The CIS document “Integrated sediment management – Guidelines and good practices in the context of the Water Framework Directive” has been published on the European Commission’s website.
This document aims to contribute to improving the understanding of the role of sediment in the context of the WFD and helps foster concrete actions to improve the state of sediment in the EU.
The publication is available under ‘List of other CIS thematic documents available on CIRCABC’ or can be accessed through the link below:
Meuse river - photo from Jos Brils
(Source: SEDNET, https://sednet.org/)
Finally, after 20-years we have it: WFD guidelines on how to manage sediment!
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) came in to force in the year 2000. Although sediment is mentioned, the WFD does not specifically address sediment management. Thus, the European, multi-stakeholder Sediment Network #SedNet (www.sednet.org ) was established in 2002 to raise proper attention for sediment and its management and especially for the integration of sediment in WFD River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). For SedNet, it was clear from the beginning that the WFD objectives can be achieved only if sediment management is duly included in these plans.
Then it took nearly two decennia for the window-of-opportunity opened for proper WFD attention for sediment management (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11368-020-02782-1 ). In April 2019 the WFD Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working group ECOSTAT jointly with SedNet organized a sediment workshop in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The key workshop outcome was consensus among workshop participants that there is a clear need to provide further guidance on how both sediment quantity and quality should be managed to support the achievement of the WFD objectives. In November 2019 the WFD CIS strategic coordination group authorized ECOSTAT to draft such a document and work started mid-2020. The experts involved in its drafting were nominated by the European Member States and worked with European stakeholder group experts, including experts from the SedNet steering group.
The document (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-09/CISdocumentsedimentfinalTO_BE_PUBLISHED_1430554724.pdf ) contains four chapters. These chapters and the lead authors/editors of each chapter are:
1. Sediment dynamics from the headwaters to the sea (Martina Bussettini & Wouter Van De Bund & Francesco Comiti)
2. Sediment quantity (Fernando Magdaleno Mas & Jan Brooke)
3. Sediment contamination (Jos Brils & Dorien ten Hulscher)
4. Integrated sediment management planning (Volker Steege & Jeanne Boughaba)
The document is not intended as a cooking book but raises awareness about why and how to manage sediment from a WFD perspective. It draws attention to key-messages related to that management. Hopefully inspires for better inclusion of sediment measures in WFD RBMPs. Regarding its timing, the document was developed in the year before the finalisation of the draft RBMPs for the 3rd cycles, so Member States still can include it’s recommendations in this cycle and subsequent steps.
Also posted this on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6977540054055297025/
(by Jos Brils)