Harmoni-CA Harmonised Modelling Tools for Integrated Basin Management

Country: EU Projects
Start Date:           Duration: 60 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: EVK1-2001-00192
Organisation Type:  EC Project
Topics: 
Water resources and their management -->River basin management
Water resources and their management -->Water resources and their management Overview
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.
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 4
Achieved Objectives:

            
Product Descriptions:

            
Additional Information:

            
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
Weblink:
http://www.harmoni-ca.info/
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Dr Stefan Gödeke  Who does what?  09/06/2005 15:51:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/10/2006 11:48:00