Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in European marine waters.

In Europe, management and protection of the environment have historically been the responsibility of local or national agencies. This began to change with the long list of water-related European directives, which have set increasingly coordinated European targets for potable, waste and bathing waters. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the most significant of these as it draws together the existing legislation and sets overall quality goals for ecological status. The development of ecological assessment and classification systems is one of the most important and technically challenging parts of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. It is the first time such systems have been required under Community legislation and all Member States are in a position of needing to significantly expand their technical knowledge and experience in classifying our ecological systems.