REFRESH: Challenges and Objectives
THE CHALLENGE
The future status of freshwater ecosystems is dependent on changes in land-use, pollution loading and water demand. In addition the measures that need to be taken to restore freshwater ecosystems to good ecological status or to sustain priority species need to be designed either to adapt to future climate change or to mitigate the effects of climate change. Building on a previous EU FP6 Project, Euro-limpacs, REFRESH is concerned with generating the scientific understanding that enables such measures to be implemented successfully.
REFRESH OBJECTIVES
The key objective of REFRESH is to develop a framework that will enable water managers to design cost-effective restoration programmes for freshwater ecosystems. This will account for the expected future impacts of climate change and land-use change in the context of the Water Framework and Habitats Directives. REFRESH will evaluate a series of specific adaptive measures that might be taken to minimise adverse consequences of climate change on freshwater quantity, quality and biodiversity.
The focus is on three principal climate-related and interacting pressures; i) increasing temperature; ii) changes in water levels and flow regimes; and ii) excess nutrients. REFRESH brings together rivers, lakes and wetlands scientists with expertise in hydrology, hydrochemistry and ecology, aquatic modelling and social science. Many of these have worked together previously on EU funded projects under FP5 and FP6. Of the 25 partners in REFRESH, 17 were involved in the FP6 Project Euro-limpacs which brought together these scientific communities in an Integrated Project for the first time.
REFRESH is a four year large scale integrated project funded under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, Theme 6 (Environment including Climate Change)
