The WISER project is developing methods for assessing and restoring aquatic ecosystems.
The majority of European lakes, rivers and coastal ecosystems are degraded. EutrophicationEnhanced primary productivity caused by nitrogen and phosphorous, 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 plansOutlines restoration goals to be achieved and the measures required outline the required restorationActivity to improve the status of degraded waters, be it waste water treatment or structural improvements measures.
The WISER final conference in Tallinn 2012 - Current questions in water management
How do we assess the impact of lakeshore degradation?
Which organisms are suited to assess the impact of different stressors on coastal areas across Europe?
What are the best restoration and management options to mitigate human impact on rivers and their estuaries?
Such questions frequently arise in the daily business of river basin and water managers throughout Europe. The answers are not trivial and have been subject to the large-scale integrated project WISER.
The conference aims at providing a platform to present the applicability of the developed tools and approaches. The focus will be on a science-policy interface with specific sessions for in-depth scientific presentations and hands-on sessions for end users.
Read more WISER final conference, registration and information
WISER in a nutshell
WISER will support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by developing tools for the integrated assessment of the ecological status of European surface waters.
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WISER project news
WISER website: new features
WISERBUGS software: new version
Final conference 2012
Read more in the news section on:
– WISER publications
– WISER deliverables and results
The WISER project is funded by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme, Theme 6 (Environment including Climate Change) (contract No. 226273).