Welcome to the Rural, Water and Ecosystem Resources Unit!
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The mission of the Rural, Water and Ecosystem Resources Unit is to carry out integrated ecosystem research in support of EU policies related to the terrestrial and aquatic environment, with particular emphasis on rural development. Among the major policies addressed are the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
The Unit provides extensive support to DG Environment on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive by coordinating relevant Working Groups and providing the crucial link between science and water policy. More specifically, the Unit coordinates the Ecological Status and the Analysis and Monitoring of Priority Substances Working Groups, and makes significant contributions to the Working Groups on Reporting and River Basin Management. Furthermore, the Unit leads the efforts of the IES in developing concepts for a sustainable use of natural resources and the management of waste, including all aspects of life-cyle assessment. As a support to the Common Agricultural Policy, the Unit develops indicators for environmentally sustainable agriculture.
The Unit is equipped with extensive analytical instrumentation and facilities for the identification and quantification of trace quantities of environmental organic and inorganic contaminants. A high-resolution mass-spectrometry facility is available for the analysis of polychlorinated Dibenzo-p dioxins and dibenzofurans and other Persistent Organic Pollutants. There is also a mobile laboratory designed for the isolation, processing and analytical determination of trace chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. In the field of the terrestrial environment, the Unit is equipped with a wide variety of analytical instruments for the analysis of soil and waste matrices and of major and trace elements. The Unit has a high degree of experience and competence in the development of models for environmental impact studies for predicting the concentrations and transport of nutrients, pesticides and other chemicals pollutants in soils, ground- and surface waters from point and non-point sources.
The work of the Unit is carried out in four Research Actions:
Action 21107 - AGRI-ENV (Integration of Environment Concerns into Agriculture) supports the impact assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development Policy on the European environment with a focus on spatial aspects (i.e. provision of geographical data sets, geo-spatial modelling and analyses, maps and indicators).
Action 22001 - MAPLE (Monitoring across Policies and Environmental Media) analyses - through a combination of long-term monitoring, modelling and scenario analysis of options that explore trade-offs of the effects and implications of several EU Policies and strategies by taking into account all relevant aspects and scales that affect the availability of ecosystems goods and services.
Action 22002 - BIOMES (Biodiversity, Water and Ecosystem Services) provides key guidance for the intercalibration exercise on behalf of the European Commission and plays an important role in research and the ecological assessment of Europe’s aquatic ecosystems.
Action 22005 - ENSURE (Environmental Assessment of European Wastes and the Sustainable Management of Resources) provides the technical and scientific support necessary for effectively integrating conventional assessment techniques and life-cycle thinking effectively into EU policies.
Contact Info:
Unit Head:
Giovanni Bidoglio - Tel.: +39-0332-789383 E-mail: giovanni.bidoglio(at)jrc.ec.europa.eu
Communication Officer:
Bernd Gawlik - Tel.: +39-0332-789487 E-mail: bernd.gawlik(at)jrc.ec.europa.eu
