The two catalogues: NWRM and WOCAT

The case of NWRM

In the second cycle of implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive - WFD (2000/60/EC), it has been recognised that Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) could be implemented to a wider extent and contribute significantly more to the achievement of good water status. Further work following this concluded that due to their multi-functionality, NWRM can be placed within the framework of three EU policy areas, namely the water policy, the policy on climate change (because NWRM increase resilience) and the green infrastructure policy (because NWRM are providing ecosystem services and consider nature and biodiversity). A large project aiming at creating a knowledge hub (http://nwrm.eu) was then conducted under the umbrella of the European Commission, which produced the conceptual framework, identified a list of 53 NWRM categories and gathered information on more than 130 past projects all over Europe that implemented one or more of these NWRM categories.  NWRM are defined as follows: “Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) are multifunctional measures that aim to protect and manage water resources and address water-related challenges by restoring or maintaining ecosystems as well as natural features and characteristics of water bodies using natural means and processes. Their focus is to enhance, as well as preserve, the water retention capacity of aquifers, soil, and ecosystems with a view to improving their status. NWRM have the potential to provide multiple benefits, including the reduction of risk of floods and droughts, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge and habitat improvement. The application of NWRM supports green infrastructure, improves or preserves the quantitative status of surface water and groundwater bodies and can positively affect the chemical and ecological status of water bodies by restoring or enhancing natural functioning of ecosystems and the services they provide. The preserved or restored ecosystems can contribute both to climate change adaptation and mitigation.”(DGENV, 2015) Currently there are 53 measure on the NWRM platform, which, for ease of use, have been organised in four geographical sectors named (agriculture, forest, urban, hydro morphology: this last corresponds to rivers and their surrounding environment). These sectors refer to the geographical location in which the measures are typically implemented but any measure can be implemented in all parts of the territory, because in general, a territory is a mixture of the four main inland use types, and frontiers between them are soft. For instance, the frontier between “A02 Buffer strips and hedges” and “F01 Forest riparian buffers”, lies mainly on the type of vegetation used, or “U04 Swales”, can be used to manage rainwater or excess water in forest or agriculture territory. The nwrm.eu platform has been developed to provide clear and structured access to knowledge. On the platform, each measure is described in detail in a dedicated factsheet and linked to a set of case studies, which have implemented one or more measures. The factsheets are accessible via the NWRM catalogue as can be seen in the following screenshot. 

Groups of NSWRM Categories (NWRM, 2019) (Follow the "Fruit" link on the right side to get into the dynamic list.)

It should be noted that a NWRM factsheet describes a measure in broad terms. The exact technical details of its implementation is left to the implementers and the case studies on the nwrm.eu platform are showing possible options to implement the measure, but other options may exist. The objective of this approach was to allow some flexibility in the NWRM implementation while providing a clear framework for all.

The case of WOCAT

While the NWRM.eu platform focuses specifically on NWRM in the European context, the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) focuses on the broader concept of Sustainable Land Management from local to global levels. WOCAT was founded in 1992 as an informal global network of soil and water conservation specialists. It was one of the first programmes to promote resource conservation and SLM in response to land degradation. WOCAT developed standardised tools for documenting, monitoring, and evaluating SLM know-how as well as disseminating it around the globe, enabling land users to exchange experiences. Since then the standardisation was further developed and WOCAT now offer a full database referencing WOCAT SLM Technology Groups. Individual factsheets are referencing a wide set of individual SLM that are applied on a specific area and gathered in the WOCAT Global SLM Database (WOCAT, 2022). 

It should be noted that an SLM factsheet is the exact application of a specific technique on a specific location, a kind of NWRM case study but narrowed down to a single technology. This is an important conceptual difference to the NWRM platform. A measure factsheet on the NWRM platform is more similar to an SLM group in WOCAT, but with a more detailed description. That means it is not only a definition but also illustration and list of benefits, and a NWRM case study is more similar to a set of different SLMs applied in the same area. This is important for OPTAIN, which aims to implement different NSWRM in 14 case studies and to document each measure in a detailed manner: the SLM factsheet is therefore more adequate to document a NSWRM than a NWRM case study factsheet. 

What about NSWRM then?

Under the WFD, it has been recognised that agriculture is a major contributor to the pressures stemming from human activities on freshwater, especially regarding pollution from nutrients and abstraction of water. Water and soil are by nature closely related. On the other hand, agriculture is a key actor in landscape management and could make more use of simple NWRMs to reduce its pressures on freshwater ecosystems and also benefit from some ecosystem services these measures provide (retention of water, of nutrients, erosion reduction…). In OPTAIN perspective NSWRM are defined as follows in the call SFS23-2019 “NSWRM (that are in the scope of this call) are in line with the NWRM concept, but also include Small technical water retention measures (SWRM), like small hydro-technical systems (small reservoirs, damming on watercourses) and new methods for utilizing existing water systems (e.g. melioration systems), which require active human involvement in the maintenance and exploitation of existing water systems (GWP CEE, 2015).” NSWRM therefore include NWRM, SWRM which may or not have all characteristics of NWRM and other measures related to water systems. The specificities of NSWRM focuses on are: • catchments with land occupation mostly of agriculture and forestry categories, covering headwaters, • small and simple measures allowing easy implementation, • retention, recovery and reuse of water, and of nutrients and sediments.