- Gd 3 - impress

Foreword The EU Member States, Norway and the European Commission have jointly developed a common strategy for supporting the implementation of the Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (the Water Framework Directive). The main aim of this strategy is to allow a coherent and harmonious implementation of this Directive. Focus is on methodological questions related to a common understanding of the technical and scientific implications of the Water Framework Directive.

One of the main short-term objectives of the strategy is the development of non-legally binding and practical Guidance Documents on various technical issues of the Directive. These Guidance Documents are targeted to those experts who are directly or indirectly implementing the Water Framework Directive in river basins. The structure, presentation and terminology is therefore adapted to the needs of these experts and formal, legalistic language is avoided wherever possible.

In the context of the above-mentioned strategy, an informal working group dedicated to the identification of pressures and assessment of impacts within the characterisation of water bodies according to Article 5 of the Directive was set up in October 2001 and named IMPRESS. Germany and the United Kingdom have joint responsibility for the project management and secretariat of the working group, which is composed of technical experts from governmental and non-governmental organisations.

The present Guidance Document is the outcome of this working group. It contains the synthesis of the output of the IMPRESS group activities and discussions that have taken place since the official launch of IMPRESS in October 2001. It builds on the input and feedback from a wide range of experts and stakeholders that have been involved throughout the process of Guidance development through meetings, workshops or electronic communication media, without binding them in any way to its content.

We, the water directors of the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the countries applying for accession to the European Union, have examined and endorsed this Guidance during our informal meeting under the Danish Presidency in Copenhagen (21/22 November 2002). We would like to thank the participants of the Working Group and, in particular, the leaders, Isobel Austin and Volker Mohaupt, for preparing this high quality document.

We strongly believe that this and other Guidance Documents developed under the Common Implementation Strategy will play a key role in the process of implementing the Water Framework Directive.

This Guidance Document is a living document that will need continuous input and improvements as application and experience build up in all countries of the European Union and beyond. We agree, however, that this document will be made publicly available in its current form in order to present it to a wider public as a basis for carrying forward ongoing implementation work.

Moreover, we welcome that several volunteers have committed themselves to test and validate this and other documents in the so-called pilot river basins across Europe during 2003 and 2004 in order to ensure that the Guidance is applicable in practice.

We also commit ourselves to assess and decide upon the necessity for reviewing this document following the pilot testing exercises and the first experiences gained in the initial stages of the implementation.