1. Collective scientific expertise on eutrophication
4 – 5 December 2017
Water and Marine Directors joint session
Collective scientific expertise on eutrophication

2. Presentation of the expertise
The collective scientific expertise on eutrophication :
→ is an impartial and complete assessment of current informations from scientific publications on eutrophication ;
→was conducted by French public research organizations and implied the work of a group of approximately 40 scientific experts ;
→ is based on questions addressed by decision makers to feed the decision making process ;
→ does not produce any research nor any new data, and doesn’t give prescriptions ;
→ identifies knowledge limits and needs of future research investigations.
Organisms and location of the group of experts

3. Questions addressed Analyse of scientific knowledge on :
→ eutrophication process and consequences worldwide ;
→ methods to monitor eutrophication and predict risks ;
→ eutrophication management frames and strategies.
Results published in :
→ a synthesis and abstract translated in english ;
→ a complete report and a book in French ;
→ an issue of a scientific journal (Science of the Total Environment).

4. Main results
eutrophication is a complex issue driven by different anthropic and environmental factors ;
predicting eutrophication risks needs :
→ an integrated approach including all these driving pressures ;
→ to consider the issue at a large scale, including all the stream, from the upstream catchment basins to the sea ;
→ to take into account the time lapse to observe the mitigation actions effects on the ecosystems (can be more than decades)
different modelling approaches are analysed to predict eutrophication and link them with driver stressors → a stake to develop multiple stressors models integrating all environmental drivers ;
mitigation actions are more efficient if based on integrated approaches and imply local actors in the decision process.

5. Next steps
French ministries of environment and agriculture will conduct a work to :
→ analyse the possible involvements of the results of this expertise for public policies
→ make proposals to better integrate these results into policies.
Results of this work could feed the different European working groups on public policies related to eutrophication.