Page 15 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

This handbook aims to capture essential technical information and guidance derived
from the EU, UK and international research and make it available in a structured way to
practitioners and interested parties.

Substantial progress in biological monitoring and objectives for any given river basin. This allows a wide range
assessment methods have been made in the UK and of interventions most suited to local circumstance.
across Europe, driven by the WFD. Similar approaches are Figure 2 is useful for considering the range of options
being developed and adopted across the world, in both available to achieve outcomes.
developed and developing countries. Requests for technical
assistance, knowledge exchange and capacity building in Physical habitat, flow, water quality, or a combination of
biological and ecological methods are frequently made to all three, could be improved to allow good status to be
the UK and the EU. Bringing this information into a single achieved. Much of the historic clean-up of water bodies has
book aims to help this exchange and development process. focussed on water quality and pollution control. However,
final outcomes may actually be due to improved physical
The WFD is focussed on achieving ecological outcomes habitat and minimum flow controls, linked to ongoing water
in river basins. The overall aim is to achieve and maintain quality protection. It is the understanding of how these
‘good ecological status’ in all EU waters. This is subject to factors interact that will optimise ecological and biological
sustainable water use and defined social and economic protection and improvement.
tests. In some cases, water objectives can be reduced
where intervention would be disproportionately expensive,
or, if waters are designated as heavily modified or are It is important to note that although the overall aim
artificial, where the target is ‘good ecological potential’. of the WFD is to achieve ‘good ecological status’
the actual objectives for each water body and river
Quantifying these terms and the degree to which waters basin are set by the River Basin Planning process,
comply with them is a key element of the biological and may be different to this.
monitoring and assessment process.
The WFD stipulates that implementation progress
With the focus on outcomes, rather than process, the WFD should be assessed against delivery of the
assumes that the most cost-effective combination of actions ‘programmes of measures' and ultimately the
will be put in place, which aim to achieve agreed status actual objectives set in the plan.

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