To develop an integrated large scale risk assessment for biodiversity as well as terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems as a part of environmental risk assessment. 
  
To focus on risks consequent on climate change, environmental chemicals, rates and extent of loss of pollinators and biological invasions.   
To establish socio-economic risk indicators related to the drivers of biodiversity pressures as a tool to support long-term oriented mitigating policies 
and to monitor their implementation.   
To develop, for the first time, a research network that is consistently thinking, interacting, and investigating on a continental scale across different 
environmental problems (impacts) and across different spatial and temporal scales of ecosystem diversity changes.   
To provide a contribution to objective based politics, to policy integration and to derive outcome-oriented policy measures in the field of biodiversity 
preservation by contributing to the integrated assessment of socio-economic drivers affecting biodiversity and integrated, long-term oriented means 
to mitigate them. 
            

Risk maps were produced by calculating predicted environmental   
  
concentrations (PEC) of pesticides, due to runoff or drift, and   
  
quantifying risk by assigning values to the effects of exposing a   
  
variety of aquatic organisms to the pesticides. Values varied depending   
  
on the ability of each species to recover from exposure.   
  
  
  
A measure of aquatic 'ecological quality' was estimated using the   
  
Extended Biotic Index (EBI). Specifically designed for organic   
  
pollution and oxygen depletion, the EBI gives an indication of   
  
ecological quality by examining the variety and numbers of insects,   
  
crustaceans, molluscs and worms, living at the lowest level of a water   
  
body (the 'Benthic zone').   
  
  
  
These data were integrated in the GIS, along with land-use information,   
  
geographical distribution of pesticides (via runoff or drift) and   
  
hydrology3 data. This produced maps that used colours to indicate which   
  
water bodies in the region were at most risk from contamination. Areas   
  
at risk changed depending on the chemical and ecotoxicological   
  
properties of each pesticide. 
            

A new computerised tool helps regulators identify water sources at risk   
  
of pesticide contamination. The tool can be used to produce maps   
  
indicating water bodies at risk of contamination by taking into   
  
account: adjacent land-use, the concentration of pesticides in the   
  
environment and biological indicators of contamination.