Water Framework Directive: Model supported Implementation. A Water Manager's Guide. Edited by Fred F Hattermann and Zbigniew W Kundzewicz. ISBN: 9781843392736, pp 280

Water resources planning and management and the development of appropriate policies requires methodologies and tools that are able to support systematic, integrative and multidisciplinary assessments at various scales. It alsorequires the quantification of various uncertainties in both data and models, and the incorporation of stakeholders participation and institutional mechanisms into the various tools and risk assessment methodologies, to help decision makers understand and evaluate alternative measures and decisions. This book is one of the concrete outcomes of the Harmoni-CA concerted action (supported by the European Commission).

 

It provides a framework for model-supported participatory planning of measures at various river basin scales and practical guidance to water managers and other interested stakeholders on the model-supported implementation of the WFD. The objective of the book is to offer guidance to water managers on the model-supported implementation of the Water Framework Directive at the level of a river basin district and at other levels (such as sub-basins, national, or international scale in the case of international river basins).

 

It should help water managers to better understand how models may be used for planning purposes, while special attention isgiven to the problem of predicting an uncertain future, one very likely to differ from the present. Six case studies from different parts of Europe are provided to illustrate the practical applicability of the planning framework in the WFD implementation. They are very important for illustrating how concepts from earlier parts of the document are applied to real-world situations.

 

The case studies cover several aspects of meso-scale river basin management, water quantity and quality issues, and the role of modelling, with two case studies located in pilot river basins. This text is intended for use by water managers and hydrologists engaged in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.