitate the working process. The study was made in three parts; a survey, literature studies and interviews. An overall study of all the municipalities in the county of Stockholm was made and three were selected for an in-depth study. The results of the study show that the demands on the municipalities have not been met due to lack of knowledge. The municipalities are aware of the existence of the Water Framework Directive but find it hard to interpret the environmental quality standards and the action strategies. The municipalities wish for a clearer legal definition of the environmental quality standards and a better definition of how the implementation of the action strategies can be made. The municipalities are asking for a clarification of the demands they can make on other organizations and of the demands made on them by the county boards and the River Basin District Authorities.

Shallow lakes are an important ecological and socio-economic resource. However, the impact of human pressures, both at the lake and catchment scale, has precipitated a decline in the ecological status of many shallow lakes, both in the UK, and throughout Europe. There is now, as direct consequence, unprecedented interest in the assessment and monitoring of ecological status and trajectory in shallow lakes, not least in response to the European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). In this context, the spatially-resolving and panoramic data provided by remote sensing platforms may be of immense value in the construction of effective and efficient strategies for the assessment and monitoring of ecological status in shallow lakes and, moreover, in providing new, spatially-explicit, insights into the function of these ecosystems and how they respond to change. This thesis examined the use of remote sensing data for the assessment of (i) phytoplankton abundance and species composition and (ii) aquatic vegetation distribution and ecophysiological status in shallow lakes with a view to establishing the credence of such an approach and its value in limnological research and monitoring activities. High resolution in-situ and airborne remote sensing data was collected during a 2-year sampling campaign in the shallow lakes of the Norfolk Broads. It was demonstrated that semi-empirical algorithms could be formulated and used to provide accurate and robust estimations of the concentration of chlorophyll-a, even in these optically-complex waters. It was further shown that it was possible to differentiate and quantify the abundance of cyanobacteria using the biomarker pigment C-phycocyanin. The subsequent calibration of the imagery obtained from the airborne reconnaissance missions permitted the construction of diurnal and seasonal regional-scale time-series of phytoplankton dynamics in the Norfolk Broads. This approach was able to deliver unique spatial insights into the migratory behaviour of a potentially-toxic cyanobacterial bloom. It was further shown that remote sensing can be used to map the distribution of aquatic plants in shallow lakes, importantly including the extent of submerged vegetation, which is central to the assessment of ecological status. This research theme was subsequently extended in an exploration of the use of remote sensing for assessing the ecophysiological response of wetland plants to nutrient enrichment. It was shown that remote sensing metrics could be constructed for the quantification of plant vigour. The extrapolation of these techniques enabled spatial heterogeneity in the ecophysiological response of Phragmites australis to lake nutrient enrichment to be characterised and assisted the formulation of a mechanistic explanation for the variation in reedswamp performance in these shallow lakes. It is therefore argued that the spatially synoptic data provided by remote sensing has much to offer the assessment, monitoring and policing of ecological status in shallow lakes and, in particular, for facilitating the development of pan-European scale lake surveillance capabilities for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). It is also suggested that remote sensing can make a valuable contribution to furthering ecological understanding and, most significantly, in enabling ecosystem processes and functions to be examined at the lake-scale.

Lietuvai vykdant vandenų politiką teko įgyvendinti ES direktyvų reikalavimus. Bendroji vandens politikos direktyva numato visą vandens apytakos gamtoje rato priežiūrą ir apsaugą, tad reikalaujama įgyvendinti vandens išteklių baseininio valdymo sistemą. Pagal šią sistemą susiejami upių baseinai ir požeminio vandens telkiniai, tarp kurių Lietuvos sąlygomis ryšio nėra, juo labiau jų ribos nesutampa. Šalis išsiskiria tarp daugumos Europos valstybių, nes turi palankias geologines ir klimatines sąlygas gausiems požeminio vandens ištekliams kauptis ir tik juos naudoja geriamam vandeniui tiekti. Todėl požeminio vandens, kaip vienintelio geriamojo vandens šaltinio Lietuvoje, apsauga yra labai svarbi. Baigiamojo magistro darbo tikslas yra išanalizuoti požeminio vandens išteklių baseininį valdymą ir jo įgyvendinimą bei ypatumus Lietuvoje. Kad pasiekti šį tikslą, buvo analizuojama esama požeminio vandens išteklių baseininio valdymo sistema Lietuvoje ir bandoma atskleisti požeminio vandens baseininio valdymo efektyvumą. Darbo įvade iškelta hipotezė, kad požeminio vandens išteklių baseininis valdymas Lietuvoje nevyksta efektyviai ir realiai negali padėti siekti Bendrojoje vandens politikos direktyvoje požeminiam vandeniui keliamų tikslų. Ekspertų nuomonė pateikiama visame darbe, o pagrindinai – paskutinėje darbo dalyje. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados ir rekomendacijos. / Lithuania had to implement the requirements of EU directives when water policy was being implemented. The Water Framework Directive provides supervision and protection of the entire water circuit and requires to implement the river basin management system. This system joins the river basins and the bodies of groundwater, which have no link in the territory of Lithuania. In addition, the borders of both the river basins and the bodies of groundwater do not coincide. Lithuania differs from the majority of other European states because it has favourable geological and climatic conditions that account for the accumulation of abundant groundwater resources – only resources used for drinking water supply. Therefore the protection of groundwater is very important in Lithuania because it is only source of drinking water in this country. The aim of fhe final Master‘s work is to analyse the river basin management of groundwater resources and its implementation and peculiarities in Lithuania. To reach this aim the present river basin management system of groundwater resources has been analysed and the efficiency of this system has been exposed. The hypothesis that the river basin management of groundwater resources in Lithuania is not efficient and it can not help to reach the aims setted for groundwater resources in The Water Framework Directive is confirmed. The opinion of the experts is provided in the work and mainly in its last part. The conclusions and the proposals are... [to full text]

