MIRAGE - Mediterranean Intermittent River Management

The project MIRAGE (Mediterranean Intermittent River ManAGEment) aims to provide specific key knowledge for a better assessment of the ecological integrity (or ecological status in the words of the European Water Framework Directive) in Mediterranean temporary streams. MIRAGE develops practical measures necessary to understand their impact on nutrient dynamics, toxic substances and organic matter and to link these aspects to an Integrated flood management. Using thematic investigations in different river basins in all South-European member states and Morocco, the project undertakes an integrative co-development of exemplary River Basin Management Plans in two mirror basins in Greece and Italy to support the applicability of the EU Water Framework Directive for temporary streams and hence supporting substantially the development of Integrated Water Resources Management in the Circum-Mediterranean region. To date, adequate implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, 2000/60/EC (EU-WFD) and the development of River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) including the Programme of Measures (PoM) for temporary streams urgently requires new concepts of hydrological and ecological characterization, as well as a revised and better integrated understanding of the impact of management measures, both under extreme floods and in the context of seasonal dry periods. As such, Mirage is designed to make use of the rich stock of pre-existing knowledge and to focus its work on emerging key research gaps resulting from a careful elaboration process during the last years amongst leading research teams in the ERA.