Status Box

Title:Revised Mandate/Work Programme 2008-2009
for Working Group D on Reporting and WISE

Draft 03/10/2007 – version 2.0

Based on interim mandate as agreed by Water Directors in Nov 2006

Authors: Joachim D’Eugenio, Violeta Vinceviciene (ENV D2), Rene Lalement (France), Beate Werner (EEA)

NOTE: xxx

Working Group D on Reporting

I.Introduction

Since 2003, the Working Group D has shaped a new agenda for reporting under the Water Information System for Europe (WISE). From a difficult starting point and with many (in particular time) constraints in the development of the reporting requirements related to Article 3 and 5, WG D has managed to develop reporting requirements well in advance of the reporting deadlines and by using modern and effective tools under WISE. In particular the reporting exercise for Article 8 (monitoring programmes) has been a huge success in the aim to streamline and facilitate reporting. The most significant work item, the reporting for the river basin management plans in 2010 is well underway. The development is still on schedule to make the entire system operational under WISE (Reportnet) in the beginning of 2009, one year before the reporting deadline.

In addition to the core tasks, WG D discussed the compliance checking approach and the results of the Commission’s first implementation report, consulted a coherent system on the reporting of the state-of-the-environment carried out by the EEA and continued discussions on technical aspects in particular related to GIS aspects. Last but not least, WG D is increasingly becoming a forum in which reporting aspects under other pieces of water legislation are being coordinated in order to move step-by-step towards a coherent reporting approach under WISE. Therefore the reporting under the other water directives[1], as well as upcoming new water policies (as floods, marine protection, groundwater, etc), according to WISE Implementation Plan, is planned to be streamlined and organised within the framework of WISE. Working Group D will cover the coordination activities on reporting related to the old directives and new EU water legislation.

Having largely completed its tasks and deliverables under previous work programmes, it is now time to review the mandate for WG D thoroughly and to define priorities of work for the coming years until the reporting of the river basin management plans take place. Thus, this mandate will be presented to the Water Directors for agreement in November 2007 with the view of defining the work programme for the period 2008 and 2009.

The following sections outline the objectives, key activities and timetables for the “Working Group D on Reporting” (Reporting WG) and its support activities.

II.Objectives

The overall objectives of the Reporting Working Groupremain similar to the ones of the past years, in particular to:

  • identify information and data needs for the purpose of compliance checking of WFD obligations, in particular by making operational the 2010 reporting system for river basin management plans with a review mechanism being an integral part of this;
  • identify information and data needs for state-of-the-environment reporting;
  • identify other data and information needs (e.g., for public information and assessment of policy effectiveness)
  • further pursue the streamlining of reporting and thereby ensure coordination ofreporting activities related toother water directives (urban wastewater, etc) and, where appropriate, international organisations;
  • further develop and improve the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) into the fully integrated, comprehensive and quality assuredenvisaged by 2010 which thereafter should become increasingly decentralised system;
  • contribute to INSPIRE drafting teams and design a GIS infrastructure in compliance with INSPIRE;
  • discuss and exchange information on compliance checking approaches;
  • exchange information on data sharing, information dissemination and other relevant aspects for the implementation of WISE;

In addition, the process developed should provide a better access to validated (quality assured) data and information at the relevant level for all relevant users across the institutions, including both national levels, within transboundary river basin districts, the Commission, the European Environment Agency and the public.

III.Key activities

The future activities for the period until 2009 are firmly based on the work carried out during 2005-2007.The following main tasks have been identified:

  1. Make operational the 2010 reporting system for RBMP by March 2009 (this includes activity 2);
  2. Review the reporting processes on art. 3, 5, 8 to improve the complete workflow for next reporting exercises (from reporting sheets design and validation to data models tuning, schemas implementation, tools testing and operational use).
  3. Achieve the integration of State of the Environment (EIONet) reporting into WISE by starting a regular reporting under the new scheme by 2009;
  4. Establish process for streamlining reporting with other water directives and international organisations[2] by coordinating all water-related reporting activities to be reported within WISE structure and through ReportNet (EEA);
  5. Revise geographic information systems (GIS) guidance, including a common data dictionary, and build reference data sets for the purposes of the WFD (as already agreed in 2006);
  6. Revise the Concept paper on reporting (2003) to include current advances (e.g., background clarification, use of indicators, business rules, IT architecture principles, …);
  7. Develop, together with other relevant working groups, reporting requirements for new directives including the Groundwater Directive, the Flood Risk Management Directive and the future EQS Priority Substances Directive;
  8. Identify information needs for other purposes - assessment of policy effectiveness, public information.

More detailed activity sheets are enclosed.

IV.Lead countries/body

The Commission / DG ENV, the EEA and France will be co-leading WG D.

VI.Participants

MostMemberStates and other countries are participating to the Working Group already.The group will continue as it is established. However, SCG members may nominate other or additional experts, if needed.

VII.PRB components

Pilot river basins will be invited to provide case studies or to test the outcomes of WG D.