In dem Bericht werden Maßnahmen vorgestellt, von denen erwartet wird, dass sie den Ertrag stabilisieren und gleichzeitig auch N-Bilanzüberschüsse und -verluste mindern. Die Maßnahmen wurden in landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben Sachsens getestet. Als vorteilhaft erwiesen sich insbesondere die biomasseabhängige Rapsdüngung, die Streifenbearbeitung, die Injektionsdüngung und die bestandesabhängige N-Düngung zu Weizen.

This research proposes a methodology to account for policy transaction costs and to assess how they condition the implementation of policy tasks. In light of an empirical analysis of the European Water Framework Directive implementation in 4 institutional contexts, this work (1) elaborates a typology of Policy Transaction Costs (PTC) determinants and (2) depicts stakeholders' strategies to cope with PTC ('arrangements'). We distinguish three main categories of arrangements: strategies to minimize either research and information collection costs, negotiation costs, or coordination costs. This research testifies that certain policy implementation decisions can be explained by the search for PTC minimization according to contextual determinants. Policy analysis shall thus consider PTC linked to policy implementation so as to anticipate (i) the constraints policy actors will face when implementing a given policy and (ii) how these actors are likely to respond to such constraints.

These days we all face with drinking water and not menace to human’s health water’s problem. There are the greater part of fresh water polluted in many countries of European Union (EU). Water is intensive use in energetic, in chemistry industry, in agriculture, and that’s why the flowing water of industrial establishment and agriculture mostly pollutes the rivers, lakes and the seas route of entry, unraveling natural biological cycle, natural environment of organisms, and they menace to human’s health and life. That’s why relevant and effective security of water resources protection is very important. Water protection policy has direct impact on human’s health and the quality of their life’s, thus, this sector falls among the priority fields in environmental protection policy. These days the main consideration is directed to the waist water’s treatment and to secure the quality of drinking water at the moment in Lithuania. The Republic of Lithuania has been participating in the EU waters protection policy. This is related to the important changes in water’s sector legal base, possibilities for funding the projects related to water����s pollution reduction, institutional structure and other aspects. In this master’s work the main attention was directed to the sponsorship analysis of the water sector because if it’s wanted to secure an effective waters’ resources, it’s needed sufficient sponsorship. While implementing one of the EU requests, its need to increase investments to... [to full text]

