1. WFD and Hydromorphology - 4/5 June 2007, Berlin, Germany -
CIS-Workshop
„WFD and Hydropower“
- 4/5 June 2007, Berlin, Germany -
DE/UK WGL

2. General Information
1st workshop under Phase II ( ) of the CIS activity „WFD and hydromorphological pressures“
Organised by lead countries UK/DE in cooperation with AT and COM as part of programme of the German EU Presidency
More than 100 participants from 21 Member States, Norway & Switzerland; the European Commission; 13 stakeholder & non-governmental organisations

3. Outcome of the Workshop
Issue paper were distributed to workshop participants as background document initiating discussions on financial instruments, good practice hydropower use and strategic approaches on priorisation of measures during the workshop
Workshop presentations are available online at:
Draft key conclusions were presented and updated after last workshop plenary & distributed per to participants after workshop for comments until 15 June
Workshop report with final results and recommendations (in preparation)

4. Draft key conclusions - General remarks -
Existing and forthcoming EU policies promoting HP should clearly consider the ecological impacts on WBs & adjacent wetlands
More holistic approaches for HP are needed. Focus should be on catchment level and not only on WB level
In the first RBMP, a catchment management system should be developed taking into account all water uses
An environmental assessment based on WFD criteria & environmental criteria should be done for all HP plants

5. Draft key conclusions - Instruments to promote HP & improve water status -
National & European instruments promoting HP (e.g. feed-in tariffs, ecolabels) should be linked to ecological criteria for the protection of water status
Small & large HP should be treated equally with regard to promotion – size of the HP is not of importance, but the use of basin and site specific WFD criteria
We need clear insight into all costs & benefits of HP. This insight will help decisionmaking on hydropower projects and implementing the polluter pays principle
Pre-planning mechanisms can facilitate the proper location of suitable areas for new HP projects 3 categories of pre-planning areas were identified: suitable; less favourable; non-favourable areas

6. Draft key conclusions - Technical approaches for good practice in HP use -
Continuity: Many solutions are available for upstream migration; More work needed on monitoring of effectiveness; Technical innovations needed for downstream migration and turbine damage
Different approaches exist to determine ecologically acceptable minimum flow; No one-size-fits-all approach; Use compensating together with mitigating measures
Serious ecological consequences of hydropeaking have been reported, but there exist knowledge gaps; Some successful implementation of mitigation measures exist
Standardisation at European level is desirable, but solutions should be largely site-specific; Promote information exchange on developed standards, e.g. on continuity

7. Draft key conclusions - Strategies & priorities on catchment level -
Priorisation of measures is compatible with the WFD but MS should deliver a proportionate PoM
Ecological criteria for prioritising action in regions affected by HP should be considered on different levels (European – areas of ecological importance; catchment & regional – longitutinal continuity; WBs/groups of WBs – lateral contin.)
We should aim at achieving self-sustained populations of migrating fish where possible - needed at the catchment level (delivering interconnectivity)
Socioeconomic aspects should be used to define a cost-effective PoM; We should do this ideally at catchment level to maximise ecological potential & energy production

8. Next steps
Finalisation of hydropower workshop documents until the end of June 2007 (final key conclusions + workshop report) – all documents will be available on CIRCA
Further discussion on good practice hydropower use as part of the development of RBMP until 2009
2nd Workshop on “WFD and Navigation” in 2008 under Phase II ( ) of the CIS activity „WFD and hydromorphological pressures“