Integrated catchment management in semiarid environments in the context of the European Water Framework Directive

• Published in: Land Degradation & Development
• Main Authors: Thornes, J. B., Rowntree, K. M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2006
• Subjects: Soil Science; General Environmental Science; Development; Environmental Chemistry; Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.742; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fldr.742; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ldr.742

Abstract Two recent developments draw attention to the need for integrated catchment management. First is the European Union's (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD), which insists on an integrated catchment management plan for each European river basin within the next 15 years. Second is the current trend for river restoration; practitioners have concluded that this can only be achieved through a thorough appreciation of the integrated character of catchments. This paper addresses the question as to whether it makes sense to apply the WFD methodology across the range of European catchments and, in particular, what special provisions need to be made for dry Mediterranean catchments. The Southern European rivers are episodic. They yield high and coarse sediment loads and some are still used as waste repositories. They interact intermittently with groundwater. Reference conditions, both geometrical and water quality, require different measures and observations from those of the temperate and Arctic régime rivers that dominate much of the rest of the EU. These properties are identified and discussed with reference to nested subcatchments of the River Segura in the Province of Murcia, Spain. New research in the Nogalte sub‐basin demonstrates a possible ‘reference site’ for this environment. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.