VIII.Links with other activities

The WG has to take into account the ongoing activities under the INSPIRE initiative and reporting activities under the UWWTD, BWD, DWD, NiD and IPPC (EPER database) directives, as well as new ones (priority substances, groundwater, marine strategy, flood directives).

It will need to maintain close interactions with the other WGs established under the CIS to address the reporting aspects related to their work in an appropriate way and ask them to check the relevance of reporting requirements. For activities 4 and 7, new or updated reporting requirements, the WG D will have a coordinating role ensuring that the reporting is consistent with WISE. The technical content of the reporting will be developed by the relevant Working Groups, i.e. WG C for the new Groundwater Directive, WG E for the future Priority Substances Directive and WG F for the Floods Directive.

IX.Current organisation

The Drafting Group on Compliance will cover WFD and UWWD reporting aspects in the future. The composition of the group may change depending on the issues on the agenda. If the focus of a meeting is on WFD, the previous DG Compliance will be invited. If the focus is on UWWD, the previous reporting group will be addressed to identify some experts for the DG.

ACTIVITY No. 1–Set up 2010 reporting system

Draft activity sheet drafted by COM – version 03.10.2007

I.Introduction

The preparation of the 2010 reporting system for submitting reports on the river basin management plans(RBMP) is well underway. The reporting is provided for by Art. 13, 15 and Annex VII WFD. The 2010 reporting combines all the previous reporting exercises and requires updates on the data already reported. In addition, new reporting information, mainly introduced through Annex VII WFD is required. In addition, the intention is to establish a technical infrastructure for reporting submissions well in advance. The reports shall be submitted through WISE using the REPORTNET tools as already done for Art. 8 WFD.

The technical tools will need to be developed and tested over the next year.

II.Objectives

The overall objective of thisactivity is:

  • To develop the technical system for 2010 reporting including testing;
  • To make the 2010 reporting system operational in early 2009.
  1. Tasks

Task 1: Development of shemas

As in the past, the reporting sheets need to be translated into operational schemas (technical formats). In addition, in agreement with MS and EEA, an End-User Tool will be developed. The schema development will be led by the WISE Technical Group and consulted with the GIS group. Finally, the schemas will be agreed by the WG D. If the necessary, the WISE TG may call on the past activity 1 group to assist in the development of the schemas.

Task 2: Refinement of reporting sheets, where necessary

The refinement of the reporting formats (see schema development under task 1) reveals in some cases to need to specify, clarify or even review the agreed reporting sheets. Some of these areas have already been identified explicitly in the reporting sheets (e.g. guidelines for map on ecological status). The necessary changes to the reporting sheets will be proposed by the WISE TG and reported back to the WG D for discussion and approval.

Task 3: Testing

Once the draft set of schemas is prepared, it has been proven extremely useful to test them thoroughly before the system is made operational. As in the past, the MS and the pilot riever basins will be invited to volunteer for the testing. The WISE TG will organise the detaild process of testing and consult the GIS group for this.

Task 4: Making 2010 system operational (including user workshop)

The final reporting tools are being made available through the EEA’s REPORTNET. The WISE Practical Arrangements as agreed by the WFD Committee will apply. In addition, schema documentation and other useful documents for end users will be made available. In order to ensure that all MS have the same information on how the system works and to allow interaction, another WISE user workshop will be organised at the time when the system is made operational.

MS are invited to organise national training and information sessions on WISE to multiply the knowledge and promote the system amongst associated authorities. MS are invited to inform the Commission and the EEA about such seminars. In advance, an agreement can be made in how far and how the Commission (possible through consultant) and the EEA may be able to support these national initiatives.

  1. Timetable

2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010
Tasks
1. Develop schemas / x / x / X / X
2. Refinement of reporting sheets, where necessary / x / X / X / X
3. Testing / X / x
4. 2010 reporting system operational / x
5. WISE user workshop and national WISE information sessions / x / x / x / X
  1. Lead

DG ENV (with assistance of WRc and EEA)

  1. Contributors

MemberStates, WISE TG, GIS group

VIII.Links with other activities

This activity is mainly dealt with by WG D and the GIS group. However, I case of technical questions falling under the remit of another Working Group, these other groups will be contacted.

IX.Type and intensity of work

The WISE Technical Group will be addressing the tasks at its regular meetings and oversee the technical development. If necessary, the small group which developed the past schemas (activity 1 group) will be called together to assist in the development of the schemas. The schemas will be subject to testing by volunteering MS. The consultation with all MS will be carried out partially by WG D and partially by the GIS group. In addition, a user workshop may be organised when the tools are finalised.

New ACTIVITY No. 2–Review of reporting process

Draft activity sheet drafted by FR – version 02.05.2007

I.Introduction

The January 2007 meeting of the working group agreed to identify the review of the past reporting exercises as a priority activity in the work programme 2007-2009, to be started soon after the last exercise, which occurred in March 2007.

This activity sheet states the objectives, tasks, timetable and contributors of this new activity.

II.Objectives

The overall objective of this review is to understand the complete workflow of a reporting exercise and to improve it for the next ones, in particular for the reporting which is due in 2010.

