By now, all European freshwater and coastal marine ecologists should be familiar with the European Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, which is commonly referred to as the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The purpose of the directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal ...

This paper fulfils a gap in environmental management by producing a typology of stakeholders for effective participatory processes and co-design of solutions to complex social–environmental issues and then uses this typology for a stepwise roadmap methodology for balanced and productive stakeholder engagement. Definitions are given of terminology that is frequently used interchangeably such as ...

Introduction Knowledge about the bathymetry of water bodies is of high economic, social, and ecologic importance. Whereas charting bathymetry for navigational purposes is indispensable for ensuring safe shipping traffic, monitoring the quantity and quality of fresh water resources gains more and more importance, especially in the light of climate change. In the European context three water rela...

The Water Framework Directive is a major regulatory reform of water resources management within the European Union. Integrated catchment management plans must be prepared for all river basins, in order to achieve 'good ecological status' in all EU waters. Ecological status is a broader measure of water quality than the chemical and biological measures that were previously dominant. The Directiv...

In Europe, management and protection of the environment have historically been the responsibility of local or national agencies. This began to change with the long list of water-related European directives, which have set increasingly coordinated European targets for potable, waste and bathing waters. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the most significant of these as it draws together the ...