Contribution to EU Policies

Contribution to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive

A major requirement of the Water Framework Directive and an integral part of integrated water management is the production of river basin management plans. These plans often have an international dimension and their production requires co-operation between the institutions and agencies of many countries.

Models play a key role in the development of many of the plans. As the number of process interactions that need to be considered increases, so too will the need to link more and more models together. Equally, as it becomes necessary to link more together, so it will become less and less likely that one supplier will be able to provide all the models. Hence, builders of linked models will need to obtain their models from different suppliers. If this is not to become a prohibitively expensive process then a standard model interface is required.

The Open Modelling Interface will increase the competitiveness of EU suppliers, increase the choices open to model users and stimulate designers to produce new and innovative products.

Currently, many models are developed within the academic sector. Because they are stand-alone models and cannot be easily linked to other models, they frequently die at the end of the research project within which they were developed. An open modelling interface creates a whole range of opportunities for entrepreneurial researchers to take their models out into the market place and either licence them to the major players or create their own small medium enterprises (SME's).

Models are expensive and users become locked in to particular vendors. An open modelling interface removes this problem and users will be able to pick and choose the models most appropriate to their needs.

The OMI will make a significant contribution to the effectiveness of EC research

In addition to greatly facilitating the formulation of water policy, a generic 'plug and play' mechanism should also remove many of the barriers to co-operation at the scientific level. The ability to create models of process interactions more easily should both allow us to extend our knowledge of those interactions and improve their representation in models, hopefully improving the effectiveness with which the Water Framework Directive is implemented. Duplicate developments of model code can be more easily avoided, as suitable existing models can be integrated into the modelling system being constructed. The standard could also improve the accessibility of river basin data and hence make the comparison of models simpler.

HarmonIT will facilitate the type of integrated modelling required by EU and therefore will contribute directly to the EU's ability to honour its International Agreements.

The EU is a signatory number of international agreements which either directly or indirectly refer to the water environment. The outcomes from HarmonIT will enable the EU to meet its commitments under these Agreements. The Earth (Rio) Summit sets specific integrated catchment management targets, while many of the renewable energy sources specified under the Kyoto Protocol, have an impact upon catchments and eco-systems.

HarmonIT will provide a framework to facilitate rapid uptake of new integrated catchment models, DSS and environmental management systems in the Accessing states.

HarmonIT will make a direct contribution to EU Environmental Policy.

HarmonIT will assist in the exchange of environmental information technologies between members states and facilitate the implementation of existing legislation . The project outcomes will increase the EU's capacity to produce tools with which environmental concerns can be integrated into a broader range of EU policies. It will assist member states, regions and local communities implement Natura 2000 objectives, and provide a facilitating mechanisms to improve EU industry's ability to assess, model and improve environmental performance.

The outcomes from HarmonIT will facilitate achievement of the objectives of the draft Sixth Environment Action Plan (2001-2010). In particular, it will enable the EU, member states, regional and local communities to assess, monitor and improve actions in relation to climate change, bio-diversity, human health, and in the management of natural resources and waste.

HarmonIT will fulfil a number of the priorities of the European Research Area.

The project is information technology based, targeting a defined area of the international market. The project objectives are set against a medium to long term time frame, while specifying immediate short-term deliverables. Much of the project and its outcomes will be undertaken through large-scale fast communications networks. The partners in the projects are world leaders in their respective fields and through collaborative work over the past ten to twenty years have established a proto-Network of Excellence. The HarmonIT project will capitalise upon and feed back to national programmes in the area of IT harmonisation and will draw in expertise and advice from throughout the world.