Harmoni-CA Harmonised Modelling Tools for Integrated Basin Management
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Country: EU Projects
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Start Date:
Duration: 60
months
Project Type: RTD
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Contract Number: EVK1-2001-00192
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Organisation Type:
EC Project |
Topics:
Water resources and their management -->River basin management Water resources and their management -->Water resources and their management Overview
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Project objectives:
Several specific tasks with specific objectives are identified within Harmoni-CA:
Work Package 1 : Establishing a communication forum / Harmoni-CA Management
Work Package 2 : Toolbox
Work Package 3 : General Methodology and Guidance Documents
Work Package 4 : Joint use of monitoring and modelling
Work Package 5 : Integrated Assessment and the science-policy interface
Work Package 6 : Co-ordination of ongoing &future RTD-activities
Long-term objective:
A necessity of the Harmoni-CA forum is that the forum for unambiguous communication, information exchange and harmonisation of the use and development of ICT-tools does not perish with the end date of this concerted action. It is foreseen that continuation of the Harmoni-CA forum is desirable. A final objective important outcome of Harmoni-CA will therefore be the formulation of a set of specifications for the continuation and extension of the communication forum.
Innovations
Harmoni-CA will be innovative on seven main issues:
1. Harmoni-CA will be the first European-wide forum bringing together the scientific and political world involved in integrated basin management by incorporating simultaneously natural science, socio-economics, legislation and policy experts, end-users and other stakeholders involved in integrated basin management, and the implementation of the WFD specifically. In doing so this forum will provide the necessary interaction between the various disciplines and stakeholders within integrated basin management. Thus Harmoni-CA will be innovative to both the scientific and the public-political aspects of integrated basin management by balancing the scientific and political aspects.
2. Harmoni-CA will provide the first European-wide forum in which specialists of various disciplines involved in developing and utilising ICT-tools for implementing the WFD may elaborate amongst between themselves approaches and solutions for the use and development of ICT-tools. These discussions are on integrated basin management in general and implementation of the WFD specifically.
3. Harmoni-CA will provide the forum for integrating existing expertise leading to generalised approaches, methods and guidelines for use and development of ICT-tools in integrated basin management. The expertise originates from different disciplines, countries and (international) projects, bridging gaps resulting from cultural differences among scientific disciplines, stakeholders and nationalities, levels of complexity and scales. Harmoni-CA will thus provide the proper basis for consistent river basin management plans for all types and size of (transboundary) basins.
4. Harmoni-CA will give guidance on tuning monitoring efforts and model data demand, resulting in an increased quality of environmental assessment and an increase of model quality simultaneously. Currently monitoring for state assessment and monitoring for modelling are separated branches of science, and do not correspond to an integrative water management approach. Guidelines on the data necessities of integrated models and appropriate models for assessment processes will lead to closer interactions between natural, socio-economic, technical and political sciences, increasing both the added value of models and the quality of monitoring.
5. Harmoni-CA will achieve additional innovation in on-going national and international research projects by actively searching for related projects and facilitating knowledge transfer.
6. Harmoni-CA will increase the efficiency of innovative research by providing a harmonised modelling environment in water management planning, and supporting the development of broadly accepted model communication interfaces.
7. Harmoni-CA will provide relevant information and general agreement on the necessities of future research and development for integrated basin management throughout Europe.
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Project
Summary:
The WFD provides a European policy basis for water management and the elaboration of policies for river basins. It prescribes the development of river basin management plans focusing on clearly defined objectives. The preparation of such plans is a difficult and complex task, since it involves various types of integration and collaboration: The integration of different physical domains in water management such as hydraulics and ecology; The integration of socio-economics and physics such as economic water demand and water availability; Collaboration with various stakeholders, policy development and the public; etc. Furthermore the variety in physical properties, socio-economics, management etc. throughout Europe results that each basin has its own unique characteristics and makes the development of basin management plans all but straightforward. Due to these factors an increasing need is felt for guided use and methodologies of harmonised high quality computer based tools (ICT-tools) supporting the design or river basin management plans and implementation of the WFD. Current water management systems often lack possibilities for integrated sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, an important necessity when comparing scenarios for management strategies and identifying factors leading to the success or failure of alternative policy measures. The consequence is that an integrative water management focused on whole river basins and considering simultaneously all water users and natural, socio-economic and legal-political conditions in such basins is not common and consistent throughout the EU. Scientific objectives and approach: The overall objective of the large scale concerted action 'HarmoniCA' is to create a forum for unambiguous communication, information exchange and harmonisation of the use and development of ICT-tools relevant to integrated river basin management, and the implementation of the WFD. HarmoniCA is a concerted action, meaning the project's innovation is based on reviewing, elaborating and synthesising available knowledge, resulting in new insights, achieving a common understanding of problems, methods and solutions. Though much of the work involves ICT-tools, HarmoniCA is not about ICT-tools as such: HarmoniCA is about harmonisation and guidance on proper development and use of ICT-tools in the light of effective and efficient development of integrated river basin management plans and the implementation of the WFD. Expected impacts: The communication, information exchange and harmonisation is geared towards the development of a widely accepted, flexible, harmonised modelling toolbox, including ICT-tools, guidance and methodologies, which can be applied by the various
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Achieved Objectives:
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Product Descriptions:
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Additional Information:
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Project Resources:
Harmoni-CA Guidance 1 Uncertainty Analysis
HARMONI-CA Web Page - Key Information Sources for river basin / catchment modelling
WISE - Water Information System for Europe
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Weblink:
http://www.harmoni-ca.info/
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Funding Programme(s):
EC Framework Programme 5
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Link to Organisations:
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Submitted by:
Dr Stefan Gödeke
Who does what?
09/06/2005 15:51:00
Updated by:
Professor Paul Bardos
Who does what?
03/10/2006 11:48:00
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