WETLANDS AND THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH: TRANSLATING SCIENCE INTO POLICY Science for Water Policy: the

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WETLANDS AND THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TRANSLATING
SCIENCE INTO POLICYScience for Water Policy
the implications of the Water Framework
Directive. Euro-conference, Norwich, 2nd-4th
September 2002

• Edward Maltby, Richard Thorne and Ursula Digby.
• Royal Holloway Institute for Environmental
  Research,Royal Holloway, University of London.

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Introduction

• Historic Policy Framework
• Convention on wetlands of International
  importance.
• The Birds Directive (Directive 79/409/EEC on the
  conservation of wild birds)
• The Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC on
  the conservation of natural habitats and of wild
  fauna and flora)
• The Water Framework Directive (Directive
  2000/60/EC on establishing a framework for
  Community action in the field of water policy)
• Need for a New Approach
• Decision making regarding wetlands prior to the
  WFD
• Has often been based solely on biodiversity
  criteria which has led to continued loss
• The Requirement for new decision-making framework
  with the WFD -
• sustainable management through the integrated
  assessment of all functions that wetlands perform
  and their value to society (e.g. flood
  alleviation, improving water quality, ecosystem
  support recreation)
• Robust and widely applicable tools are required
  to assess these functions

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Kismeldon Meadows
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The Water Framework Directive

• Key Objectives
• Good chemical and ecological status for all
  waters
• Sustainable water use
• Co-ordination and transparency
• Methodology
• river basin as basic management unit
• obligatory cross-boundary coordination
• river basin management plans
• programme of measures
• Derogations
• if affected by past human activity
• natural condition
• unfeasible / disproportionate expense
• extended deadlines
• lower objectives
• new physical modifications of overriding public
  interest

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Wetlands and the Water Framework Directive

• Relevance to wetland management
• Article 1 Establishment of a wetland protection
  framework.
• Article 4a An emphasis on ecological quality as
  well as water quality.
• Article 5 The characterisation of wetlands in
  the context of their River Basins.
• Article 8 The assessment of waters moving in
  and out of wetlands in terms of flow rates,
  chemical quality and ecological potential.
• Article 13 The development of River Basin
  Management Plans.
•  
• The emphasis on River Basin management and the
  assessment of ecological quality will encourage
  more complete assessments of wetland functions
  and the benefits they provide, in the context of
  an entire catchment.
• Deficiencies
• Wetlands have the capability and potential to
  help deliver the objectives of the WFD, but they
  are not the subject of specific emphasis in the
  Directive
• Regulatory and other responsible agencies are
  wrestling with questions of how to implement the
  WFD
• This is a particular issue with regard to
  wetlands

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Recitals

• 8 Communication on the Wise Use and Conservation
  of wetlands (sensu RAMSAR).
• 20 Relationship between groundwater and
  terrestrial ecosystems (wetlands)
• 23 Common principles needed protect aqautic
  ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems and
  wetlands directly dependent on them

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Wetlands and the Water Framework Directive

• No environmental objectives comparable to
  specified water bodies.
• Will contribute to the protection, restoration
  and recreation of wetlands.
• effects of groundwater pollution or
  over-abstraction.
• HOW DO WE ASSESS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DAMAGE TO
  WETLANDS?
• necessary to achieve ecological and chemical
  status objectives of surface waters.
• GUIDELINES TO THE EXTENT / EFFECTIVENESS OF
  THIS.
• recreation important and cost effective means of
  controlling pressures such as diffuse pollution.
• OPTIMUM LOCATIONS.
• planning mechanism to help achieve objectives of
  protected areas where water status is important.
• ?

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Significance of damage to wetlands

• Ecological change.
• Loss/degradation of functioning.
• THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH
• Other? E.g. socio-economic.

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Concept

• Wetlands are simply part of the hydrological
  continuum, which links other water bodies, but in
  which, the particular hydrological regime and
  other characteristics confers special functional
  properties.
• Wetlands should be considered as water bodies in
  the same sense as others designated under the
  WFD.

