The central aim of the proposed Source to Sea (NAPSEA) CSA is to support national and local authorities in selecting effective nutrient load reduction measures and to gain political support for the implementation. The consortium partners were closely involved in applied research and implementation of nutrient reduction measures at local, national and European level.
NAPSEA addresses the current challenges of reducing nutrient pollution, eutrophication and their negative impacts on inland and coastal waters and their ecosystem services. An integrated approach addresses nutrient pollution from river source to sea, using the Rhine and Elbe Rivers-North Sea coastal system as a case study and integrates three complementary perspectives: governance, nutrient pathways & measures, and ecosystem health. Each of these perspectives provides an essential part of the solution to achieving a healthy ecosystem with measures that are societally acceptable and cost-effective. Options to reach a harmonized approach in nutrient reduction measures across different geographical areas and policy frameworks (governance) will be identified, nutrient reduction scenarios will be selected and evaluated with an integrated modelling framework from source to sea (nutrient pathways) and safe ecological boundaries for different ecosystem types along the continuum from catchment to coast (ecosystem health) will be defined.
NAPSEA will showcase best practices and consider obstacles to the implementation of socially acceptable, sustainable and effective measures for several local case studies within this geographical scope, also taking into account the effects of climate change. These case studies accommodate the variability in potential threats of eutrophication as well as feasibility, effectiveness and implementation of potential measures to represent different ecosystem types with varying eutrophication symptoms and address different socio-economic and governance scales from local to the European level.
Fresh Thoughts is responsible for the work on governance and policies (WP2) and:
- Checks the implementation (obstacles) of reducing nutrient losses by 50% and existing strategies to reduce nutrient inputs to the Wadden Sea.
- Identifies existing nutrient reduction measures, obstacles and best practices in the Rhine and Elbe catchments and the next steps needed to harmonise different policies (WFD, MSFD, ND, UWWTD, NECD, OSPAR, CAP) to achieve a coherent approach of combating eutrophication.
- Contributes to the overall synthesis of effectiveness and social acceptance of measures/reduction scenarios from the governance perspective.
NAPSEA is supported by the Horizon Europe program funded by the European Commission in response to the call HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01 Clean environment and zero pollution.