GENESIS: developing new tools to manage groundwater and dependent ecosystems

Human land use and water consumption are affecting groundwater quality and quantity in many parts of the world. This affects dependent communities and wetland and riverine ecosystems. There are major concerns about future availability of this resource in a world with increasing demand for food and animal protein requiring large amounts of water. 

This project brought together 25 partners with different specialisms, from 17 countries. We studied European groundwater systems in their bio-physical, ecological, socio-economic and legal context, to understand:

• How ecosystems depend on groundwater.
• How pollutants travel from source to recipient ecosystems.
• How land-use and climate changes affect groundwater.
• How stakeholders and end-users can better manage and monitor groundwater systems.

Our analysis provided input to revision of the EU Groundwater Directive, including guidelines for ecosystem protection and monitoring, indicators to test vulnerability and best management practices to reduce pollution.