Les caractéristiques structurelles et fonctionnelles du zooplancton du bassin versant de l'Escaut ont été étudiées en relation avec les conditions environnementales présentées dans les cours d'eau. L'Escaut est un fleuve long de plus de 350km répartis entre la France, la Belgique et les Pays-Bas. Son bassin versant draine un territoire soumis à de nombreuses pressions d'origine anthropique industrielle, agricole et domestique. Par conséquent, d'après l'évaluation de la Directive Cadre sur l'Eau, l'état écologique des cours d'eau est jugé plutôt insatisfaisant. Les précédentes études sur le zooplancton de l'Escaut ayant porté principalement sur les tronçons estuariens du fleuve, les communautés zooplanctoniques des cours d'eau de l'amont du bassin versant, dans la zone transfrontalière entre la France et la Belgique étaient jusqu'alors non documentées à notre connaissance. De la source à l'embouchure de l'Escaut, 4 grandes zones fonctionnelles ont pu être identifiées présentant différentes conditions d'habitat pour le zooplancton, définies principalement par le gradient de salinité et l'influence de la marée. A l'échelle de la partie non estuarienne du bassin versant, la variabilité spatiale et temporelle du zooplancton a été explorée, en relation avec les conditions environnementales. La distribution du zooplancton a montré une forte hétérogénéité, induisant une faible prédictibilité dans au regard de l'état écologique (DCE), des conditions environnementales et des profils de contamination des sites (en considérant une gamme de polluants organiques persistants et métaux traces caractéristiques de la zone d'étude). En revanche, un rôle trophique important a pu être mis en évidence, avec une sélectivité trophique de la fraction zooplanctonique 50 -250 µm envers les groupes algaux, en particulier les Chlorophytes, et un broutage suggéré sur les cyanobactéries. / Structural and functional characteristics of the Scheldt basin zooplankton have been studied in relation with environmental conditions presented in watercourses. The Scheldt runs for 350 km from Northern France to the Netherlands, crossing Belgium. Its basin drains an area subject to multiple pollutions originating from industrial, agricultural and domestic activities. As a consequence, ecological states of watercourses are unsatisfactory according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) evaluation. So far, studies on Scheldt zooplankton have focused on estuarine reaches, and the upstream basin's communities were scarcely documented. From source to mouth of the Scheldt, 4 functional zones have been identified presenting different habitat conditions for zooplankton, defined mainly by salinity gradient and tidal influence. At the scale of the non-tidal watershed, spatial and temporal variability of zooplankton communities have been explored, in relation with environmental conditions. Zooplankton distribution showed a strong heterogeneity, inducing little predictability concerning ecological status (WFD), environmental conditions, and contamination patterns of sites (considering a set of persistent organic pollutants and trace metals characteristics of the study area). However, an important trophic role has been highlighted. The zooplankton community between 50-250 µm showed a selective feeding on some algal groups, particularly on chlorophytes, and and the results suggest a grazing activity on cyanobacteria.

