An End-Users Oriented Methodology for Enhancing the Integration of Knowledge on Soil–Water-Sediment Systems in River Basin Management: An Illustration from the AquaTerra Project

Abstract

Research results in environmental and socio-economic sciences are often under-used by stakeholders involved in the management of natural resources. To minimise this gap, the FP6 EU interdisciplinary project AquaTerra (AT) developed an end-users’ integration methodology in order to ensure that the data, knowledge and tools related to the soil–water-sediment system that were generated by the project were delivered in a meaningful way for end-users, thus improving their uptake. The methodology and examples of its application are presented in this paper. From the 408 project deliverables, 96 key findings were identified, 53 related to data and knowledge, and 43 describing advanced tools. River Basin Management (RBM) stakeholders workshops identified 8 main RBM issues and 25 specific stakeholders’ questions related to RBM which were classified into seven groups of cross-cutting issues, namely scale, climate change, non-climatic change, the need for systemic approaches, communication and participation, international and inter-basin coordination and collaboration, and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The integration methodology enabled an assessment of how AT key findings meet stakeholders’ demands, and for each main RBM issue and for each specific question, described the added-value of the AT project in terms of knowledge and tools generated, key parameters to consider, and recommendations that can be made to stakeholders and the wider scientific community. Added value and limitations of the integration methodology and its outcomes are discussed and recommendations are provided to further improve integration methodology and bridge the gaps between scientific research data and their potential uptake by end-users.