Project objectives:
The specific aims of REBECCA are:
to describe current knowledge of relationships between ecological status of surface waters and both hydro-morphological and physico-chemical quality
elements as modified by pressures from different sources;
to identify knowledge gaps;
to develop new relationships based on the integrated analysis of existing data sets at European scale;
to investigate synergistic or antagonistic effects of combined pressures;
to present a consistent and integrated scientific understanding of these relationships; and
to develop and validate tools that member states can use in the process of classification, in the design of their monitoring programs, and in the design of
measures in accordance with the requirements of the WFD.
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Project
Summary:
The objective of REBECCA is to provide underpinning for one of the key scientific principles on which the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is based, i.e. that
relationships between the biological state and physical and chemical properties of surface waters are sufficiently well understood to enable the management
of catchments and rivers to achieve ecological objectives (see footnote*). Historically, there has been great success in maintaining and improving the quality
of surface waters by developing an understanding of the links between anthropogenic pressures (e.g. water abstraction, agriculture, and effluent discharges)
and the chemical status of waters, although there remain many challenges in reliably designing and implementing the necessary programmes of measures. Our
present understanding of the link between chemical properties and ecological state, while good in some instances, is generally not adequate to support management
intervention against ecological objectives.
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Achieved Objectives:
The strategic objective of REBECCA has been to provide relevant scientific
support for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
The two specific aims of the project have been, firstly, to establish links
between ecological status of surface waters and physico-chemical quality
elements and pressures from different sources, and, secondly, to develop
and validate tools that member states can use in the process of
classification, in the design of their monitoring programs and in the design
of measures in accordance with the requirements of the WFD.
The REBECCA project has collected existing data owned by REBECCA
partners and from data providers outside the consortium. Thus, data sets
with improved geographical (and also temporal) coverage have been
produced. They include chemical and biological data from thousands of
sampling sites in European lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Ensuring the
data quality was a big challenge due to the lack of harmonised sampling
and analysing methods as well as lack of harmonised taxonomic resolu
tion. These data sets have been then used to assess the following issues:
investigating the sensitivity of single species, other taxonomic
groups, multi-metric indices against different pressures and
chemical indicators;
testing the response the existing biological indicators (described in
earlier literature) against pressures using the REBECCA data, and
adjust these relationships, if necessary;
developing new biological indicators which would have a better
response, and indicators for pressures not referred to in earlier
literature;
assessing reference conditions (in lakes);
evaluating, if ecological thresholds (points of no return) can be found
across the pressure gradients;
developing new tools to be used in ecological classification.
These analyses' results are all available on the Toolbox project's website:
www.rbm-toolbox.net/rebecca .
Much attention has been paid to organise a continuous information flow
between the project and end-users of its results. At Community level, the
most important link has been between REBECCA and one of the WFD
Common Implementation Strategy groups, namely the ECOSTAT working
group. REBECCA scientists have also been working together ECOSTAT
Geographical Intercalibration Groups to provide them with information in
order to set the ecological class boundaries for surface waters.
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Dr Stefan Gφdeke