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Experiences and Lessons Learned on the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Selected European River Basins

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The Ebro River Basin

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 13))

Abstract

River basins worldwide are under pressure from economic activities. In Europe, the two main factors hindering the achievement of good chemical and ecological status of European river basins are pollution, mainly coming from agriculture, and hydromorphology (e.g. for navigation, hydroelectricity and flood control). The economic activities affect the chemical and ecological status of rivers, lakes and groundwater and deplete available soil, sediments and water resources. The wide range of these activities and the eco-hydrological complexity of many river basins, both in terms of the functioning of the soil–sediment–water system and of the links between water quantity, quality and economic activities, make the integrated management of river basins extremely complex. Approaches to this management across Europe have been dramatically impacted by the introduction of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD promotes the integrated management of water resources based on the natural geographical and hydrological unit of the river basin rather than administrative or political boundaries. In this chapter, experiences and recommendations on the implementation of the WFD in a number of representative river basins across Europe are described and regarded as a support on the implementation of the WFD in the Ebro river basin.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research-Spanish Council of Scientific Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    M. S. Díaz-Cruz & A. Ginebreda

  2. Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research-Spanish Council of Scientific Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain

    D. Barceló

  3. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, Edifici H2O, E-17003, Girona, Spain

    S. Sabater & D. Barceló

  4. Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Av. Diagonal, 647, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    R. M. Darbra

  5. Department of Ecotoxicology, Technische Universitaet Berlin, Keplerstrasse 4-6, D-10589, Berlin, Germany

    P. D. Hansen

  6. Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA), Provença 204-208, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    L. Galbiati

  7. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense, 84, 29100, Piacenza, Italy

    E. Capri

  8. Instituto de Investigaçao das Pescas e do Mar (IPIMAR), Avenida de Brasilia, 1400, Lisbon, Portugal

    C. Vale

Authors
  1. M. S. Díaz-Cruz
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  2. R. M. Darbra
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  3. A. Ginebreda
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  4. P. D. Hansen
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  5. S. Sabater
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  6. L. Galbiati
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  7. E. Capri
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  8. C. Vale
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  9. D. Barceló
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. S. Díaz-Cruz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, c/Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Damià Barceló

  2. , Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Mira Petrovic

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Díaz-Cruz, M.S. et al. (2010). Experiences and Lessons Learned on the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Selected European River Basins. In: Barceló, D., Petrovic, M. (eds) The Ebro River Basin. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry(), vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2010_80

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