1. Project Objectives, Workplan and Timescales
EU Common Implementation Strategy Project 2.1- Pressures & Impacts (IMPRESS)
Project Objectives, Workplan and Timescales

2. Background Article 5 & Annex II- Characterisation of RBD
Identification of significant human pressures on surface and groundwaters
Assessment of likely impact on water status
WFD Deadline December 2004, reviewed Dec 2013
Project is jointly managed by UK and Germany
Project Managers:
Volker Mohaupt - Federal Environment Agency, Germany
Dave Foster - Environment Agency for England & Wales
Participation - 14 Member States, plus Norway, EEA, Joint Research Centre, EUROSTAT and 5 stakeholder groups

3. IMPRESS CONTACTS

4. Aims
Develop common understanding of most effective approach to identification of pressures and assessment of potential impact of these pressures
Identify appropriate tools to assist with this analysis, and where further development is needed
Develop and disseminate guidance on the above

5. Progress
Initial scoping meeting as part of 6th Technical Workshop between UK Environment Agencies & German Lander Working Group on Water (LAWA), Belfast, June 2001
Attended by 8 MS and EUROSTAT
Output- Background paper on “Identification of significant human pressures and impacts”
Sets out key principles to be addressed in guidance.
Development of draft questionnaire for MS
collation of current “best practice”,
generic sources of information
currently available tools

6. Next Steps (1) Formal Kick-off meeting Tuesday 23rd October, Brussels
discussion of background papers,
introduce questionnaire to MS,
agree updated workplan,
develop links to other working groups.
Questionnaires to completed by end 2001

7. Next Steps (2) First working group workshop: March 2002
Draft guidance document developed: March - August 2002
Second workshop: September 2002 (draft guidance discussed)
Final guidance produced: October December 2002
Guidance published: December 2002

8. Next Steps (3) Working Arrangements
Before Workshop 1 (Oct March 2002)
Complete Questionnaire (MS),
Analyse results (project managers),
Start to develop “outline guidance” on key issues (working group members, with structure from project managers, plus input from questionnaire returns),
At Workshop 2 (March 2002)
Discussion / development of outline guidance
Discussion of questionnaire analysis & implications
Agreement of scope of Guidance Document

9. Potential Topics for Core Groups
Common Understanding (e.g. significance)
Scale Issues
Estimating Impacts
Sources of Data / Information
Availability of Tools
Baseline and trends

10. How
Working Group members volunteer to develop papers on particular topics
Other WG members to assist in drafting
P Managers to identify the scope
Questionnaire returns to inform the process

11. Next Steps (4) Before Workshop 2 (March 2002 - Sept 2002)
Detailed development of key elements of guidance (working group members)
Development of outline Guidance Document (project managers)
Case Studies?
At Workshop 2 (September 2002)
Agreement of final guidance document
After Workshop 2 (Sept Dec 2002)
Production of final guidance document

12. Links to Other Groups
Identification of significant human pressures and their potential impacts on water status links several other aspects of the WFD, and hence other CIS projects
Strong links have been identified with:
Designation of Heavily Modified Waterbodies (Project 2.2)
Reference conditions for inland surface waters (Project 2.3)
Typology / classification of transitional & coastal waters (Project 2.4)
Intercalibration (Project 2.5) - attended kick-off
Economic analysis (Project 2.6) - attended last working group
Development of a common GIS (Project 3.1)
There are also potential links with most other CIS projects

13. Key Issues for Guidance
Defining “pressures” and “what is significant”
use of thresholds etc.
Scale of analysis
what is a waterbody?
Identification of key categories of pressures
Identification of sources of pressure information
Linking pressures to impacts
Assessment of baseline and trends in pressures
Appropriate tools / models etc.
To be discussed further later this morning

14. Working Arrangements - Issues For Discussion / Agreement
Membership of working group
Project Objectives
Linkages to other working groups
Working methods
How to go about developing the various elements of the guidance
Who and How, and by When
Use of Case Studies
Timescales
Key milestones
Dates of working group meetings / workshops