Background metal levels determination in bivalves – quality assessment of the European Water Framework Directive

Background levels of metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) in biomonitors (Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels and Crassostrea gigas oysters), in estuarine waters within the Basque Country (south-east Bay of Biscay) are estimated using non-parametric statistical tools and data are presented graphically, with the aim of being used in assessing the ecological status, within the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The basis for this study was the statistical analysis of data compiled from monitoring programmes undertaken along the Basque coast, between 1990 and 2008. For this analysis, a heuristic method was adapted and used. Results showed different metal background ranges throughout the year for both mussels and oysters. Values corresponding to the upper limit of the background range (i.e. value of the upper whisker of the box-plot) are proposed as the ‘high/good’ status boundary, according to the WFD.     

大气环境科学综合数据采集共享平台建设及应用研究

为实现大气重污染成因与治理攻关项目数据的统一管理和数据共享,基于美国电子政务共享框架（Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework,FEA）方法论和数据中台思想,采用JAVA平台和SOA框架,以大气重污染成因与治理攻关项目科研数据为主,整合全社会大气科学数据资源,面向京津冀、汾渭平原大气污染成因与治理改善分析的核心业务需求,建设集多源异构数据采集、治理、共享、分析、发布于一体的大气环境科学数据采集与共享平台;建立完善的线上数据治理流程,采用多种算法实现大气业务数据集的实时质控;采用分级、分权限的数据共享机制和共享接口动态编辑技术,建立一站式数据枢纽.结果表明:①建立大气科学数据规范分类体系,提供从原始数据、二次数据产品、大气攻关信息发布等多种类型的数据共享服务.②建立海量多源异构综合数据集,包括空气质量、组分、污染源、气象、健康等11类,数据总量4.3 TB,包括7.5亿条数据和66万个文件.③开发交互式GIS服务和线上评估分析工具,实现环境空气质量评估、气象影响分析、组分变化、污染源统计四类主题数据服务.④向大气重污染成因与治理攻关项目各课题组、七省（市）提供多种形式共享,开放104个数据接口,实现21亿条数据、2万份文件、15个专题共享,有力地支撑了大气重污染成因与治理攻关项目的各项研究.      

Contrasting stories on overcoming governance challenges: the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands

The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) has provided the European Member States with a range of interacting governance challenges. This article studies three of these (the need for new administrative arrangements, public participation, and the enforced strict time frame). It questions how these interacting governance challenges were addressed in implementing the WFD in the Netherlands – a particularly interesting country since the European Commission assesses its implementation process in relatively positive terms, while an in-depth study reported on in this article tells a contrasting story. Based on this study, the article concludes that especially the interaction effects between the governance challenges may help us to better understand the outcome of the WFD-implementation process, and to provide more suitable advice as to how to improve the implementation process in future rounds.     

能源规划环境影响评价内容框架实践与探讨

规划环评是环评领域一个新方向。虽然环评法已经实施,但目前在实际执行过程中,对编制的规划如何按照规划环评导则组织规划环评以及对规划环评思路和内容框架尚没有具体的研究。从实践出发并结合环境与发展综合决策的角度,以浙江省2010年电力发展规划及2020年展望的能源类规划环评为案例,对能源类规划环评的内容框架作初步研究。     

Evaluation of the use of bioaccumulation and biological effects tools in caged mussels,within the European Water Framework Directive

Bioaccumulation and biological effects of pollution were assessed in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) caged for one month at three sites in the Oiartzun estuary (south-eastern Bay of Biscay, Spain) with the aim of evaluating their usefulness within the investigative monitoring defined in the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). The highest concentrations of organic contaminants determined in mussels' tissue were detected towards the inner part of the estuary but no gradient pattern was found for metal bioaccumulation. Population fitness responses measured as condition index, stress on stress and gonad index were similar in all caged mussels and did not follow the organic pollution gradient. However, biomarkers determined at tissue, cell and protein level (histopathology, micronuclei frequency, malondialdehyde levels and vitellogenin-like protein levels) revealed a higher stress syndrome at the inner part of the estuary showing signs of genotoxicity, oxidative stress and endocrine disruption. Overall, the integrated chemical–biological approach in connection with mussel caging technique proved to be a useful tool to assess environmental pollution, allowing a better understanding of the cause–effect relationship within the investigative monitoring defined in the WFD.     

累积影响评价的原则和框架

累积影响评价是针对项目环境影响评价极少考虑若干活动累积影响的缺陷和适应可持续发展的要求而发展起来，而建立累积影响评价的原则和呆对提高其有效性具有重要意义，在分析和总结有关文献的基础上，根据累积影响评价的特征，提出了累积影响评价的原则和框架，以指导和规范累积影响评价的实践。     

Implementing the Water Framework Directive: Contract Design and the Cost of Measures to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution from Agriculture

The performance of different policy design strategies is a key issue in evaluating programmes for water quality improvement under the Water Framework Directive (60/2000). This issue is emphasised by information asymmetries between regulator and agents. Using an economic model under asymmetric information, the aim of this paper is to compare the cost-effectiveness of selected methods of designing payments to farmers in order to reduce nitrogen pollution in agriculture. A principal-agent model is used, based on profit functions generated through farm-level linear programming. This allows a comparison of flat rate payments and a menu of contracts developed through mechanism design. The model is tested in an area of Emilia Romagna (Italy) in two policy contexts: Agenda 2000 and the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. The results show that different policy design options lead to differences in policy costs as great as 200–400%, with clear advantages for the menu of contracts. However, different policy scenarios may strongly affect such differences. Hence, the paper calls for greater attention to the interplay between CAP scenarios and water quality measures.     

Disproportionate costs in the EU Water Framework Directive—How to justify less stringent environmental objectives

The ambitious objective pursued by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is good status for all European waters. However, “less stringent environmental objectives” are permissible if the costs of achieving good status are disproportionately high. This exemption, if abused, carries the risk of watering down the ambitions of the Directive. Currently, no transparent, well-established, universally applicable method for routinely testing disproportionality exists throughout Europe. In this paper, such a method is developed for surface water bodies. The core idea is to determine a water body-specific disproportionality threshold which is then compared to the projected costs of achieving “good status/potential”. For the sake of practicability, the benchmark for disproportionality is estimated on the basis of prior expenditure on water quality enhancement. The paper argues that the proposed method combines both possible interpretations of (dis-)proportionality—affordability and cost-benefit considerations. Due to the method’s moderate data requirements it can be used readily in most German federal states and is transferable in principle to other EU Member States. The method was tested empirically for a river in the German federal state of Rhineland–Palatinate.     

The European Water Framework Directive: Water Quality Classification and Implications to Engineering Planning

The European Water framework directive (WFD) is probably the most important environmental management directive that has been enacted over the last decade in the European Union. The directive aims at achieving an overall good ecological status in all European water bodies. In this article, we discuss the implementation steps of the WFD and their implications for environmental engineering practice while focusing on rivers as the main receiving waters. Arising challenges for engineers and scientists are seen in the quantitative assessment of water quality, where standardized systems are needed to estimate the biological status. This is equally of concern in engineering planning, where the prediction of ecological impacts is required. Studies dealing with both classification and prediction of the ecological water quality are reviewed. Further, the combined emission–water quality approach is discussed. Common understanding of this combined approach is to apply the most stringent of either water quality or emission standard to a certain case. In contrast, for example, the Austrian water act enables the application of only the water quality based approach - at least on a temporary basis.