Nordic collaboration on implementation of the water framework directive : status and further challences

Abstract

Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) has led to a certain degree of alteration of water management in the Nordic countries. WFD has also increased focus on water issues and integrated water management, and public participation. To get the water management as knowledge based as possible, there is a common need to develop or adapt management tools for e.g. assessment of ecological and chemical status, ICT solutions (Information Communication Technology), national guidelines etc. Some countries are ahead of others, and different approaches, management systems and applied aquatic R&D have made it valuable to have international collaboration on many of the common challenges. European wide strategies such as the EU Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) provide valuable arenas for sharing god examples. However, the northernmost countries in Europe; Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have for several reasons, including both aquatic environment and administrative systems, found it feasible to establish regular workshops for sharing knowledge and experience in the region, supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). This report summarises the results of a workshop series in an established Nordic network for water managers. Based on funding from the Aquatic Ecosystem group (NCM), the Nordic collaboration project on WFD implementation has initiated and enhanced a more widespread knowledge exchange and networking between water managers and aquatic scientist in the Nordic countries on common water issues related to the implementation of the WFD. Five international Nordic workshops on WFD issues have been arranged in series. The main focus have been on inland waters and sharing experiences on ecological status assessments, monitoring, measures related to pollution and hydro morphology, ICT solutions and best approaches for these issues as basis for River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) for each country including the international river basins they share. The two last workshops (Oslo and Reykjavik) started with an open Nordic conference, and also extended the scope to cover priority substances, mitigation measures libraries and on modelling tools. The European Commission has identified both best practice on implementation of WFD articles in some RBMPs, and several shortcomings in the WFD implementation for Finland, Norway and Sweden regarding characterization, status assessment, monitoring and handling of hydro morphological alteration. All these countries, including Iceland, have large rural areas and share several common water types, handling similar ecological communities and pressures. These are some of the features fostering a further collaboration on these issues. Several collaboration activities, projects and new Nordic WFD workshops are already planned for 2013 and 2014. A major outcome of the Nordic collaboration project is that: • Examples of best practice for implementations of various articles of WFD are identified between countries. • Similar challenges and issues are handled in other countries, and solutions partly solved with different approaches, which needs administrative, scientific or environmental solutions. • The similarities are more common than the differences. • A common interpretation, handling and approach is more accepted than a single country approach • Further common development of e.g. monitoring, classification, measures and ICT are needed