This review should also contribute to

  • the improvement of the phase of updating data for the past reporting exercises
  • the adoption of a common technical methodology for the development of the WISE components for WFD and other directives.
  1. Tasks

Three reporting exercises have now been completed, for article 3, 5 and 8 of the WFD. In addition, the Commission published on March 22 its first report on progress in implementation based on the former reports from the Member States.

Task 1: Analysis

Breakdown a reporting exercise into its elementary phases, identify their context and the relationship between these phases and the various documents or tools it is linked to.

As a preliminary analysis, the following phases can be singled out:

  • a CIS preparation phase, which includes the design and the validation of reporting sheets by the working group and its subgroups, by the SCG and the WD meeting;
  • a technical preparation phase, which includes the development and tests of data formats and IT tools, and their presentation through workshops;
  • an operation phase, which is the actual reporting of documents, maps and data;
  • a collation and analysis phase, done at EU level;
  • a feedback phase, through requests for MS updates or voluntary updates.

The context of a reporting exercise comprises the underlying implementation process (i.e., the subject of this report, which is the implementation of art. 3, 5 and 8) and the consecutive assessment processes by the Commission and the EEA.

The documents are the reporting sheets, the XML schemas, the IT tools and the user manuals for reporting ; they should be compared with the CIS guidance documents for the underlying process and for the assessment processes.

Task 2: Quantitative review

  • Task 2.1 On the basis of this breakdown, draw a temporal diagramme for the phases of the past 3 reporting exercises in their context and of their dependencies;
  • Task 2.2 Use performance indicators to estimate, for instance, the number of submitted digital/paper reports, average time of each phase, etc.

Task 3: Qualitative review

  • Task 3.1 Write a questionnaire to be answered by Member States about the usefulness of reporting, the usability of the reporting sheets, the level of details, their adequacy with the CIS guidance, the time lags, the quality of the IT tools, the helpdesk, the update features, etc. and their expectations for future reporting — analyse and synthetise the results.
  • Task 3.2 Write a questionnaire to be answered by EU bodies about the usefulness of reporting, the usability of digital/paper reports and their adequacy with their assessment needs and their expectations for future reporting.

Task 4: Proposals for a progress track

  1. Timetable

2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010
Tasks
1. Analysis
2. Quantitative review
3. Qualitative review
4. Proposals
  1. Lead

France

  1. Contributors

MemberStates, Commission, EEA, WRC.

VIII.Links with other activities

The review should take into account the ongoing reporting activities under the UWWTD, and IPPC and the current data collection on hazardous substances; it will interact with the WISE technical group.

IX.Type and intensity of work

Part of this work shall be done through an electronic consultation.

The compliance drafting group can be used to have a discussion and prepare a recommandation for a progress track.

ACTIVITY No. 3–Integration of state-of-environment reporting

Draft activity sheet drafted by EEA – version 02.10..2007

I.Introduction

Updating of SOE-reporting within the EEA Eionet-Water data flow is now well developed for those parameters covered by the former Eurowaternet, namely Nutrients and Hazardous Substances in Rivers and Lakes, and Nitrate and Hazardous Substances in Groundwater. Linkage with the WFD-article 8 information is implemented in WISE, whilst further technical development needs to be discussed within the WISE technical group.

Further efforts need to be spent on information describing e.g. emission-loads to water, water quantity, biological elements and the status and trends of transitional, coastal and marine waters. This information is partly provided from other directives and policy processes external to the WFD, but requires, together with outcomes of discussions with the SOE-drafting group and the Eionet NRCs, the cooperation with other experts e.g. those from UWWTD reporting, IPPC-implementation, statistical and hydrological offices, WFD-Ecostat, Marine and Coastal experts.

Furthermore, communication with Member States is needed to adapt indicator assessments themselves to the additional spatial information on RBD on WB and to be ready for type specific assessments.

II.Objectives

  • To develop the SOE reporting for parameters not yet established in the WISE-SOE data flow; with the cooperation of other expert groups.
  • To enhance Communication with Member Countries on further development of SOE reporting, driving the improvement of EEA indicators with respect to regional knowledge and the progression towards more integrated assessments.
  1. Tasks

Task 1:

Develop SOE-reporting for emission-loads to water as a single harmonised reporting streamlining requirements under the WFD (including priority substances), UWWTD, NiD, IPPC, E-PRTR and Marine conventions.

Task 2:

Develop SOE reporting related to water scarcity (e.g. water quantity - surface and groundwater; water abstraction; saltwater intrusion; etc. ) in cooperation with ESTAT Joint Questionaire, hydrological/services and in close co-operation with the development of indicators under the Water Scarcity & Drought activity.

Task 3:

Further develop SOE-reporting for biological elements in line with the ECOSTAT work

Task 4:

Scope SOE-information on hydro-morphological elements:

Task 5:

Cooperate with respective groups under the marine strategy framework directive (MSFD) to develop a coherent SOE reporting on the status and trends of transitional, coastal and marine waters (e.g. joint workshops)