Ecological Assessment of Swedish Water Bodies

The purpose of the the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is, among other things, to prevent further deterioration, protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems, and to promote sustainable water use. This means that the definitions of environmental objectives and targets are based, not only on scientific ecological arguments, but also involves social and economic aspects. In contrast, however, assessments of ecological status are only based on the best available scientific knowledge and principles. The ecological status is also an important basis for setting environmental objectives and for evaluating the need for measures. When the WFD was enacted in 2000, most of this scientific understanding was conceptual, but implementation demands quantitative knowledge in order to obtain operational tools for determining appropriate management measures, acknowledging that implementing these measures may be costly for society. Consequently, over the years, considerable scientific effort has been devoted to improving our quantitative understanding of ecosystem responses to pressures, developing tools for assessing ecological status, and determining the most cost-effective measures to restore good ecological status for those water bodies in a degraded state. Essentially, scientists have been challenged to develop tools that environmental managers in national agencies can apply to fulfil the objectives of the WFD.

The purpose of the WFD is, among other things, to prevent further deterioration, protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems, and to promote sustainable water use. This means that the definitions of environmental objectives and targets are based, not only on scientific ecological arguments, but also involves social and economic aspects. In contrast, however, assessments of ecological status are only based on the best available scientific knowledge and principles. The ecological status is also an important basis for setting environmental objectives and for evaluating the need for measures. When the WFD was enacted in 2000, most of this scientific understanding was conceptual, but implementation demands quantitative knowledge in order to obtain operational tools for determining appropriate management measures, acknowledging that implementing these measures may be costly for society. Consequently, over the years, considerable scientific effort has been devoted to improving our quantitative understanding of ecosystem responses to pressures, developing tools for assessing ecological status, and determining the most cost-effective measures to restore good ecological status for those water bodies in a degraded state. Essentially, scientists have been challenged to develop tools that environmental managers in national agencies can apply to fulfil the objectives of the WFD. The WATERS programme has helped improve the scientific foundation of WFD implementation by developing tools for assessing ecological status in both inland and marine surface waters in Sweden.