Consequence
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Wetland Definitions and TerminologyConfusion
and Dilemmas

• there is no single, correct, indisputable
  definition for wetlands, primarily because of the
  diversity of wetlands and because the demarcation
  between dry and wet environments lies along a
  continuum.
• Cowardin et al. (1979)
• An agreed definition of wetlands is required
  across Europe for several reasons
• There is currently no widely accepted definition
  and the term wetlands is interpreted
  differently between countries and sectors within
  countries.
• A widely accepted definition is required for
  interpretation and implementation of the WFD and
  other relevant European wide legislation.
• The term wetlands is relatively new and has no
  easily translated equivalent in some European
  languages. Therefore, a definition is required to
  facilitate communication within Europe.

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Definitions and TerminologyConfusion and
Dilemmas

• RAMSAR definition
• areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether
  natural or artificial, permanent or temporary,
  with water that is static or flowing, fresh,
  brackish or salt, including areas of marine water
  the depth of which at low tide does not exceed
  six meters
• Broad definition
• Lacking scientific consistency
• The development and implementation of wetland
  specific legislation and policies is difficult as
  a result.

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Definitions and TerminologyNew Functional
Definition

• Wetlands are heterogeneous but distinctive
  ecosystems in which
• special ecological, biogeochemical and
  hydrological functions
• arise from the dominance and particular sources,
  chemistry and
• periodicity of inundation or saturation by water.
  They occur in a
• wide range of landscapes and may support
  permanent shallow
• (lt2m) or temporary standing water. They have
  soils, substrates and
• biota adapted to flooding and/or waterlogging and
  associated
• conditions of restricted aeration.
• Notes (excluding)
• Deeper water bodies.
• Permanent rivers and streams per se.
• Other RAMSAR types.

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Wetland Processes and Functioning
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Translating Wetland Science to Assist in the
Implementation of the WFDThe Functional Approach

• The development of a methodology for evaluating
  the functioning of European wetland ecosystems
  based on detailed process studies an expert
  approach.
• For a variety of non-expert users
• Rapid implementation
• Developed over three projects
• Functional Analysis of European Wetlands - FAEWE
  (1991-1994)
• FAEWE II (1994-1999)
• Procedures for the Operationalisation of
  Techniques for the Functional Analysis of
  European Wetland Ecosystems - PROTOWET
  (1996-1999)

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EVALUWET and TECWET

• The results of these studies currently are being
  transformed into user-friendly procedures for
  wetland assessment as part of an accompanying
  measure to EVALUWET (TECWET).
• The current project in this series European
  Valuation and Assessment Tools Supporting Wetland
  Ecosystem Legislation (EVALUWET), which aims to
  develop a decision-making system enabling the
  European wetland resource to be evaluated in line
  with legislative requirements.
• In brief, the main aims are
• To establish a harmonised approach amongst
  European environmental agencies and stakeholders
  to the implementation of wetland relevant
  legislation, especially the WFD.
• To develop a Wetland Evaluation decision support
  system (WEDSS) which integrates wetland function
  and value information.
• To develop a catchment scale functional
  evaluation methodology for application across
  Europe that fulfils the requirements of the WFD.
• To develop a model for socio-economic valuation
  and decision making.
• EVALUWET will ensure linkage between natural
  science and socio-economic
• evaluation systems. The multi-criteria DEFINITE
  model will be used and
• integrated into the WEDSS.

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The Structure of the Functional Assessment
Procedures
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Assessment Example (denitrification)
Quantification of Function (sum of processes)
Quantification of Processes
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WEDSS Structure
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WEDSS Structure

• The core component of a DSS support system is the
  Knowledge Base (KB).
• The KB is where the logic of the system being
  analysed is coded through algorithms or
  successions of elementary operations.
• In addition, the KB also stores the experts
  description of how the system reacts in a range
  conditions.
• The purpose of the KB is to assess the response
  of the system to hypothetic management scenarios.

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WEDSS Structure
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Future Steps

• Awareness and training
• Improvement by experience
• Enhanced linkage to policy objectives
• Additional modules
• Scenario testing
• Catchment functional zonation