La qualité des services écosystémiques qu'offrent les lacs est liée à la structure et au fonctionnement de leur écosystème. Protéger leur masse d'eau est devenu un objectif global qui requiert une meilleure compréhension de leur fonctionnement, un suivi et une évaluation de leur qualité. Expliquer les hétérogénéités spatio-temporelles des variables physico-chimiques et du phytoplancton est un problème récurrent rencontré en écologie et en hydrobiologie. Comprendre la dynamique de ces hétérogénéités est aussi un prérequis essentiel pour évaluer, protéger et restaurer objectivement les écosystèmes lacustres. En ce qui concerne la surveillance, les hétérogénéités spatio-temporelles introduisent des incertitudes sur la représentativité des mesures par rapport à l'entièreté de la masse d'eau qui est donc discutable et doit être vérifiée. En Europe, la directive cadre sur l'eau (DCE) initiée en 2000 définit un cadre pour la gestion et la protection des eaux. La classification des masses d'eau en fonction de leur état écologique est un point important dans l'implémentation de cette directive. Pour les lacs et les retenues, l'évaluation de cet état écologique est basée sur des paramètres biologiques, physico-chimiques et hydromorphologiques. Les indicateurs liés au phytoplancton et aux paramètres physico-chimiques sont calculés à partir de quatre prélèvements réalisés pendant la période d'activité biologique pour une année sur un plan de gestion de six ans. Dans ce contexte, la modélisation tridimensionnelle (3D) et la prise en compte des forçages qui conduisent aux hétérogénéités spatio-temporelles est une condition préalable nécessaire tant en limnologie appliquée que théorique. Cette thèse aborde la complexité du fonctionnement des lacs et la capacité des modèles 3D à reproduire leur fonctionnement. L'apport de la modélisation 3D est présenté i) pour la compréhension du fonctionnement de lacs de différentes tailles, ii) couplée aux observations satellitaires, pour l'étude de l'influence des forçages par le vent et de l'hydrodynamique sur l'abondance et la distribution spatiale de phytoplancton, iii) dans le cadre de la DCE, pour l'évaluation des incertitudes d'une évaluation de l'état écologique d'un plan d'eau. Pour cela, deux modèles 3D ont été créés et analysés, un pour le lac de Créteil (42~ha) et un autre pour le Léman (580~km$^2$). Celui du lac de Créteil a été validé à partir de données à hautes fréquences acquises en trois points du lac. Il reproduit correctement son hydrodynamique complexe, sa structure thermique, l'alternance entre les périodes de stratification et les épisodes de mélange, ainsi que les ondes internes. Le modèle du Léman a été validé en utilisant des données mensuelles et bimensuelles en deux stations de prélèvement du lac. Il reproduit aussi correctement son hydrodynamique et la variabilité saisonnière de paramètres physico-chimiques et biologiques. Les résultats des simulations mettent en avant les mécanismes physiques et hydrodynamiques responsables de l'apparition de sites où la biomasse de phytoplancton observée est plus élevée. Dans le cadre de la DCE, ces résultats montrent aussi une variabilité spatiale importante des sous-états écologiques basés sur les différents paramètres qui dépendent du choix des dates des campagnes de mesure et du point d'échantillonnage. Ces résultats ont aussi été utilisés pour estimer la représentativité d'une station de prélèvement. Les résultats de cette thèse i) confirment que le fonctionnement des plans d'eau de toute taille est complexe et que les processus physiques génèrent des hétérogénéités spatio-temporelles, ii) suggèrent que le vent et l'hydrodynamique influencent significativement l'abondance et la distribution spatiale du phytoplancton et que iii) ces hétérogénéités peuvent biaiser notre estimation du statut écologique des plans d'eau dans le cadre de la DCE / The quality of ecosystem services provided by lakes is related to the ecosystem structure and functioning. Protecting water bodies is therefore a global goal that requires a better understanding of their function, a monitoring and a water quality assessment. Explaining spatio-temporal heterogeneities of physico-chemical parameters and phytoplankton has been a recurrent ecological and hydrobiological issue. Understanding the dynamics of these heterogeneities is an essential prerequisite for objectively assessing, protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems. Moreover, three-dimensional (3D) and taking into account and drivers of these heterogeneities are essential prerequisites for theoretical and applied limnology. Concerning the monitoring, spatio-temporal heterogeneities are responsible of uncertainties on the representativeness of the data versus the whole lake which might be questionable and needs to be verified. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) initiated in 2000 defines a framework for managing and protecting water bodies in Europe. The classification of water bodies into ecological status is a key issue for the implementation of that framework. For lakes and reservoirs, the assessment of this status is based on biological, physico-chemical and hydro-morphological indicators. Physico-chemical and phytoplankton indicators are calculated based on four observations at an unique sampling station over the growing season, this evaluation being assessed one year for a six-year management plan. In this context, this thesis focuses on the complexity of lakes functioning and the capability of three-dimensional (3D) models to reproduce their functioning. The contribution of 3D models is presented i) for understanding the functioning of lakes of different sizes, ii) coupled to satellite observations, for studying of the influence of wind forcing and hydrodynamics on phytoplankton abundance and spatial heterogeneities, iii) in the context of the WFD, for assessing uncertainties in the lake ecological status assessment. To do that, two 3D models have been created and analyzed, one for Lake Créteil (42 ha) and another for Lake Geneva (580 km2). Lake Créteil 3D model was validated by using high frequency data recorded at three stations. It reproduces well the complex hydrodynamic functioning of the lake, its thermal structure, the alternation between thermal stratification episodes and mixing events, and internal waves. Lake Geneva 3D model was validated by using monthly and bimonthly data at two stations. It reproduces also properly the hydrodynamic functioning of the lake and the seasonal variability of biological and physico-chemical parameters. Simulation results highlight physical and hydrodynamic mechanisms responsible for the occurrence of seasonal hot-spots in phytoplankton abundance. In the context of the WFD, simulation results show also a strong spatial variability of lake ecological status depending on the timing of the four sampling dates as well as the location of the sampling station. These results were also used to assess to representativeness of sampling stations. The results of this thesis suggest that i) the functioning of lakes of different sizes is complex and physical processes generates spatio-temporal heterogeneities, ii) wind and hydrodynamics influence the abundance and the spatial distribution of phytoplankton et iii) spatio-temporal heterogeneities can bias our evaluation of lake ecological status in the WFD

This paper tries to answer the question related to the implementation of one of Europe's most influential EU-directives, the Water Framework Directive. The Directive requires Member States to achieve good ecological potential and good surface water chemical status for bodies of water until year 2015. If the states cannot achieve those objectives within this period, then there may be grounds for exemptions from the requirement to prevent further deterioration of to achieve good status under specific conditions. One of those conditions could be that, the completing the improvements within the timescale would be disproportionately expensive. Question which is examined in this paper is, what criteria would be most appropriate for determining the disproportionate costs. Based on the review of most WFD-related studies and EU legislation are selected criteria, which should be used for the assessment of the disproportionate costs.