Science-policy interfacing in support of the Water Framework Directive implementation

Abstract

Many current water-related RTD projects have established operational links with practitioners, which allow the needs of policy makers to be taken into account. However, RTD results are not easily available to water policy implementers and research scientists may lack insight in the needs of policy makers and implementers (i.e. the European Commission and water managers). The SPI-Water project worked out a number of concrete actions to bridge these gaps in communication by developing and implementing a ‘science-policy interface’, enhancing the use of RTD results in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation. This project is part of a wider EC perspective aiming to bridge the gap between science and polity, specifically with respect to the WFD implementation. As a first action, existing science-policy links are investigated. RTD and LIFE projects that are of direct relevance for the implementation of the WFD are identified and analysed. Secondly, an information system (Harmoni-CA's WISE RTD Web Portal) has been further developed to cater for an efficient and easy to use tool for dissemination as well as retrieval of RTD results. As third action, this science-policy interfacing of WFD related topics are extended to non-EU countries taking into account their specific needs.