“Tools for Assessing Status of European Aquatic Ecosystems” is a scientific conference organised by the three research programmes WATERS, DEVOTES and MARS.
The symposium brings together scientists and environmental managers to present and discuss state-of-the-art indicator development and assessment methods for ecological/environmental status of freshwater and marine ecosystems. The focus of the presentations will be related to the implementation of EU Water Framework Directive and EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The conference venue is the Elite Plaza Hotel in the city of Malmö in the south of Sweden. The symposium will be held May 6-7, 2015.
WATERS is a five-year research programme that started in spring 2011. It´s objective is to develop and improve the assessment criteria used to classify the status of Swedish coastal and inland waters in accordance with the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD). In focus are the biological quality elements used in WFD water quality assessments: i.e. macrophytes, benthic invertebrates, phytoplankton and fish; in streams, benthic diatoms are also considered. The research programme will also refine the criteria used for integrated assessments of ecological water status.
DEVOTES is a four-year project that started in 2012. The overall goal of DEVOTES is to better understand the relationships between pressures from human activities and climatic influences and their effects on marine ecosystems, including biological diversity. A major aim of DEVOTES is to test the indicators proposed by the EC for status classification of marine waters, and to develop new ones for assessment at species, habitat and ecosystem levels. The indicators will be integrated into a unified assessment of the biodiversity and cost efficiency. DEVOTES is funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. To the DEVOTES web page.
MARS is a four-year research project investing how multiple stressors affect rivers, lakes and estuaries. MARS supports the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources. Among the objectives are to understand how ecological status and ecosystem services are related – if at all. The project will advice river basin management how to restore multiply stressed rivers and lakes, and to advise the revision of the WFD on new indicators for ecological status and ecosystem services. In addition MARS intends to develop methods and software for the Programmes of Measures. MARS is funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. To the MARS web page.
