The WISER project has officially finished with the end of February 2012. For three years, 25 European research institutions representing 16 countries have addressed the assessment and management of rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters in Europe. The majority of European lakes, rivers and coastal ecosystems are degraded. Eutrophication, organic pollution, intense catchment land use and habitat degradation affect almost all European surface waters. Ecosystem functions have been lost, and many aquatic species have disappeared from entire ecoregions. Recent European policies target a good ecological status of lakes, rivers and coastal ecosystems. To achieve this, water bodies need to be assessed by comparison with a quality target and, if the quality is below the target, to be restored. For many aquatic ecosystem types ecological assessment systems have been developed; river basin management plans outline the required restoration measures. A lot of questions arise out of these goals. The answers are not trivial and have been subject to the large-scale integrated project WISER. We present on this website clearly summerized key messages, evidences, implications and further information in a step-by-step overview for different water categories.
WISER - Water bodies in Europe: Integrative Systems to assess Ecological Status and Recovery
Giuseppe Morabito;
2009
Abstract
The WISER project has officially finished with the end of February 2012. For three years, 25 European research institutions representing 16 countries have addressed the assessment and management of rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters in Europe. The majority of European lakes, rivers and coastal ecosystems are degraded. Eutrophication, organic pollution, intense catchment land use and habitat degradation affect almost all European surface waters. Ecosystem functions have been lost, and many aquatic species have disappeared from entire ecoregions. Recent European policies target a good ecological status of lakes, rivers and coastal ecosystems. To achieve this, water bodies need to be assessed by comparison with a quality target and, if the quality is below the target, to be restored. For many aquatic ecosystem types ecological assessment systems have been developed; river basin management plans outline the required restoration measures. A lot of questions arise out of these goals. The answers are not trivial and have been subject to the large-scale integrated project WISER. We present on this website clearly summerized key messages, evidences, implications and further information in a step-by-step overview for different water categories.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
