On 12 and 13 June 2012, around 90 people participated in the ECOSTAT workshop on hydromorphology in Brussels. Already for a number of years ECOSTAT supports EU Member States with issues related to intercalibration and ecological classification for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). In December 2010, the Water Directors asked Working Group A Ecological Status ("Ecostat") to provide advice on the potential to intercalibrate good ecological potential. For this a workshop has been organised.
This workshop intended to contribute to an understanding of the current state of play with respect to the assessment of hydromorphological impacts and the classification of ecological potential. The focus was on methods that are already in use in the Member States or other European countries. Target groups were technical experts and practitioners. Most of the EU Member States were represented as well as representatives from DG Environment and various stakeholder groups (e.g. NGOs, hydropower, navigation). The presentations covered methods predominantly for rivers, but also for lakes, estuaries and coastal waters. The presentations were organised in four sessions:
- Hydromorphological assessment methods
- Ecological assessment methods
- Methods for assessing ecological potential in heavily modified and artificial water bodies
- Environmental flows in rivers affected by impoundments
The organisers will compile this first EU wide overview of methods and prepare a proposal how to proceed. The REFORM project was invited to present its aims and approach including a glimpse of one of the first draft results on hydromorphological assessment methods. Both members of ECOSTAT and REFORM are in favour of organising a joint meeting early 2013 in Brussels where the follow-up of this workshop will be combined with the first results of REFORM. We will inform you through our website and future newsletters when more details are available.
For further information on the ECOSTAT workshop on hydromorphology please contact Wouter van de Bund (JRC) or Peter Pollard (SEPA).