ALBERT

Description: Little attention has been given to the role of groundwater in the hydrologic cycle of lowland watersheds. Our objective in this study was to estimate total recharge to groundwater by analyzing water table response to storm events, and the rate at which water was transferred into the shallow aquifer. This was conducted at three sites in a rural watershed in the lower Atlantic coastal plain near Charleston, South Carolina USA. A novel version of the water table fluctuation method was used to estimate total recharge to the shallow aquifer by comparing hourly data of water table position following storm events and measuring water table recession behavior, rather than subjective graphical analysis methods. Also, shallow aquifer recharge rates (vertical fluxes) were estimated using Darcy's Law by comparing static water levels in a water table well and in a shallow piezometer during dry periods. The total annual recharge estimated ranged from 107 ± 39 mm yr -1 (5 - 10% of annual precipitation) at a poorly-drained topographic low area to 1140 ± 230 mm yr -1 (62 - 94% of annual precipitation) for a moderately well-drained upland site. The average aquifer recharge rate was 114 ± 60 mm yr -1 , which is similar to previous estimations of base flow for the ephemeral third order streams in this watershed. The difference in the two methods may have been due to processes not accounted for in the Darcy flux method, soil moisture deficits, as well as and evapotranspiration demand, which is about 1000 mm yr -1 for this region. While other factors can also affect partitioning of recharge, an integrated approach to inspecting easily-gathered groundwater data can provide information on an often-neglected aspect of water budget estimation. We also discuss the effects of land use change on recharge reduction given a typical development scenario for the region. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Description: The report presents the initial findings of T1.1 of the CrossGov project on improving coherence in marine policies within the framework of the European Green Deal (EGD). It includes a mapping exercise of the EGD’s ocean-related objectives and targets, and the results from stakeholder interviews. The report emphasises the need for improving policy coherence to bridge the gap between EGD’s long-term vision and current policy-making.

Description: The Green Deal is a package of strategies, goals and targets; realizing it as a whole requires that achieving certain targets does not adversely affect progress towards achieving other targets. Thus, it requires cross-compliance. While traditionally the concept of ‘cross-compliance’ has only been used in EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, the CrossGov consortium innovatively applies the concept to ocean governance. CrossGov defines cross-compliance as the delivery of multiple Green Deal strategies, goals and targets in concert, and assesses the role of coherence in policy design as well as implementation for achieving this. This policy brief introduces the concepts of policy coherence and cross-compliance and explains how they are interrelated. While policy coherence is particularly important for policy design and implementation, cross-compliance is a concept that specifically concerns the outcomes and impacts of policies.

Description: CrossGov D2.1 EU and international policy landscape - Mapping EU policies and Green Deal objectives: general observations for policy coherence in the marine domain aims to provide a mapping of the European Green Deal policy landscape relevant to the marine domain and the CrossGov project. It also offers a general introduction into how policy coherence, embedded within the design of (selected) EU policies, supports or impedes progress towards the EGD’s objectives in the marine domain. A total of 36 policies were selected and mapped against five EGD strategies, namely the 2030 Climate Target Plan, the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy. These five strategies lay out a total of 25 specific objectives to implement the vision of the EGD, identified as relevant to the marine domain and the focus of the CrossGov project – i.e. climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Description: The PermaGov Deliverable focuses on exploring the EU policy landscape within the context of the European Green Deal (EGD), structured around four regime complexes: marine life, marine plastics, marine energy, and maritime transport. These complexes provide a framework for analysing the EU's approach to achieving the EGD's vision for sustainable marine governance. This report aims to offer a descriptive overview of marine EU policies relevant to the PermaGov project, focusing on policies identified as relevant to the overarching goals set forth in the EGD. It also considers relevant initiatives at global and regional levels. The marine life regime sees the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 as its overarching strategy, essential for the EGD’s element of preserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. Tackling the challenges of marine waste pollution, the marine plastics regime is guided by the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water, and Soil, targeting the EGD’s elements of a mobilising industry for a clean and circular economy and a zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment. The marine energy regime is shaped by the European Climate Law and the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, which are the overarching instruments that contribute to the EGD’s elements of increase the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050 and ensure the supply of clean, affordable, and secure energy. Lastly, the maritime transport regime sees the 'Fit for 55' Package and the 'Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy' as the two main instruments to achieve the EGD’s elements of increase the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050 and Accelerating the Shift to Sustainable and Smart Mobility. An additional aspect of this report is an initial screening of institutional barriers through the lens of policy documents. This is intended to be a starting point for the case studies of the PermaGov project, which will be further investigated in more depth later in the project. Institutional barriers are understood as obstacles within the structure and processes of governance systems that hamper decision-making processes and policy implementation. These barriers often arise from established rules, norms, and practices. The report considers the analytical framework developed by Oberlack (2017), focusing on attributes of institutions such as actor eligibility, responsibility, control, social connectivity, conflict, social learning, accountability, temporal and spatial scale, adaptiveness, and formality. These attributes describe the characteristics of how institutions are organised and operate, providing insights into potential challenges in policy design and implementation. The report provides a mapping of instruments relevant to the PermaGov four regime complexes and concludes by identifying potential institutional barriers, underlining the importance of conducting further detailed research in upcoming tasks of the PermaGov projects to effectively address the challenges of sustainable marine governance in line with the EGD’s ambitions.