Progress and challenges in managing our catchments effectively

Abstract

Effective implementation of the integrated catchment management approach, catchment characterisation and suitable catchment management strategies and measures are the means of ensuring protection of satisfactory water resources and improvement of unsatisfactory water resources, and achievement of Water Framework Directive requirements. Lessons have been learned from the firstcycle River Basin Management Plans, particularly on the need for proper public and community engagement and involvement, improved governance and targeting of appropriate mitigation measures. However, challenges need to be overcome: there needs to be genuine integration of the work of discipline-or process-based sections in public bodies and better collaboration between these bodies; the environment must be at the core of sustainable intensification; appropriate mitigation measures for diffuse and small point sources will need to be analysed and targeted to the pressures; and there is a need to ensure the involvement, cooperation and co-ownership of water (and biodiversity) management by local people and communities. The approach currently being undertaken is laying a solid foundation for integrating science and people, and is a basis for optimism.

Interannual Improvement in Sea Lettuce Blooms in an Agricultural Catchment

“…The advent of integrated catchment management in Ireland (Daly et al, 2016) requires overall nutrient load reduction targets for estuarine and coastal waters, as a starting point for identification of appropriate targeted measures at catchment level. Refinement of programs of measures is also necessary to target persistent nuisance opportunistic macroalgae.…”

River Basin Management Planning in the Republic of Ireland: Past, Present and the Future

“…First RBMP in the Republic of Ireland (2010Ireland ( -2015 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first published its River Basin monitoring programme in 2006 and followed it up in 2007 with a report on significant watermanagement issues, after which a six-month public consultation was launched [18]. The outcome of the public consultation and Programmes of Measures (PoMS) was then published in December 2008, leading to the first RBMP formally adopted in 2009 [19]. The cost of the consultation and final production of the first RBMP was estimated at EUR 50 million [20]; even so, difficulties in differentiating the types of water resources, a single implementation approach and over-generalisation were some gaps that characterised the first RBMP [19].…”

“…The outcome of the public consultation and Programmes of Measures (PoMS) was then published in December 2008, leading to the first RBMP formally adopted in 2009 [19]. The cost of the consultation and final production of the first RBMP was estimated at EUR 50 million [20]; even so, difficulties in differentiating the types of water resources, a single implementation approach and over-generalisation were some gaps that characterised the first RBMP [19]. Other major gaps identified in the first plan included poor development of assessment methods on the classification of ecological status, unclear methodology on cost recovery of water to domestic consumers and the absence of some quality elements (QEs) in the monitoring programme for lakes and coastal waters [21].…”

A Global Perspective on Phosphorus Management Decision Support in Agriculture: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

“…A recognition that transport, or pathway, factors need to be incorporated into UK and RoI DS has been acknowledged for some time (e.g., Heathwaite et al, 2005;Hughes et al, 2005) and more recently was summarized by Daly et al (2016) and Deakin et al (2016). Recent technological advances in landscape modeling, coupled with field-scale hydrologic monitoring, have led to the development of field-scale risk-based approaches to P management.…”

“…An example in the UK and RoI is the generation of high-resolution, hydrologic risk maps developed with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) elevation data (Thomas et al, 2016a(Thomas et al, , 2017 and combined with field and farm soil P information to provide fine scale CSA maps (Thomas et al, 2016b). Despite adding an important farm-scale element to compliment the catchment scale DSS approach reported by Daly et al (2016) in RoI, the impact of this finer scale research was until recently limited, although it is now being applied nationwide using 5-m digital elevation models (Thomas et al, 2019) but within the micro-topographic limitations highlighted by Thomas et al (2017).…”