Territorial and Environmental Implications of the Application of the European Framework Water Directive (2000/60/CE) in the Coast of Andalusia

Alejandro Iglesias-Campos

Department of Physical Geography-Research Group of Coastal Management and Territorial Information Technologies, University of Seville (E)

Abstract

The entrance into force of the European Directive 2000/60/CE establishing an European framework of waters in the topic of the Water Policy involve an intensive revision of the European Environmental Policy about inland and coastal waters, using only one administrative tool different directives and Council decisions. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is characterized in an ensembled treatment of the surface waters, including inland, transitional and coastal waters, integrating the ecological good status concept of the water. The implementation of the WFD will determinate the legal obligation to maintain or reach a good ecological status of the surface waters.
The ecological status of the water should be protected, with independence of the water use, in this case, all the human pressure have to be identified, valued and controlled. In this identification process indicators will be established, following the European Union States criteria.
In Andalusia, Spain, the Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with the University of Seville has started the process to classify the Andalusian coastal and transitional waters. The Department of Physical Geography has carried out the first assessment and has advised for the characteristics of the hydro-morphologic parameters needed to establish the water classification and to determinate the territorial and environmental implications in the Andalusian coast.
The central objective of this research project is the evaluation of the environmental and territorial implications of the application of the WFD in the Andalusian Coast. In this evaluation we will try to present the results in a cartographic level, because the geometric and graphic expression (demanded by the WFD) guarantee the application of the results in the physical planning fields (urban, environmental or territorial planning) This feature is going to introduce changes in the methodology and its development using different technical works (establishing indicators, Digital Terrain Models, the last generation of remote sensing, digital aerial photography etc.)